REPORTING FROM SAN DIEGO — Garry Golden likes to call it the filter bubble — the propensity by most people to receive news and information designed to match their worldview. It’s getting easier for consumers to carefully control the messages that break through their inbox — and it’s getting increasingly harder for marketers and producers to reach them.
“Your opportunity is getting people to want new experiences,” said Golden, a professional futurist who made keynote remarks at this year’s AVConnect. He noted that professional tastemakers like newspaper critics are increasingly waning in influence as automated programs like Pandora and user reviews have become the go-to source for music discovery. “Venues that thrive in the future will be those that understand how to align themselves with those vehicles.”
“The solutions to getting outside of the filter bubble are having access to information and having the right recommendations to introduce new concepts to people,” he said.
Golden’s speech was a look into the future of commerce, and an invitation to make one’s own predictions about the future of the industry. So what will entertainment look like in the next 10 years? Attendees at AVConnect were split into five groups, representing even numbered years between 2014 and 2024. Here are a few predictions they came up with.
2014
Ticket fulfillment through mobile barcodes and RFID will surpass print-at-home tickets.
Broadway will see its first crowd-sourced musical, with thousands of “producers” from all over the world making small donations averaging $5-$10.
2016
A majority of ticket buyers will indicate they would prefer to be reached over Twitter or text message instead of email.
Revenue from live-streaming sold-out events will become an important funding source, especially for the arts.
2018
Advances in biotechnology will lead to a prototype for the first “living cellphone” where users can make a call simply through thought and batteries are replaced with kinetic energy.
Box offices will incorporate the first retina scanners at the ticketing window.
2020
The last box office at a major sports venue in North America closes, replaced by kiosks and door scanners that can also take purchases at the door. Mobile purchase and fulfillment rates start to hover around 80 percent.
2022
Silent disco creators develop new silent concert series, where special digital enabled glasses coupled with wireless headphones let thousands of concert attendees experience different performances at the same time.
Backlash against Tweeting during events will create a performing arts movement called “think and watch,” that encourages people to put down their phones.