Dropped the ball

I've been thinking about the entertainment industry this weekend, and I've come to the conclusion that the industry in general has so completely lost sight of it customer base, that it has nowhere to go but down.

Those of us that were 80s children can remember when walkmans first appeared. Pioneered by Sony, they changed the way people listend to music and caught the imagination of an entire generation. Sony had its finger on the customer pulse and acted accordingly. Sony became the industry standard almost overnight and they cleaned up. So what happened? Sony doesn't really feature in that market anymore. They gave it to Apple, BENQ, iRiver. Were they asleep? Are they still asleep?

Interesting fact I read today; even in Japan, the design Mecca of consumer electronics, Apple iPods account for more than 1 in 3 MP3 players sold.

In the mid 80s tapes and vinyl made way for CD's. This was another revolution. We all sarted buying CDs because the quality was better and they were more durable. We did bitch a bit about the price being higher than vinyl records, but we accepted it because the quality was better. The industry realised that the customer wanted CDs so they agreed a standard and they gave them to us. So why didn't they realise that customers wanted downloadable files? Were they really surprised when the customers found their own means of creating downloadable music?

In the 80s and even earlier, the entertainment industry controlled the retail outlets completely. The most convenient way to shop for music at that time was to visit the store, pick something off the shelf, and pay for it. But that's not the most convenient way now. Apple realised there was a hole in the market and they're making a mint out of iTunes. Why isn't the entertainment industry jumping on board?

It seems to me that, in just twenty years, the entertainment industry has thrown away dominance of the hardware market, control of music formats, and half the retail element of their operation. They still control upcoming new talent because they are the only people that can offer recording contracts. But think about it, 12 months ago the only way for unknown talent to get exposure was to go to the entertainment industry with a demo tape and beg. That doesn't need to happen any more. You can just podcast your work to the entire world free of charge. You can even get yourself listed on iTunes. How long do you think it will be before Apple starts offering recording contracts?

In other news; we went to see Charlie and the chocolate Factory yesterday. I thought it was pretty good. They did take a few liberties with the story, but they added rather than took things away. I don't think they actually changed anything. They missed out the part where Charlie and Grandpa Joe steal lemonade that makes them float. I think it was silly to miss that out. It was an important part of the plot.

I know that Johnny Depp is on record as saying that he had not based the character on Michael Jackson, but he's lying. It goes far deeper than the weird hair and voice. The whole thing about missing his childhood is brought in. It's quite uncomfortable here and there. Christopher Lee gets a cameo which I didn't know about. The dragon liked it and, having grown up in Taiwan, didn't know the story at all. I give it 8 out of 10 I think. It's not fantastic, but I liked it. It's one to take kids too.

I have a new noter on the DongXi version of this dairy. Welcome "Dave" whoever you are. I think your perception of podcasting is flawed however. I agree, and have mentioned before, that there is much garbage out there in blog land, there are also some little gems. I recommend a visit to skepticality to download their cast. Made deep within the den of truth, somewhere in Batpig studios.