Physical media was a cash cow for movie studios, who could sell a single film to the same consumer multiple times. Let’s say you loved The Lion King in a world before streaming: you might be paying Disney for a movie ticket, a VHS tape, a DVD, a Blu-ray, and now a 4K disc. That’s at least $100 of Lion King spending. Many films enjoyed active second lives on DVD and VHS, with hit titles grossing over $500M in additional revenue for Hollywood studios.
Source: The Rise, Fall, and (Slight) Rise of DVDs: A Statistical Analysis
The deal establishes EVEN as a direct-to-fan resource for UMG, providing the major’s labels and artists with “turnkey” tools for engaging superfans through early access to music, exclusive content, and community features. The agreement will also allow UMG artists to offer physical music and merchandise through EVEN using UMG’s global D2C, vinyl, and merch infrastructure.
The sides will be negotiating in a Hollywood far different from 2023. Production has slowed significantly industrywide, as many entertainment companies struggle to adjust to the streaming world. Work has dried up for many actors, writers and directors. At the same time, the rise of generative artificial intelligence has become more central.
ElevenLabs, the company that offers automated AI-voice generated audiobook production, has consolidated their services under the brand Audiobooks in ElevenCreative. The move signals the well-funded company’s commitment to the sector, or what Madeline Shue, head of growth and publisher partnerships at ElevenLabs, called a “doubling-down on audiobooks.”
The genre may be especially vulnerable to disruption by A.I., for all the reasons that readers love it. Romance relies on familiar narrative formulas, like the guarantee of an “H.E.A.” or “happily ever after.” And romance novels are often built around popular plot tropes — like enemies-to-lovers or forced proximity — that can be fed into a chatbot.