The chairman of the Entertainment Retailers Association has called on the film, gaming and music industries to be just a little bit more innovative in 2010, urging them to rely less on sequels, heritage acts, back catalogue and Simon Cowell.
Paul Quirk noted that 2009 had been a better year for entertainment retail than most predicted, given the demise of both Woolies and Zavvi at the end of 2008, but he points out that most of the big sellers in terms of DVDs and video games were sequels, while music relied on established acts and the Cowell-led telly talent show machine. This, he fears, is not sustainable long term.
Bigging up his own team, Music Week quote Quirk thus: "Despite the collapse of Woolworths and Zavvi a year ago, 2009 was far better than many expected. More than anything that has been down to a renewed investment by retailers in making product available to the consumer. We've seen new entrants to the music market like Game and Waterstones and Peacocks. We've seen HMV investing in pop-up shops, some of which have now become permanent openings".
But turning his attention to the other parts of the home entertainment industry, he continued: "Retail investment on its own is not sufficient. We need suppliers to be more innovative and deliver new product which really excites the consumer. Retailers are certainly not complaining about the success of Simon Cowell or Harry Potter or 'Call of Duty 2'. Customers love these products and we are here to sell customers what they want. But the sheer dominance of a small number of franchises, the narrowing of the range of creativity and the focus on blockbusters raises real long-term issues. The great strength of the UK entertainment business has always been constant innovation, and we need to recognise that it is that innovation which keeps the public interested".
Though just to be clear, all of this is really the fault of those pesky file-sharers. Stressing his allegiances with the record companies, movie studios and games publishers, he concluded: "It is hard to blame suppliers for not being adventurous when illegal file-sharing makes it ever more difficult for them to recoup their investment in new projects. That is why entertainment retailers are working closely with the film, game and music industries to persuade government that tough action on illegal file-sharing is required now".
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