Streaming is an affront to God
Trouble arrived early in the 21st century, when upstart companies powered by new digital technologies began to challenge the status quo. Entertainment executives reflexively dismissed the threat. Netflix was “a channel, not an alternative.” Amazon Studios was “in way over their heads.” YouTube? No self-respecting artist would ever use a DIY platfor... See more
Michael D. Smith • Are Universities Going the Way of CDs and Cable TV?
I think all of this feels more natural to people who are immersed in the fine art market, or the market for rare limited-edition sneakers, etc. (I am not!) These are markets in which scarcity by design is a huge part of the fun, and that’s not true for all, or even most, markets for creative work. (I’m thinking of the market for, say, streaming TV ... See more
Robin Sloan • A coat check ticket, a magic spell
Will Tavlin in N+1 on how Netflix has moved towards forgettable, low-end-of-middlebrow content. This is a function of the invisible base rates problem: when Netflix launched its streaming service, it was great for people who loved movies; these people raved to their friends who merely liked movies, and there are simply more people with taste close ... See more
But God, that loss— that feeling . I am grieving something I never knew. I am grieving that giddy excitement over waiting for and playing a new vinyl for the first time, when now we instantly stream songs on YouTube, use Spotify with no waiting, and skip impatiently through new albums. I am grieving the anticipation of going to the movies, when all... See more
Freya India • A Time We Never Knew
For news, we demand to know what is happening this very second, not an hour ago. Unless it occurs in real time, it does not exist. The corollary—and this is important—is that in order to operate in real time, everything has to flow. For instance, watching movies on demand means movies must flow. Like most families who subscribe to Netflix, our fami
... See moreKevin Kelly • The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future
Digital platforms take away agency from the business owners, pressuring them to follow in lockstep rather than pursue their own creative whims.