The media and entertainment industry has experienced a major shift to online due to the COVID-19 pandemic and keeps steadily developing in this direction. Media and entertainment software development services are in high demand, facilitating rapid industry growth. Like any fast-growing niche, digital media and entertainment are being shaped by some distinctive trends.
Experts from AnyforSoft, a trusted media and entertainment software company, share six trends in digital media and entertainment they’ve been watching this year and that are likely to stay.
1. Video/Audio Streaming
Streaming services have been all the rage over the last few years and don’t seem to seize growing their subscriber base. Fair enough, since streaming services deliver music and videos faster while taking up little storage space compared to downloading content. They allow users to control what they watch and when, and catch up on their old faves on their own schedule. Moreover, streaming platforms are available on Android and Apple devices, smart TVs, and game consoles.
Streaming services are definitely here to stay, with the competition among providers becoming more and more intense. However, fierce competition in the world of streaming services will only mean that the services will become more user-oriented, with vendors struggling to provide better experiences than their competitors.
2. Extended Reality (XR)
The entertainment industry was one of the first to be disrupted by extended reality technology. Since the latter is developing at a blistering pace, entertainment quickly catches up with changes to offer users more thrilling products. Extended reality has become an integral part of video gaming, making it more exciting and immersive. The latest features that became available thanks to VR and AR include smooth multiplayer gaming, 360-degree gameplay, unique on-location setups, and the ability to perform actions by physically moving your body.
However, the use of XR in entertainment has gone far beyond gaming. Seeking to incorporate new technologies to cater to the needs of today’s picky users, theme parks have also become massive adopters of XR. Extended reality not only helps them drive more visitors craving to try out the cutting-edge attractions but also reduces costs and minimizes risks.
3. Special Focus On Gaming
Video games constitute the largest segment of the digital media and entertainment market and don’t seem to lose this title. Video gaming is no longer a pastime exclusively for the young — according to the Statista 2022 survey, 36% of players in the US are between 18 and 34 y.o. and 6% are 65 and older. For the gaming industry, it means tapping into audiences capable of making in-game purchases, which drives providers to work hard to enhance gaming experiences and treat users to fresh, exciting virtual adventures.
4. Play-To-Earn Games
The world is slowly going crypto, with the entertainment sector not lagging behind. For the last several years, blockchain-backed games, also known as play-to-earn (P2E), have been getting enormous attention from consumers and investors.
P2E games reward players with digital cash or NFT (non-fungible tokens). Accumulating assets that have real-world value while having fun is the primary reason why P2E games are so popular. Without any doubt, their future is bright.
5. Wide Adoption of AI
Along with other industries, artificial intelligence (AI) is steadily disrupting the media and entertainment landscape. The core functions of AI in media and entertainment are recommendation, voice recognition, and media automation. Streaming providers are known to have heavily invested in recommendation technology to deliver recommendations more efficiently and accurately, and it has driven spectacular results — for instance, according to Netflix, 80% of its content delivery is achieved through recommendation.
Today, more and more consumers prefer the convenience of communication with services through voice commands, driving media and entertainment companies to look for ways to enhance their voice recognition algorithms.
Finally, AI is used for predictive analytics. In other words, artificial intelligence helps identify what type of content is preferred by audiences, which allows media companies to tailor their offerings and take their marketing efforts to a new level.
6. Social Media 2.0
Although social media have constantly been changing, shifting their focus from communication through blogging to visual content, today’s conscious media consumers want more. The first thing that can’t go unnoticed is that content tends to come in small, easy-to-share chunks, such as short TikTok videos or tweets, where it is not just passively consumed but also widely discussed.
However, social media 2.0 is not only about the format of the content. Its advent is shaped by the need to minimize adverse effects associated with traditional social media, including data privacy concerns, fake news, and opportunities it gives to bullying.
Parting Thoughts
The media and entertainment industry thrives, eagerly absorbing the latest technology developments like AI, blockchain, and XR. It is becoming more consumer-centered than ever, driving huge audiences and massive investments.
