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Why Does the Creative Industry Feel Like It Is Suffering Right Now?

Writer's picture: tylerhamtylerham

Two conversations I had in the last two weeks inspired me to write this post. One was with a friend during a walk, and the other was through a Zoom session with an old work colleague I reconnected with. In both conversations, the state of "creativity" came up.


Hollywood hasn’t known what to do with itself for a few years now, at least from the perspective of creativity. The top 5 grossing films of 2024 were Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine (Deadpool 3), Moana 2, Despicable Me 4, and Dune: Part 2. All sequels. All proven properties with dedicated audiences and low risk.


You don’t find original IP (Intellectual Property) on the list until the late teens, with It Ends with Us and The Wild Robot, which sandwich Alien: Romulus (I don’t even know what number Alien film this is… depending on your thoughts on the AvP franchise).


This is nothing new. Hollywood has been risk-averse for years. Far from the days of Universal Studios greenlighting young filmmakers with million-dollar budgets, leading to the creation of films like Silent Running and American Graffiti. This issue with creative aversion, however, isn’t confined to Hollywood.


I’ve noticed over the past few months that several of my former colleagues—who should never have to look for work—are now looking for work. I don’t throw around the term "legend" often, but many of these people qualify as legends in the industry. The fact that they are looking for work signals a bigger problem in creativity as a whole.


What is Causing These Issues?


There seems to be a lot of concern about the state of the economy. While opinions on both sides range from "we are entering an era of greatness" to "we are heading into the next great depression," a common thread runs through all views: nobody really knows where we are headed. So, how does this affect creativity?


Creativity is innovation. They go hand-in-hand. And innovation is risky. Whether it’s a film or a consumer product, “new” means “risky,” and “risky” can mean “expensive.” In uncertain times, companies pull back from "expensive risks" and fall back on what is "tested and proven."


Secondly, I feel like AI has everyone paralyzed. Ask someone what they think of AI and creativity, and you will either hear, "It’s going to democratize the creative world" or "It is a content thief that’s going to steal everyone’s job." My own opinion on AI is that it is a great tool, but not a creative process. Not to mention, the genie isn’t going back into the bottle—but that’s a discussion for another day.


AI has people nervous, and companies are all rushing to be the next leader in this space—but nobody really knows what its effects will be on the future of entertainment content, leaving the industry itself in an era of uncertainty. And what does uncertainty bring? A conservative pullback on innovation and a comfortable settling on "more of the same."


Tangential to AI is the rise of algorithms. Decisions about the types of entertainment being produced aren’t being made by visionaries anymore; they’re being made by machine learning and data scientists, based on who watches what and for how long. The result is a lot of content that is similar enough to successful shows and movies to capture a large chunk of their audience, but just different enough to be considered "new."


Finally, there’s the trend of companies removing their internal teams and replacing them with freelancers and gig workers.


What’s Next?


I wish I had an answer to the next question: What comes next? Truthfully, I don’t know. Nobody knows. Historically, we’ve seen creative recessions before, and like every industry, there are ebbs and flows. Creativity will never be made redundant, but how creativity is implemented will and must continue to evolve.


Just know you aren’t alone. The entire creative world seems to be grieving right now. Many people are looking for options outside of the creative field, learning all they can about the potential future of creativity (AR, AI, Real-Time Rendering), or simply fighting to survive the storm. Take some solace in knowing that creativity isn’t going anywhere. It will always be valuable, but it will change and adapt—which is the very DNA of creativity itself.




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