Why are we creating content?

Obviously, the question sounds silly, but think of this for a moment…  

What is content creation for? Creative urge, passion, expression, appreciation? What about making content and incurring losses at the same time?  

Millions of people worldwide are involved in content creation as their livelihood. All of them would say it’s impossible to create content without any monetary compensation, especially considering the time and money consumed. It is much more than personal feelings. It must be considered a business.  

This is called the ‘Content economy’.  

Today, the content produced is meant to be watched by enough audiences to make it profitable in any kind of business model. Only then can the circle be completed.  

In India, before the year 2000, the content-making community was distinct, and there was a clear line between the creators and consumers. There were people working for production companies, movies produced and distributed, TV shows produced and telecasted. That ecosystem still exists, but with the rise of digital media and YouTube, the line started blurring, and users began making content called ‘UGC, User-generated content’.  

This was the birth of ‘Content democracy’, which means consumers became an active part of the content economy.  

Content makers, whether pros or newly emerged content creators, all wanted audience engagement.  

Two distinct clans emerged: one considered masters of content and the other experimenting with different possibilities. Both realized the need for change.

Pros needed to create content for consumers in simpler formats and genres, whereas newbies needed to create content professionally with technical standards. That’s how UGC became ‘PGUC, Professionally generated user content’. 

Content started appearing in many forms and shapes: Long-form, Short-form, skits, sketches, recipes, vlogs, edutainment, infotainment, all at once. As the media and entertainment industry gained recognition in India, thousands of students enrolled in media-related courses, hoping to make it big in the industry.  

Content democracy is maturing, thanks to the new breed of content creators. But ultimately, the end of the funnel is the same audience whose screen-time is limited. As Netflix founder Reed Hastings famously said, their biggest rival is ‘sleep’.  

Therefore, audience screen time has now become the most valuable commodity. In India, somewhere around 4 to 6 hours per day, including all digital screens, is the approximate daily screen time of a viewer.  

There is limited time and space; everyone cannot fit in. Hence, some would grab the space for long, and others would take turns in short.  

It’s not only entertainment but also news, sports, gaming, and education sectors that are eating into screen-time. A humongous amount of content is produced and bombarded on viewers, but very little of it is watched in pieces and pockets. This effectively reduces revenue, often causing losses. It is significant when content costs are rising day by day, and only part of it is being recovered. Viewers are baffled while selecting what to watch—’Paradox of Choice’.  

Not to forget, there is linear TV and theatrical movies, including outdoor activities.  

The two clans, veteran masters of content makers and the maturing army of indie creators, YouTubers, influencers, etc., are facing each other at the moment where everybody is stuck.  

A few of them, the top brass, have been successful in grabbing opportunities and expanding their business. Except for a few like Netflix, the majority of global studios and companies are trying to control the situation by various means.  

Everyone is facing the same question:  

Why are we making content if there is no prospect for growth?  

The solution may lie in ‘Content innovation’. It could have many aspects:  

• AR & VR are helping in entertainment, gaming, sports, etc. It could expand to news and reality shows too.  
• AI-assisted/generated content may bring some new dimensions.  

The two clans that we earlier discussed may shake hands on a broader scale and become partners in the mainstream. Coming out of the close circle comfort zone and exploring, hiring the best talent could prove beneficial to media companies.  

On the distribution front, connected TVs and FAST channels are making inroads. Consolidation of companies/studios is inevitable. Recently, Disney+ Hulu and Max (WBD) announced a streaming bundle with ad-supported and ad-free plans in the US. Exploring this kind of syndication could be useful for Indian niche streaming platforms without any third-party super-aggregator. 

A similar solution could be adapted by various independent creators too since no one could survive alone in the long term. Instead, various creators from similar genres can work as a team, making it sustainable.  

One size doesn’t fit all!

One business model doesn’t fit everywhere. Consumption patterns change country-wise. A mix of global and local content is important (including English and other international languages). India has multiple layers: Global, Hindi, Regional, and Dialects.  

Socio-economic conditions play a crucial role in deciding business models. Media giants have already realized it and are experimenting with different models in different parts of the world.  

India has around 90 Cr. net users, and we are transitioning to 5G, probably to 6G in the near future. Per month per person, data usage has gone upwards to 24 GB. Considering India is a mobile-driven market, one cannot think of content alone without TMT—Tech, Media, and Telecom. The world’s top 2 successful media platforms, YouTube & Netflix, have tech and telecom behind their success.  

Data sharing amongst media companies is extremely difficult since everybody is super-protective about their data. It’s fine to a certain extent, but defying the root cause, finding the solution to the content issue can be through sharing data. The data can provide valuable insights to all parties.  

Content making involves precious resources, including energy. Wastage of content due to lack of viewership is an issue that has to be addressed properly. It is high time when instead of running ‘Content Mills’, we focus our resources, creative or otherwise, on finding and filling the gaps between content and audience.  

As the late actor Irrfan Khan once said in an interview, “The audience is ready, makers are not…”