Audience Power Essay

“The internet has given audiences much more power than ever before.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?



I agree, that new digital media has given audiences more power than ever before. With constant access to news and media, audiences are in a position where they have the power to share or produce anything they want. This means they can share their opinions in the comment section, express their agreements through re-tweets or even make their own thoughts public through forums and articles. Consumers are becoming prosumers due to the rapidly increasing number of 'User Generated Content'(UGC). Essentially, the audience has a lot more power.

In the music industry, the availability of computers and sophistication of home recording equipment and software has led to a rise in 'bedroom bands'. This is where wannabe musicians record and upload music from their homes: it's inexpensive and easier to do than getting signed by a big record label(e.g. Syco). An example of a successful 'bedroom band' is "Walk Off The Earth". One of their covers of a popular song went viral; now the original video has been viewed 180 million times and their channel has over 2 million subscribers. Although this allows aspiring artists to produce music for little money, it also means there is a lot of competition and it is harder to get noticed. There has also been a growth in the number of illegal downloads. As there is such a large number of UGC, it becomes harder for big industries to spot all of the piracy and it is getting increasingly difficult for these incidents to stop. Industries have less power and producers are losing a lot of money. Audiences have access to a lot of content(roughly 100 hours of music is uploaded per minute) through streaming sites(e.g. Spotify) and illegal downloads but as a result, many established artists are losing money and some have even banned streaming sites from using their music. For example, Taylor Swift staged a three year boycott on Spotify. Therefore, in the music industry, the audience has a lot of power and many consumers have the potential to become prosumers.

In film and television, TV shows and movies are available to watch at anytime, unlike before when you had to make an "appointment to view". Now, through platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer etc... audiences can watch shows whenever they want and they don't need to schedule a regular time for TV shows. These digital subscriptions are becoming extremely popular and Netflix currently has 109.25 million subscribers. The popularity of these sites means they are able to make their own original content. As a result,there is more choice for audiences. Subscription services still cost money so more people are using illegal software such as Showbox and Putlocker. Cinemas and DVD's are less popular and cinemas are losing approximately £220 million a year due to piracy. The changes in the film and TV industry are beneficial to the audience but they have a  detrimental effect on the producers. TV shows and movies are available to watch on a range of devices such as laptops, phones, televisions etc...  and therefore are more available for a wider audience. They can now be seen on mobiles so shows are watched more often; anywhere with an internet connection. This makes more money for producers as their shows are being streamed more often and creates a wider range audience. Although being able to watch more shows seems like a good idea in theory, it can also lead to 'binge-watching'. This is when audiences watch several episodes in rapid succession with little or no breaks. This can cause problems mentally, make the viewers more antisocial and sitting in one position for a long time can have drastic effects. 

The internet has even managed to affect aspects such as the news. Along with a rise in social media, there's also been a rise in 'citizen journalism'. Easy access to social media means people can reach a large audience in a short time, meaning news can be broadcast as it is happening. This means anyone has the ability to share news and become a citizen journalism. This sudden rise in citizen journalism means news is easier to access but on the other hand, it also means news is less reliable. Everyone can produce news and it's harder to differentiate between reliable news and "fake news"-a phrase that is becoming more and more common. As many people believe everything they see on a screen, it's easier to spread lies and inaccurate facts.

In conclusion, I believe the internet has given audiences more power than ever as audiences now have the ability to become prosumers and also affect the success and income of industries. The power that the audience has been given can have both positive and negative effects.