From Deadline|London editor Tim Adler: That was the message at today’s confab in London organized by industry think-tank the British Screen Advisory Council. Claire Enders, managing director of Enders Analysis, said that Enders pointed out that whatever technological panic there’s been over the past 20 years, the same five Hollywood studios are still at the top of the heap. Technology is “lifting studios to a brighter and brighter future. If you’re a studio then you’re in luck. It’s just bad luck for everybody else”.

She also poured cold water on long-tail theory. This is the idea that people would be buying older, more obscure movies or books because of infinite digital shelf space. Instead, said Enders, all we’ve seen is the blockbuster gobbling up even more dollars. The way that search engine algorithms work just creates more demand for bigger hits. Although iTunes has 13 million tracks listed, Enders pointed out, 10 million of those have never made a sale. “The long tail is rubbish,” she concluded.