turns out if you ask the general public "would you like something new or more of the thing you already like?" over and over again you eventually get to here: - ThreadSky

edmorrish.bsky.social • 84 days ago

turns out if you ask the general public "would you like something new or more of the thing you already like?" over and over again you eventually get to here:

Reposted from Jonn Elledge

unnerving realising how few new things we have sometimes isn't it

Comments

edmorrish.bsky.social•84 days ago

which is a bit of a bummer for people who are trying to create new work!!

cromerty.bsky.social•84 days ago

Just be famous and get a children's book ghost written

edmorrish.bsky.social•84 days ago

i'll find another famous person and do a podcast.

credacreda.bsky.social•84 days ago

He says that now. But wait for Mark Thomas: The Manifesto: The Musical

tps2203.bsky.social•84 days ago

On TV most programmes appear to be repeats. And yet the volume of adverts is mammoth.
Who's making all the money?
And do Ofcom ever check how many ads and for how long they last? Isn't there a rule?

cheapshow.bsky.social•84 days ago

Sobering and troubling all at the same time!

soopiya.bsky.social•84 days ago

We used to be world leaders in quiz and game show TV formats. Now we’re bringing back Bullseye and You Bet.

alexvont.bsky.social•84 days ago

I think it’s more a question of asking investors “would you like to take a big risk on a new thing or just trot out some nostalgia stuff that we’re pretty sure will bring in a reliably good return?”

edmorrish.bsky.social•84 days ago

but why is are they sure it'll bring in a reliably good return? because experience tells you that's what people will spend money on. look at operation mincement: a run at the new diorama, stepped up to southwark,then the riverside, then the fortune, then broadway. proved themselves at every step.

edmorrish.bsky.social•84 days ago

so even a 'new' work proves itself a safe bet.

alexvont.bsky.social•84 days ago

Yes, it’s bloody brilliant. To your point, though: obv it can be a chicken & egg argument as to whether the market or the producers are driving conservatism/revivalism. But if audiences are given little access to new art, it’s harder for them to choose it.

edmorrish.bsky.social•84 days ago

well, to zoom out a little, the audience could go and see fringe theatre if they wanted, but they choose to go to a west end show. that's the audience voting with their wallets. and eg only fools and horses would have got loads of reviews because readers will read them, so papers print them.

edmorrish.bsky.social•84 days ago

i'm not naive about this - there's mass-market art and niche art and if you choose to make niche art you are voluntarily accepting a lower wage - but i've been in comedy for over 20 years and i can see it getting ever harder for stuff to work its way up the leagues.

alexvont.bsky.social•84 days ago

Oh, it’s much harder across all the arts. I spoke to a friend in TV comedy yesterday who said his advice to new sitcom writers is to choose a different profession. It’s utterly stifling and now HBO is going to spend the next decade making Harry Potter again 😞

alexvont.bsky.social•84 days ago

There’s probably enough blame to go around for both audiences and producers to have plenty of it. But there are audiences who go exclusively to West End shows - eg bussing in on group trips from out of town - & they are not going to go to fringe stuff instead. They want a lavish night out. >

alexvont.bsky.social•84 days ago

> You might say they would go and see crap anyway, but in the 80s or 90s it would at least have been mostly original crap, not IP retreads.

stephmerritt.bsky.social•84 days ago

Same across the board. Look at all the publishers reviving characters from literary estates, because they’ve decided people are more likely to buy Smiley or Poirot than something they’ve never heard of. But then the marketing spend follows & the new writer never had a chance

edmorrish.bsky.social•84 days ago

but why have they decided that? because of the audience trends! a key part of my original post was: "over and over" - publishers didn't suddenly decide, "let's revive smiley!", they saw the sales of original spy thrillers and classic spy thrillers and thought, "well if that's what they're buying..."

stephmerritt.bsky.social•84 days ago

Yes, though Alex is right - it’s chicken & egg. Less disposable income makes audiences more risk-averse, producers/publishers see that & the money follows. Then it becomes harder to find original stuff, etc etc

magstheobscure.bsky.social•84 days ago

But also Operation Mincemeat starts with an advantage as it's about WW2

eddierobson.bsky.social•84 days ago

Yeah, and the thing is, there are plenty of examples of remakes, revivals and sequels flopping. I think maybe it's that the people commissioning these things will look less foolish if they back something that worked before than something that hasn't.

edmorrish.bsky.social•84 days ago

my secondary thought on seeing those posters is: repeat fees don't go as far as they used to, eh?

alexvont.bsky.social•84 days ago

Very true.

magstheobscure.bsky.social•84 days ago

It's the greige Live, Laugh, Love market that has the spare money.

cnbsg.bsky.social•84 days ago

With sky high ticket price it’s understandable. Family of four can easily spend £300 on tix alone - people are not willing to risk that on something new.

neal55.bsky.social•84 days ago

Has humanity had all the new ideas? Is imagination finished?

oldnorthroad.bsky.social•84 days ago

No, but the desire for the familiar is understandable in scary times (although I don’t really feel it myself). Perhaps when there is once again scope to imagine a better future we’ll get the art appropriate to that hope.

tamsinwilson.bsky.social•84 days ago

It might be that familiar makes an easy sell for a Christmas present?

edmorrish.bsky.social•84 days ago

yes, that is very much implied by my post that it is easier to get people to spend money on these things than on other things they haven't heard of.

tamsinwilson.bsky.social•84 days ago

Ha, sorry. I read it first as 'only these shows are getting made', rather than these are present fodder.

wonkypops.bsky.social•84 days ago

Isn't it also to do with targeting the demographics with the most disposable income? I agree that nostalgia-as-entertainment is a safe economic bet, but it's safe precisely because retirees and those close to retirement have more spending money than young people.

danharkin.bsky.social•84 days ago

Torvill and Dean?!?!

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