As digital platforms have grown over the years, entertainment as a whole had continued to shift in the direction of digital change too – online streaming had replaced traditional television and for some the cinema too, online poker replaces card games at the table, and online music led to the fall of other media types like the CD too. Will the digital space only growing over time too, there are those that seek comfort in something more tactile, particularly over the past couple of years where options to do otherwise were quite limited.
During the past two years during the global health crisis, one industry in particular saw this more than others with the growing demand for physical book sales once again – online bookstores reported that sales have increased dramatically for both adult and children’s categories as opposed to the growing desire for eBooks and with many opening their doors once again had seen similar reports of increasing numbers of individuals frequenting these stores to both read and buy –whilst not entirely a huge market on its own, it has been an indication that there may be something changing for many looking to step away from digital only solutions.
(Image from printweek.com)
The same has also been true for the box office, in 2020 it was announced that a number of big studios would commit primarily to streaming first releases given the difficulty to physically attend a cinema, and the box office as a whole had been seeing deteriorating numbers over time too although some new releases did manage to break records. In a similar vein, with the roll around of the new year and a return to normal, many reported attendance to cinema and theatre increasing dramatically with a desire to have this more engaging experience once again, the studios that had committed to streaming first releases renewed their focus for the box office and the shift to offline priority occurred.
Whilst there are many different niches that will very much remain a digital forward approach, particularly with the likes of gaming and music as their online presence seems unlikely to shift, there are opportunities for more traditional forms of entertainment offline to emerge once more and find growing success for those that have become disenchanted with the prevalent digital landscape and yearn for something different – but also providing the opportunity for different sub-genres to emerge and capture an ever growing audience away from our smart devices and technology that have become something of a dependance.