Two of the more interesting perspectives on Digital Entertainment at the IAMAI Conference came during the first panel of the day, which focused on films going digital: PS Saminathan, Group Chairman, Pyramid Saimira initially launched into a tirade against the star system in film-making - "Stars collapse the system - they don't give a damn about the system. They sometimes started charging over 150% of the total revenues of the films - I can give you an example of 142 films where that has happened. A star demands a glam heroine, scenes to be shot in Switzerland, on the moon, free tickets for the film for his fan club. Producers have become performers and arrangers. This is a system where sycophancy can be blamed. Corporates came and thought that we could put an end to the star system; we thought that when you aggregate the last mile through digital distribution, we'll get control. True in theory, but in practice, when you aggregate theatres, stars demand even more. Unfortunately, in India, stars guarantee the movie, and corporates become content aggregators at the worst scale." "Will digital technology be an answer to that? It's a system where the content is being pulled by the customers, rather than content being pushed by people. Apple is the largest music seller; YouTube is a very powerful medium. Today there's a shift towards self produced content, and the business model, might become a pull business model. How will companies react? -- Big institution power will vanish…
