Ten years ago, the Hong Kong entertainment industry found itself in a state of flux. Rapid technological advancements in the market place had up-ended traditional revenue streams, dragging the industry – kicking and screaming – into a new world.
In hindsight, it might be easy to predict the emergence of massive new markets in Asia – and the Chinese mainland, specifically. But when the first Entertainment Expo launched in 2004, the industry itself was still taking baby steps towards a future that had many confused.
The idea, initially, was to collect the city’s major entertainment industry gatherings together and to combine them, under one roof, across the same time frame. By banding together, the entertainment industry itself could chart its way forward. The goal was to showcase what the city and the region had to offer.
Showcase for Asian Talent
“Entertainment Expo’s major achievement has most likely been to put Hong Kong on the entertainment media map as a place to look for good projects, for showcasing Asian artists and talent – such as during the Asian Film Awards, which we have been working on for seven years,” says Roger Garcia, Executive Director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society. “It has also been successful in bringing people to Hong Kong and allowing them to discover what the media scene in Asia is like.”
Mr Garcia was appointed to the post in 2010 and under that remit, the film industry veteran has been tasked with overseeing the growth of the festival, and Asian Film Awards, and the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), which are core events of Entertainment Expo.
Mr Garcia notes, however, that it has been a challenging time for the industry in recent years as new media and new technology, including smartphones and tablet computers, have changed the way audiences receive their entertainment, and how they are produced.
Efficient Platform
Entertainment Expo returns in 2014 to celebrate its 10th year, with nine core events: the aforementioned HAF; the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART); the Hong Kong International Film Festival; the Hong Kong Film Awards Presentation Ceremony; the Hong Kong Asian Pop Music Festival; the IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Award; ifva; the Asian VFX and Digital Cinema Summit; and the Digital Entertainment Forum. The events will be staged at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 24 March to 13 April.
More than 1.35 million people have attended the previous nine editions of the event, and have taken in seminars, which have drawn attention to some of the trends and issues affecting the industry. Among them has been a focus on such new formats as the “micro-movie” phenomenon and discussions on the ever-expanding Chinese film market and how best to approach it.
“By gathering the different organisations and events involved in media and in media promotion in Hong Kong, Entertainment Expo has been very effective,” says Mr Garcia. “Because grouping all these things together obviously makes us stronger and increases our impact across Asian media. I also think it helps to make the travel by industry players to Hong Kong more efficient because they can get more done across the one period of time. And we all know that time is money. It really has had an effect on efficiency.”
The figures appear to back Mr Garcia’s point. This year, about 760 companies from nearly 30 countries will attend FILMART, 24-27 March. Major exhibitors will include: UNIFRANCE and Ile de France, Film Export UK, the Independent Film & Television Alliance of America, and KOFIC and KOCCA from Korea. Once again, the focus will be on the opportunities on offer from the Chinese market, which is coming off a record revenue month. Estimated box office returns for February were about US$520 million – a month that matched the amount the movie industry collected from Chinese cinemas in the entire year of 2007.
Making Music
While the film industry has thrived in the past decade, developments in the music industry have provided challenges far more difficult to resolve.
The spread of access via file-sharing and downloads – both legitimate and illegal – has had a major impact on traditional revenue sources. But the same technological advances have also opened a more direct access to the entertainment world to a new generation of performers, who can use social media platforms, including YouTube, to showcase their talent.
“The music industry, to a great extent, has been evolving to meet rapid changes,” says Ricky Fung, CEO of the IFPI (Hong Kong Group) Ltd. “But most of the Internet world has provided more wishful thinking than anything, as its benefits have not materialised for the investors in music,” says Mr Fung. “The key is to keep the consumer interested in buying music and hence all that buzz going around is there to remind people of that.”
Mr Fung noted that such events as the Hong Kong-Asian Pop Music Festival helps promote the Asian music industry.
Vibrant Industry
“Hong Kong Entertainment Expo branding provides a statement to the world to show that there exists a vibrant industry that is capable of supplying content and services, uniquely and competitively,” he says. “There is a mutual endorsement effect, such that the combined effect is more than the individual pieces. It attracts foreign interest to take note of what Hong Kong may offer.”
Mr Fung says that by bringing industry peers together, Entertainment Expo has helped to identify what is needed as the industry looks to the future, something he hopes will continue as the event celebrates its 10th edition.
“We are looking forward to an even bigger industry to emerge,” says Mr Fung. “With commercial and legislative incentives to drive home the turnaround, from providing an equitable share between record-makers and the platformers – as technology partners – and from a growing music-buying public.”