The entertainment industry is that sector of the economy dedicated to the generation of cultural products for people to consume in their leisure or recreation time.
In other words, the entertainment industry includes all those economic activities that seek to meet the public’s demand for entertainment. Thus, they provide people with something interesting to see or do.
Within the entertainment industry we can include cinema, theater, television, newspapers, magazines, music or video games, among many others.
Characteristic
Among the characteristics of the entertainment industry we can highlight:
- It is for-profit, that is, the companies dedicated to this activity have the objective of generating profits.
- It is a very diverse industry, where everything from media, such as newspapers or magazines, to audiovisual products such as series or movies are marketed.
- The entertainment industry also includes those activities that can be done outdoors, such as going to a theme park, going camping or attending a sporting event in an open space.
- It is an industry that is in demand from all social sectors.
- As we mentioned previously, cultural products are commercialized in the entertainment industry, and this is usually related to the arts (theater, dance, etc). However, this sector also includes nightlife entertainment spaces such as bars, discos or karaoke bars.
- It is an industry that offers experiences.
- It moves large amounts of money, as the case of Hollywood demonstrates.
- Your products can have a social or political message, and with that create trends.
- Many times it is not possible to know what the demand for the product is until it is launched on the market. Think of movies made into theaters, whose attendance may be higher or lower than expected to recover the investment.
History of the entertainment industry
The history of the entertainment industry can be traced back to the dawn of civilization. The shows at the Roman Colosseum could perfectly fit into this category.
However, the true emergence of this sector began in the 19th century. With the spread of literacy, more and more people were able to consume newspapers and magazines, many of them with social and political content.
At the end of the 19th century, there were two important innovations, the cinema and the automobile, which were increasingly reaching a wider audience.
Then, in the 20th century, radio and television appeared, bringing entertainment to homes. Similarly, all the devices that allowed the reproduction of music, such as turntables, did so.
Later, in the second half of the 20th century, new entertainment options continued to develop and travel and tourism became more common.
Since the end of the 20th century, with the appearance of the Internet, information technologies have been taking a more prominent place in entertainment. Thus, in the 21st century we have social networks and streaming platforms as one of the main sources of entertainment that can be consumed even from mobile phones.
As we can see, we have gone from massive live shows to entertainment from the screens of electronic devices, and in the future virtual reality will surely bring new alternatives to enjoy recreational and/or cultural activities at a distance. However, there will always be outdoor activities, such as mountain climbing or adventure tourism, which are also part of the entertainment industry.
