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Time For Television To Fight The Right Fight
In the aftermath of a record-setting boxing match, let’s talk about fighting. Here are several recent, seemingly unrelated developments. See if you can find the common thread.
(1) The breakout star of this year’s FIGHT OF THE CENTURY!!! wasn’t named Mayweather or Pacquiao, but…Periscope, a video streaming app that wasn’t even available two months ago. (2) Comcast – the nation’s largest cable provider (even without Time Warner Cable as part of its empire) – now has more Internet subscribers than cable subscribers. (3) When it comes to The Great Unbundling, the lawsuits have begun with ESPN taking on Verizon over its FIOS Custom packages. (The WSJ article on that subject makes a point of noting that CBS has chosen not to pursue an action against Verizon over the same move.)
We’re In The Relationship Business, Not The Content Business
We’ll always use the word “content” because talking about “great content” is easier to understand than talking about “great passion and relationships”. Make no mistake about one thing, however: your material is not your stock in trade. Content is simply a means to an end.
Your stock in trade is passion and relationships.
Pay Attention To The 21 Year-Old & Learn To Go Both Ways
How’s that for a ridiculous, allegedly attention-grabbing headline?
The 21 year-old woman in question is the erstwhile Sunshine Girl of YouTube fame. She’s now making the move from video into…wait for it…print. Yep, the media form that’s quickly dying. Except, of course, that not only is print not dying, it’s an incredibly important part of anyone’s media mix.
In fact, my real reason for posting this is because we spend so much time here talking about electronic media that I thought it was important to remind you that your ability to create great content with the written word is an important part of the amazing opportunities that our media convergence future is presenting to you.
When The Kardashians Tell You Where The Money Is, Believe Them
The second-biggest post on this blog last year was titled “When Rupert Murdoch Tells You Where The Money Is, Believe Him.” When someone as successful as Murdoch points the way to where entertainment success will be found in the future (hint: content is king; distribution is a commodity), we wisely pay attention.
Here’s another opportunity to learn by observing, and this time, let’s take a look at what some of the most successful talent in showbiz is up to.
Lessons Radio Talent Should Learn From The Rest Of Showbiz
Given my 30+-year connection to radio, I sometimes write posts about the lessons people in others fields of entertainment can learn from radio. Some of those are very explicitly about radio; others aren’t, but any radio broadcaster would recognize the connection. Let’s reverse directions and talk about what radio talent should learn from other entertainers.
Be Unique Or Else: Television Learns That Broadcasting Has Given Way To Narrowcasting
Remember when television was about the lowest common denomiator? Remember when the radio station that won was “the one station that everybody at work can agree on”? Those days are toast. Let’s focus on television, particularly because the industry focused on these words of wisdom from the Television Critics Association winter confab: “Least objectionable television is dead.”
However, the next sentences might be even more important, so here’s the whole quote from Paul Lee’s presentation: “Least objectionable television is dead. We’re at a world where passion rules, where social conversation is so important and where people can watch what they want to watch, where they want to watch it, so they’re only going to watch the shows that they really love, that they’re really passionate about.”
Golden Globes Remind You Of Golden Opportunity
The other day, a group of friends and I were discussing whether The Jetsons Future means that the quality of productions must inevitably decline. My position – not the most popular one in the room at first – was an optimistic one. I argued that, while there’s certainly a lot of crap (much of it profitable crap) to be found these days, a lot of high-quality product that never would have seen the light of day just a few years ago is now rather prominent.
Consider Sunday night’s Golden Globes winners as you ponder the fact that, as has been the case for some years now, awards season is a time to realize how much has changed.
2015 Begins With A Ginormous Media Mashup
I felt the need to include a mashup word – ginormous – in the headline because there’s already a media convergence theme song for 2015: It’s A Mashup World After All. (Dear Lord – I’ve just planted that song in your head for the day, haven’t I? I’m so sorry.)
If you think there’s no consistent theme to the big developments of the new year’s first business week, look closer. And with that, let’s meet our developments!
Broadcast Media: 99.5% Less Dead Than You Think
Once upon a time, a doctor told me I had a slightly elevated cholesterol level on my blood test with these lame words: “Mr. Hoffman, we’re all terminal. Some of us are just programmed to check out earlier than others.” Until recently, I’ve only thought of those words when telling someone about what bad people skills sound like.
These days, I think of those words every time I hear another death knell about the future of radio. I’ll leave you to find your favorite screed on that subject; I’ve spent enough time on client calls addressing the issue. (Hence this post.)
Here are two simple realities:
A Brief Excursion Into Lawyer Stuff: You Don’t Understand Fair Use & That’s A Problem
I try extremely hard to avoid going lawyer on you, but when I put on my attorney hat, there’s one subject that creatives almost universally misunderstand: fair use. Because (1) it’s a copyright concept, and (2) copyright law is at the heart of what we do as creatives, that’s a big problem. I’ve had innumerable people – clients and non-clients alike – tell me that they assume that something they’re doing is okay because of the “30-Second Rule” or the “10% Rule”. Just one thing: those “rules” don’t exist. They’re urban myths.
If you’re a content creator and you read no further, please take away one important thing about fair use: You don’t know enough about it to decide whether something you want to do constitutes a fair use!!! It’s an extremely complicated and fact-sensitive subject. If you’re thinking about any unlicensed use of a copyrighted work – whether it’s a song (or song lyric), a picture, a movie clip, whatever – do the smart thing and talk to an attorney who understands the subject about the specific thing you want to use and how you want to use it.
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