I'm sure you can all remember when cassettes fased out and CD's became popular. Then the VHS and VCR were cool until the DVD and DVD player came into being.
It seems like a movie is released, then it comes directly to DVD within a few months. I remember a few years back, it took about 6 months for a movie to hit the shelves. So you would go see it in the big theaters, then possibly the dollar theaters, then buy it. Well Brokeback Mountain just came out on DVD and was only released about 2 months ago. So the dollar theaters now pretty much don't have a purpose. The movies are just completely skipping that fase, and it's costing the movie industries money. Sure the people who made the film are making money off of the DVD, but the theaters themselves are left in a pile of rut for that movie. It makes you wonder if the box office numbers are dropping, and if we will even have movie theaters in the future. You can easily get online and download movies onto your computer and just watch them. I think it will be interesting to see what happens in the future of movie theaters, especially since their prices keep going up.
As for CD's, mp3's are starting to take over in this technological world. With programs like ITUNES and the IPOD it's hard for CD's to compete. You can easily get all of the songs you want downloaded directly to your desktop computer, transfer it to a music player, and then be on the go. The music industry has said that it is affecting sales, not drastically, but it could happen. Most people say it's easier to have all of the songs you want in one thing rather than to have to keep changing the CD after every song. Besides, you only have to buy the songs that you want!
So what is the future of these two things? No one knows, but I think it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
The music industry is more corrupt than most 3rd world country officials. Who cares? We have artists who have no talent (COUGH BRITNEY SPEARS COUGH...ahem.) and they make millions. Plus, not all the songs are good on a cd...I can remember a ton of cd's that I bought that had only one or two good songs on them. Well THAT was a waste of 20 bucks. Plus look at the entertainment industry these days in the first place--I think it's been blown out of proportion. People like Paris Hilton are getting millions just to show up to certain clubs, who have all this money, then who hoard it like old men and their inheritance. If you read Cosmopolitan you would find articles from time to time with anonymous stories about some celebrities acting like they normally do--greedy, pushy, diva all the way. While it doesn't state their names, the things you read about are so horrific you would never be able to look at celebrities the same way again. (Not to mention that the music industry is a big supporter, if not had been built on, gangs and drug trafficking)
So who cares if they are losing some money. Good. Teach them to put out better music then some of the crap thats out there.
"Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity"
-Albert Einstein
I don't know. I think it is wrong for them to do that to the theaters. I always enjoyed going. Well, i guess that is ended. any ways its stupid you can download movies off the iternet too. They lose money that way.
Theaters won't go out of business, at least not all of them. Despite how quickly a movie goes to DVD, not everyone is equipped with the gigantic screens and blasting audio a theater provides. And while box office numbers are down -- I think it has more to do with the quality (and monotony) of "blockbusters" than DVD releases. I think the future will see a decline in the theaters reign, but not a total elimination.
As for music...
The music industry has been price fixing for quite a while now. Seriously, I can buy 100 CDs for less than $50 online and yet the music industry insists that the price of CDs can't drop. Add in the new technology that allows a band to record an EP at home for far less than a big budget artists and what do you get? People sick to death of crappy, over-produced music when you can surf the net and find a great indy band in any genre who lets you download their songs for free.
The music industry has taken some huge hits. Record sales are down by about 20%! For example, Prince's new album recently debuted at No. 1 with a whopping 183,000 units sold. Remember when No. 1 records sold millions of units a week? No wonder the industry has their panties in a bunch. But I feel that that is what they get for price gouging for so long. I was actually a member of a class action law suit suing top music industry players while in college and received $14 (the price of a new CD). So as for music -- I think CDs will fade into oblivion with 8 tracks and the phonograph. And the music industry doesn't have very long to get their act together.
And by the way Mr. Music Exec, $1 per song is ridiculous -- I will keep downloading free music until the industry makes music affordable (not to mention pleasing to my ear) again.
I was just thinking the exact same thing before logging on. I was thinking if I had children one day, would they want me to buy every new CD that came out for an exorbitant $9.99. My parents surely didn't buy me any new CDs. Then, I thought what if CDS weren't around when my children are older and start developing music tastes. That would probably be around 2025 to 2030, and new technology would probably make CDs (and movie theatres) obsolete. So I totally understand your concerns on the future existence of these technologies. Also, I just realized, I will be old in 2030!
-Oz
i think that movie theaters are still really popular. everyone loves the big screen