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Striking Out for Unknown Country

I don’t quite have enough to put all my thoughts in order here, but I’m interested in the near-simultaneous news that Paul McCartney’s teaming up with HP to post a large archive of material online, Ed Burns is making a low-budget movie for television, and Kristen Bell is insisting that she’d bankroll a Veronica Mars movie out of her own pocket.There are obvious and substantial advantages to work with large companies that specialize in the production and release of films and music. Those companies have facilities, staff, specialized marketers, market researchers, and capacity to offset disasters and absorb losses. But film and music aren’t capable of only making money for artists or companies that specialize in distributing art. It makes sense to me that other kinds of companies might want in on media markets, that television companies who are willing to drop $20 million on a 70-minute pilot for a television series might decide to go ahead and compete and just start making movies. I have the sense that the market for all kinds of media could get much more diffuse, exciting and competitive, but I’m not quite sure I can see exactly how it’ll happen. If I did, of course, I’d be investing, rather than typing.

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