“The internet has given audiences much more power than ever before.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
I mostly agree with this statement because the internet gives the consumers the same power that Producers have. By this I mean that Consumers can now access the same information as Producers, meaning the Consumers can do and/or create the same products the Producers are. Thanks to the introduction of social media platforms, both Consumers and Producers have the same opportunity to market their products, resulting in the Consumers being Prosumers.
Music Industry
One industry which has given a great deal of its power to the audience due to the Internet is the Music Industry. The Internet has allowed Consumers more opportunities on how to access and download music. This makes it cheaper for audiences to listen to/stream music, as a majority of the platforms this music can be downloaded for free. The Internet also gives more opportunity for Prosumers to share their media with a large audience via social networking platforms such as YouTube and Twitter. This means there is a contingency for 'Bedroom Bands' to be noticed by large record labels; thereby, more chances for these people to become 'famous'. This also gives Producers more choices of people for their label, meaning they can pick talents they know will be popular.
On the other hand, however, the fact that these Prosumers can easily share their media with large groups of people means that there is nothing to stop other 'Bedroom Bands' from sharing their music online, resulting in abundant amounts of performers for Producers to elect people to sign to their record labels when the Producers only need a few, resulting in a lot of unrecognised talent.. The introduction of these free music streaming platforms (e.g Spotify, Deezer, YouTube) mean that artists earn less/no money for their music, resulting in fewer artists wanting to produce music. (Some artists find their way around this, by not allowing their music to be streamed on these free websites, for example, Taylor Swift).
Film and TV Industry
Another industry that has given its audiences more power than before is the Film and TV industry. The Internet has allowed audiences to download movies and television shows, meaning more people can have access to them, as they no longer have to purchase a physical copy of the movie/television show to watch it. In addition to this, a lot of pirated websites are available to the audience, meaning that they can view the movies for free illegally. There has also been the explosion in the use of subscription services recently for example Netflix. These subscription services offer the audience an opportunity to watch not only movies from their favourite film producers (e.g Disney, Warner Brothers) but movies created by the subscription service as well, exposing them to new and engaging media that cost them only a small fee each month.
In contrast to this, however, these subscriptions services also mean that the user can 'binge-watch' entire Television Shows at once, which means that the consumer may only use the subscription service to watch their favoured show then cancel their subscription, resulting in the Producer losing opportunities for money. Additionally, a majority of the audience for these subscription services use the service on their handheld devices. This could mean that they view the media on a smaller screen and this could lead to a dissatisfaction with their viewing experience which could be off-putting to the Consumer. This also links to the rise of reboots and remakes, which are not only less interesting but also less satisfying to the audience. The producers make these reboots because they know it will draw audiences in, meaning more people will come back to the franchise to view things related to their favourite franchises (for example Stranger Things; the DC Universe; the Marvel Universe...).
Newspaper Industry
The final industry I will talk about today is the Newspaper Industry. Thanks to the internet, audiences can access news quickly and easily directly from their phones so news can get to Consumers much quicker. Since social media allows Consumers to reach large audiences quickly, it means the Consumers can share news as its happening, just by pulling out their phones and hitting record. Thereby creating citizen journalists. This rise in citizen journalism produces news a lot quicker and in more detail, which wouldn't be achieved if there was a standard reporter at work as they may get to the location of interest too late. The introduction of the internet results in news becoming free to read, meaning a wider audience can be reached.
In opposition to this, the fact that anybody can become a citizen journalist means that there is less demand for actual journalists, as the same information can be found in the information citizen journalists provide. however, citizen journalism is often viewed as fake or untrustworthy. But a lot of the time, citizen news is factually incorrect or completely false, but many consumers still believe this incorrect news, which could lead to people becoming worried about something that isn't true.
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In conclusion, I believe that the internet has given audiences more power than ever before since they can now affect how industries earn their money; produce media and work in general. Although the internet has had some negative effect on that both consumers and producers, those negative effects are mainly there because of the power audiences have, further establishing the fact that audiences have power.
Written By Aishwarya Odedra
I mostly agree with this statement because the internet gives the consumers the same power that Producers have. By this I mean that Consumers can now access the same information as Producers, meaning the Consumers can do and/or create the same products the Producers are. Thanks to the introduction of social media platforms, both Consumers and Producers have the same opportunity to market their products, resulting in the Consumers being Prosumers.
Music Industry
One industry which has given a great deal of its power to the audience due to the Internet is the Music Industry. The Internet has allowed Consumers more opportunities on how to access and download music. This makes it cheaper for audiences to listen to/stream music, as a majority of the platforms this music can be downloaded for free. The Internet also gives more opportunity for Prosumers to share their media with a large audience via social networking platforms such as YouTube and Twitter. This means there is a contingency for 'Bedroom Bands' to be noticed by large record labels; thereby, more chances for these people to become 'famous'. This also gives Producers more choices of people for their label, meaning they can pick talents they know will be popular.
On the other hand, however, the fact that these Prosumers can easily share their media with large groups of people means that there is nothing to stop other 'Bedroom Bands' from sharing their music online, resulting in abundant amounts of performers for Producers to elect people to sign to their record labels when the Producers only need a few, resulting in a lot of unrecognised talent.. The introduction of these free music streaming platforms (e.g Spotify, Deezer, YouTube) mean that artists earn less/no money for their music, resulting in fewer artists wanting to produce music. (Some artists find their way around this, by not allowing their music to be streamed on these free websites, for example, Taylor Swift).
Film and TV Industry
Another industry that has given its audiences more power than before is the Film and TV industry. The Internet has allowed audiences to download movies and television shows, meaning more people can have access to them, as they no longer have to purchase a physical copy of the movie/television show to watch it. In addition to this, a lot of pirated websites are available to the audience, meaning that they can view the movies for free illegally. There has also been the explosion in the use of subscription services recently for example Netflix. These subscription services offer the audience an opportunity to watch not only movies from their favourite film producers (e.g Disney, Warner Brothers) but movies created by the subscription service as well, exposing them to new and engaging media that cost them only a small fee each month.
In contrast to this, however, these subscriptions services also mean that the user can 'binge-watch' entire Television Shows at once, which means that the consumer may only use the subscription service to watch their favoured show then cancel their subscription, resulting in the Producer losing opportunities for money. Additionally, a majority of the audience for these subscription services use the service on their handheld devices. This could mean that they view the media on a smaller screen and this could lead to a dissatisfaction with their viewing experience which could be off-putting to the Consumer. This also links to the rise of reboots and remakes, which are not only less interesting but also less satisfying to the audience. The producers make these reboots because they know it will draw audiences in, meaning more people will come back to the franchise to view things related to their favourite franchises (for example Stranger Things; the DC Universe; the Marvel Universe...).
Newspaper Industry
The final industry I will talk about today is the Newspaper Industry. Thanks to the internet, audiences can access news quickly and easily directly from their phones so news can get to Consumers much quicker. Since social media allows Consumers to reach large audiences quickly, it means the Consumers can share news as its happening, just by pulling out their phones and hitting record. Thereby creating citizen journalists. This rise in citizen journalism produces news a lot quicker and in more detail, which wouldn't be achieved if there was a standard reporter at work as they may get to the location of interest too late. The introduction of the internet results in news becoming free to read, meaning a wider audience can be reached.
In opposition to this, the fact that anybody can become a citizen journalist means that there is less demand for actual journalists, as the same information can be found in the information citizen journalists provide. however, citizen journalism is often viewed as fake or untrustworthy. But a lot of the time, citizen news is factually incorrect or completely false, but many consumers still believe this incorrect news, which could lead to people becoming worried about something that isn't true.
--
In conclusion, I believe that the internet has given audiences more power than ever before since they can now affect how industries earn their money; produce media and work in general. Although the internet has had some negative effect on that both consumers and producers, those negative effects are mainly there because of the power audiences have, further establishing the fact that audiences have power.
Written By Aishwarya Odedra
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