Mathew Ball’s excellent article explores the failure of traditional media companies to recognize pressing risks to their businesses due to the upheaval in content distribution systems. The article makes the argument that technological changes are driving a wholesale shift in content distribution infrastructure. I’ve also addressed this topic in an article of my own. Mr….
DISTRIBUTION 101: A Very Brief History of Civilization
This is the first of a three-part series by Rodric David For over 5000 years technological advances that disrupt and improve the efficiency of the distribution of goods, services, and information have spurred the advancement of civilization. Written language is believed to have been invented in Mesopotamia around 3200 BC creating the first method of recording…
THE BACKLOT: ROBBIE MADDISON
By Rodric David Last August, legendary Australian motorcycle stunt rider Robbie Maddison spent the day at Thunder Studios filming for a Kia campaign with Blake Griffin. Maddo is probably best known to American audiences for breaking the world record for distance jumping live on ESPN on the 40th anniversary of Evel Knieval’s jump over…
Does Copyright Matter in the Digital Age?
By Rodric David Irving Azoff, famed entertainment executive and musician manger, intensified his campaign against YouTube with a barrage of tweets on June 22, including a declaration of his support for the initiative of 180+ recording artists who had recently published an open letter to Congress. The letter lobbies for an update to the nearly 20 year…
The Backlot: Tyga Test Drives My Tesla
Before filming with Justin Bieber in November 2013, Tyga took my new Tesla for a spin. It was November 2013 when Tyga and Justin Bieber headed down to Thunder Studios to film the video for their single “Wait for a Minute”. The studio phones started running hot that morning after the “Beliebers” caught wind…
DISTRIBUTION 102: Media, Movies, and Mobiles
This is the second of a three-part series by Rodric David Historically we have viewed distribution primarily as the physical movement of goods. This changed in 1440 with the invention of the Printing Press by Johannes Gutenberg which enabled knowledge and information to be distributed on a large scale. The printing press was the foundation…
Paywalls and Gaming: The Canary in the Coal Mine?
Paywalls in Gaming could predict the future of the entire content business. Blocking audiences from exploring content through subscription paywalls can be a double edged sword. There has been enormous consumer backlash against subscription fees (over $100/ year) for Xbox Live and PSN, and it took years for irate Xbox owners to actually be able…
The Backlot: Ken Block’s Gymkhana Eight Livery
This 650 HP Ford Fiesta glows in the dark and goes 0-60 in under 2 seconds Wowza, check out Ken Block’s insanely exciting Gymkhana Eight: Ultimate Exotic Playground; Dubai filmed in my old UAE stomping grounds. Just wait until you see Ken Block’s Ford Fiesta obliterate a Bugatti Veyron in a drag race before drifting its…
Great content? That’s only the half of it.
The next ten years of wealth creation in media will equally be determined by mastery of emerging platforms. By Rodric David OVUM, a leading analyst house across converging media, telecoms, and IT markets, recently released its research analysis on the coming 10 years in the media business from the consumer perspective. Based on the content…
DISTRIBUTION 103: The Tipping Point
By Rodric David I believe that we are now at the tipping point of massive change in the global distribution of video content in all its forms. Within the next 10 years I predict the complete overhaul of global video content distribution which will radically change the way we consume it and the way we…