They may not quite be dead yet, but it’s time we all admit that the old school ways of getting our music, TV and movies are changing quickly.
Remember when you used to have to go to the local cinema to see a new flick? Or you needed to amble over to the record store to pick up a new album? Or, hey, it was necessary to even turn on your TV at a specific hour to see your favorite show?
That’s no longer the case.
Netflix and Hulu 2 are giving consumers full seasons of shows to binge watch while hinting that there’s no need to keep forking out big bucks to stay connected to cable anymore. Musical artists such as Beyoncè are dropping new albums to the tune of a million sales in six days and sneering, We don’t need no stinkin’ record company.
Almost everything you want media-wise is pretty much as close as your computer, tablet or phone nowadays and available at nearly anytime of the day or night. And it’s only going to get moreso.
Case in point: Joss Whedon’s new written and produced indie flick In Your Eyes. The Avengers creative force premiered this quirky sci-fier at the Tribeca Film Festival recently—generally a place where filmmakers go to find willing movie theater distributors—and then immediately announced that he was bypassing theaters altogether and sending it directly to the public. Rather than having to visit the box office, the eager masses only need to seek out Vimeo’s fledgling digital rental service and pay a meager $5.
“It’s not the normal traditional indie model, and for me as a filmmaker, it’s thrilling that there’s more options,” said In Your Eyes director Brin Hill in a usatoday.com article. “And I’m blessed to be working with somebody who’s a loud voice.”
And there’s the key to it all at this stage of things—that “loud voice.” Admittedly this isn’t the first time a straight-to-digital deal has happened, of course. But Whedon is simply one more person with big-name clout who’s making it good and plain that seeing a movie in the theater and waiting for months to watch it at home is an experience that’s potentially on its way out.
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