For anyone who watched the Academy Awards, it was pretty hard not to get a sense that the Academy – and perhaps the movie industry in general – is finally realizing that what they’re really selling is an experience. I consider this both an interesting and important development because it points to some potential changes which may begin cascading into other areas (for reference and background – Link 1, Link 2).

Host Jon Stewart started off the show joking about film piracy and sharing his concern for the welfare of the diamond-encrusted audience. The audience’s response to this bit of humor was definitely on the chilly side. Obviously not everyone has gotten the memo. And even if they have, many probably don’t like the idea of what this potentially means to their bank account. Or to what they’ll need to do in the future to continue being compensated at the levels to which they’ve become accustomed.

Maybe what they need to do next year is have Mark Cuban show up as a surprise presenter because if they don’t re-orient their thinking and their business strategies soon, they’ll surely be left behind. As Stewart informed the audience, their kids are probably upstairs illegally downloading music. If they don’t care to watch the Academy Awards, they probably don’t care to wait around while a bunch of “old” people get their act together either.

The orchestra is playing.