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The entertainment industry has been around since the dawn of human history. In medieval times, it can exist in the form of court jesters entertaining the court with jokes or gladiators battling each other to death in a colosseum. As civilisation progresses, entertainment develops into storytelling, drama, movies and grown more sophisticated over time. The advance in technology in the last century has even enable the industry to record and sell entertainment products at a scale unlike anything before. It is an incredibly fast-changing and brutal industry, where trends can make or break a company in a blink of an eye.
Having recently joined Rakuten Viki as a Product Manager, it became important for me to understand the industry so I can build the right product to help the business succeed. A long list of questions starts to form in my mind:
- What are the economics of entertainment industry in the last century?
- What are the revenue streams of a modern content studio?
- Why is power concentrated in a few big studios/labels?
- Why are broadcasters often content producer too?
