From the earliest days of film, television, and music, the media industry has been inextricably linked to technological progress. Today as the industry experiences a profound shift, technology continues to change where and how media is made.
Post-production for many film and television projects has become progressively tech-heavy. From CGI to sound mixing to lighting effects to editing, post-production plays an often unsung crucial part of the media process. Many of these roles require specialised equipment and specialist experience to be done properly, and we have seen expert companies emerge and take space around the world to carry out these tasks – Weta Digital in New Zealand, for instance, which did most of the ground-breaking effects on The Lord of the Rings films.
It’s not only the production of media that is changing with technology, but also the distribution methods. Customers were increasing their use of streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify even before the pandemic, but with lockdown restrictions in place, streaming services globally saw increases in subscriptions and usage.
Netflix alone added 15.77 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2020, according to MarketWatch. These increases slowed from June to September as live sports returned to the airwaves and lockdowns lifted in some regions, but we’ve still seen these companies increase their office space to cope with their growth – Netflix, for example, is reported to have committed to trebling its London HQ to approximately 100,000 sq ft.
As cinemas remain closed in many countries, production companies have released films straight to streaming in an effort to recoup production costs, increase revenue and reach an increased number of subscribers, with varying degrees of success.
This does pose questions over the resilience of cinemas as physical destinations in the immediate term, but we anticipate that there will still be demand for a ‘big screen’ experience post-pandemic.
While the increased use of tech in film and television production has centralised the industry, increasing tech in music has had a more democratising effect. Using relatively inexpensive equipment and computer programmes, artists are able to record and produce music at home, all without having to book studio time.
That being said, there is still demand for specialist recording studios and spaces which, while suffering during Covid-19, have a long-term future.
The music industry was one of the first to be altered by the shift to streaming, with consumers turning to music subscriptions rather than purchasing physical copies. In response, artists are leveraging technology to identify and connect with audiences, from increased listener data analytics in streaming apps, to live-streaming performances and increased social media engagement.
In the offices sector, we anticipate to see growing demand for space as companies in this area grow rapidly. For instance, UK-based based Audio Network (a music production company that provides original, high-quality music for broadcasters, brand creators and music fans) was acquired by media giant Entertainment One for approximately $215 million in April 2019, showing the confidence in the sector.
Increased media streaming, computer-heavy production and post-production processes and storage of these files will only increase the need for programmers, visual effects artists and other IT professionals to ensure that the new media environment continues to function.
Whether our Covid-reality becomes the new normal or we return to a pre-pandemic way of life, media technologies and innovation, and their real estate requirements, are here to stay.
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