Although not heavily advertised, this week is Internet Week in New York
City. From June 3 through June 10 there are programs, panels and
parties celebrating New York's thriving Internet industry, all for
free. This morning I went to an program very much in my area of
interest, Time Warner Conversations on the Circle: Entertainment Culture panel.

These were the speakers:

• Scott Donaton, Publisher, Entertainment Weekly, Moderator
• Brett Bouttier, SVP, Digital, Warner Bros. Television Group
• Mark Golin, Editor, PEOPLE.com
• Gillian Sheldon, Supervising Producer, TMZ.com
• Charlie Walk, President, Epic Records

The
discussion was basically about the rapidly changing world of
entertainment and media. Consumers have more now entertainment than any
other time in our history but the ways they are receiving it keep
changing.

Charlie Walk of Epic Records had a great deal to say
because the music industry has already gone through such vast changes.
The changes he has seen are:

• Because of the Internet, any song can break overnight
• We
  used to get our music from gatekeepers, radio DJs and MTV. Now we
  program our own music on our computers and iPods. There are no
  gatekeepers.
• Songs and artists don't get as much of a chance
  anymore because there are no gatekeepers. Billy Joel, U2 and R.E.M.
  wouldn't have made it today because they didn't become hits until their
  3rd or 4th albums.
• Some artists want their music to only be
  sold as full albums but iTunes insists on selling songs. The artist
  would then have to not put their music on iTunes at all which would
  mean not selling on the number one music selling site.
• The younger generation thinks that music is free

Changes that the others discussed were:

• When
  entertainment news hits it used to mean getting it ready for the next
  days news show, then for a story on the Internet, now that isn't fast
  enough. People want it sent to them on mobile devices. However, what
  are the best ways to monetize these new ways of sending news?
• Celebrity
  reporting - along with speed, the readers want truth. Mark Golin of
  People.com said that even if somebody reads gossip on another site,
  they will go to People to validate it because of the trust built in.
  Brands matter.

And then there was one question from an IT
consultant that I found very interesting. Most of the changes coming to
television and music and all forms of new media involve understanding
new forms of technology. This can be difficult for older people not
used to new technology and change. Then he asked the panel how he
thought the companies were going to address this issue. Nobody said
anything right away and then a woman in the audience, I'm guessing in
her late 50s, said "they just figure we'll be dead soon so they won't have to deal with it". Besides getting a huge laugh, it stopped the panel from even trying to answer the question.

However
this issue is something that does need to be dealt with. In a small
way, I am trying to do this on this blog by recommending websites like Hulu, where you can watch TV for free on the Internet and sites like Pandora and FoxyTunes
which are great sites for music online. Please let me know if there are
any other types of new media you would like me to write about.

permalink: http://connectwithyourteens.blogspot.com/2008/06/entertainment-culture-panel-during.html