In recent years, entertainment has become more and more expensive and exclusive due to multiple things like inflation, increased cost of production or just plain corporate greed.
Many TV shows and movies have been locked behind subscription services like Disney+, Hulu, Netflix and HBO Max. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, having access to hundreds of hours of entertainment for a monthly fee is a good deal. However, issues start when people need to buy multiple subscriptions if they want to watch shows that are exclusive to different platforms. They now have to buy an entirely new service just to watch one or two shows they’re interested in. Some people may not have the extra money to afford one subscription, let alone two or more.
Another issue with streaming services is they occasionally take certain shows and movies off of their platform. Some examples of this are “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers” and “Togo” which were both removed from Disney+. If they aren’t airing on live TV or available on another streaming service, then there is no legal way to watch them, and anyone who is interested in that specific show or movie has to resort to piracy. A few other forms of media also fall into a similar problem such as DVDs, physical copies of video games and CDs. Technically, there is a legal way to enjoy them though second hand markets. However, second hand prices are often very steep and many people aren’t willing to pay an absurd amount of money for a 20 year old movie, video game or album.
Price increases are making access to entertainment become more and more of a luxury. TV shows and movies are being locked behind subscription services. AAA video games have gone from around $60 for big releases to $70-80. Not everyone has the money to keep up with everything, and with the prices of everything else rising as well the issue is certainly not getting any better.
Price increases have also caused an increase in piracy, which is a mixed bag. On one hand, it makes media more accessible to the people who can’t afford it, and acts as a way of preserving things taken off streaming services or aren’t currently available. On the other hand, piracy falls under copyright infringement and also doesn’t make the creators of the pirated media any money which could cause them to end production on future products due to either lack of funds or perceived public interest.
To stop all of this, companies need to make their products more accessible by lowering their prices and not locking everything behind a subscription service. Offering some content for free could also help with this issue.
