Top Articles: Breaking Down the Streaming Wars

Studio companies are quickly launching streaming platforms because they fear established modes of production and distribution may become obsolete. There is a major shift happening as the culture industries move from the mass media logic of Hollywoods manufacturing economy to the social media logic of Silicon Valleys tech platform economy. Streaming platforms from the tech world have years of head start on the traditional studios, not because of superior content or because they were first, but because they earned valuable data from being direct-to-consumer.

The Evolution of Streaming Video Services, in 4 ChartsBy Lucinda Southern from DigidayThe rise of streaming platforms has occurred within the last decade and its clearly one of the biggest disruptions to the media industry. To help navigate the landscape, Digiday has put together a guide that explain whats happening in the streaming wars for publishers and advertisers. The market is by no means clear cut and is highly complex.

But these graphs give a nice snapshot of current market trends.Data Can Enhance Creative Projects Just Look at NetflixBy Michael D. Smith and Rahul Telang from Harvard Business ReviewTech companies are dominating the streaming wars.

Netflix and Amazon realized years ago what the traditional media companies did not: data is more valuable than franchises. Hollywood is now scrambling and releasing their own streaming platforms in an attempt to compete with Silicon Valley, but the tech platforms years of accumulated data make it very difficult for traditional media companies to catch up.Disneys Reported Streaming Service Plans Show the Company Is Sticking with What Already WorksBy Chaim Gartenberg from The VergeDisneys new streaming service will rely heavily on remakes and extensions of existing brands instead of original content.

There is no argument that this has worked for Disney in the past and in the present with their new live action adaptations of classic movies. But streaming is another beast where more of the same is quickly snuffed out. Successful modern streaming platforms and tech companies never do the same thing for long.

However, content is still ultimately king, so if anyone can make this old model work, its probably Disney. But at least they recognize the value of direct-to-consumer data now.Netflix Heats Up Battle for Hollywood TalentBy Kevin Tran from Business InsiderWhen producing with a streaming service, there is a level of creative freedom that creators dont get from media companies.

This is why so many top talents like Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy are joining the Netflix family. Moreover, this is not a new move for the streaming platform. Back in 2011, Netflix did made a very similar play with David Fincher.

The result was House of Cards, which became the first online-online TV series to receive major award nominations. Netflix has been playing this game much longer than the other studios, and they know how to win.Magic Leap Promises Live-Streamed Holograms within Five YearsBy Lauren Goode from The VergeIt is currently possible to stream content in VR, so a leap to holograms is not such a leap, right?

Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz and NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced their intentions to stream NBA games in holographic form. While not entirely ground-breaking, this announcement does indicate where up-and-coming tech companies believe the future of streaming and content is headed. Volumetric video has certainly been seen in science fiction movies, but is it a stretch to think we can have in half a decade?

Well see.Welcome to the Post-Text FutureBy Farhad Manjoo from The New York TimesThe NYT put together an interesting article examining the digital innovations that are replacing text content. When the internet was first launched, text was the only medium that computers could support.

Now that we have given machines eyes and ears to understand visual images and voice patterns, media will no longer need text.Curated by Hadley Stork RELATED QUESTION What's the meaning of Sia's Chandelier song? Before Chandelier, Sia was a singer with mediocre success.

She was really struggling to push her career when she lost her partner to an accident. She got addicted to drugs, suffered depression and even wrote a suicide note. Drugs and alcohol were her only coping mechanisms.

This song is about the time she was addicted to alcohol and drugs and her struggle to get out of it. In an interview, Sia said that she always knew she was a drinker and that she must stop, her guilt, shame is what the following lyrics suggest:- Sun is up, I'm a mess Gotta get out now, gotta run from this Here comes the shame, here comes the shame . but, out of peer pressure phones blowing up, they're ringing my door bells, I feel the love .

she did not stop. 1,2,3 . 1,2,3 drink throw them back till I lose count The only time she could escape from reality was when she was high, under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

She could be carefree, live like tomorrow didn't exist. I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist Like it doesn't exist I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night Chandelier is ultimately a brutally honest tale of substance abuse. Sia wrote the song for Rihanna but I am so glad that she kept this one for herself.