In our continuous conversation about the changing show business scene, I came across another good article by Dan Farber on zdnet.com about the quick shift in emphasis by Hollywood that has suddenly exploded out this week.
"In some ways, this shift by the networks and studios is driven by a realization that they have to intersect with viewers, especially the younger generation, where they consume media–less newspaper, TV and movie theater and more PCs, mobile devices and place-shifting, such as via the SlingBox.
"In addition, the infusion of so-called user generated content is changing viewing habits, meaning less time devoted to what's produced by mainstream media. In the near term it’s a David and Goliath story, in which every David, or Dianna, has a high tech slingshot loaded with Web pages, blog posts, podcasts and video clips that are competing for attention with what the incumbent salaried media elite produces. YouTube's most viewed video is a three-minute lipsynch to the Pokeman theme song—over 10 million views, nearly 8,000 comments, 19,000 favorites, production cost=zero. The Pokemon franchise might have issues with the music rights, but the amount of brand exposure for Pokemon from is massive."
You have to think of the power of that last insight. A three-minute video was watched over 10 million times on a free site that gave such a promotion for Pokemon that you'd have to be blind not to see the benefit.
In response to Dan's comment that the Pokemon franchise might take issue with music rights, I can only say that if they did, they'd have to be crazy. They need to do nothing but watch a viral campaign that somebody else started promote their product to millions for absolutely nothing. Now we see the power of what is happening. It's only just begun.
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