This cutting-edge textbook examines contemporary media business models in the context of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital transformation. AI has dramatically impacted media production and distribution, from recommendation engines to synthetic humans, from video-to-text tools to natural language models. “AI is really the change agent of the media industry,” answered a natural language generation model when AI was ‘asked’ about the subject of this book. “It will open incredible opportunities.” This book seeks to explore them.
The media is examined through four sections. ‘Principles’ maps business models and the key tools of AI. ‘Platforms’ covers distribution channels in Games, Streamers, Social Networks, Broadcast and Digital Publishing. ‘Producers’ covers the engines of content-making, including Scripted, Entertainment, Factual, Content Marketing, Creators and Music. Finally, ‘Pioneers’ covers emerging sectors of Podcasting, Esports, the Metaverse and other AI-driven developments. Then in each chapter, a standard value creation model is applied, mapping a single sector through development, production, distribution and monetization.
Each section addresses how industries develop, produce, distribute, and monetize content. Featuring case studies on global creative entrepreneurship, revenue models, and evolving AI tools, this work is an essential resource for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying media management or the intersections of entertainment, media, and technology.
