In 2011, virtually nobody outside South Korea and the Korean-American community had ever heard of PSY, and the words “Gangnam Style” had virtually no meaning. By 2012, it was difficult to find any corner of the world that hadn’t heard of PSY. Aside from demonstrating the widespread popularity of the artist and his song, this rapid rise to fame also shows how much the entertainment industry has evolved into a truly global business.
This globalization of entertainment can be partly accredited to an expansion and ultimate conflation of individual national entertainment industries. While traditionally there have been distinct entertainment markets defined through a particular geography (North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, etc.), culture (Latino, African-American etc.), economic or educational backdrop (working class, college students), we are now witnessing the increased amalgamation of these categories. Hastening this process is the fact that the traditional Hollywood hegemony in the film industry has been declining and classical distribution models of all media are losing importance.
While language differences can be more detrimental in music than in film, it is far from being the only determinant of popularity, as the initial example of PSY has shown. Aside from being a catchy song, the real driver of this multinational appeal comes from sales. According to data from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), traditional music producing and purchasing countries, such as the USA, UK, Japan, and Germany, are experienced an ongoing sales decline, emerging markets like Brazil (8.7%), Mexico (6.3%), and India (13.6%), are posting significant growth rates. The center of media power is shifting.
Forecasting estimates state that the global entertainment industry is expected to top $2 trillion in revenue by 2016, an increase of over 20% from current levels. This growth, however, will predominantly come from Asia and Latin America and thereby further underscore the reorientation of the media market. Considering these trends, companies wanting to achieve long-term success in the industry need to be able to address as many markets as possible regardless of differences – and that means becoming more multinational, multilingual, and multicultural. Naturally, this will be a time-consuming transition with the need for constant review and adjustment; however, in order to maximize appeal and revenue, no company can afford to be left behind.
EVS Translations has experience working with media and entertainment companies around the globe. Our portfolio covers multilingual voice-overs and multilingual subtitling services for television and other visual media, video game translations and localizations, digital assets and inflight translations into multiple languages, and multilingual advertising campaigns.
With 7 offices in 5 countries and the capability to work across time zones, EVS Translations is specifically set up to complete complex, high-volume translations into multiple languages.
If you would like to discuss your upcoming multiple language translation projects, inquire about prices, delivery times and our additional translation services like multiple translator in-house teams:
Call our Atlanta office today at +1 404-523-5560 or send us an email: quoteusa(at)evs-translations.com.
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