Rewriting the Script: How Creators Can Take Control of Entertainment’s Future

The Challenge: Why Sustaining a Creative Career is So Difficult

For most creative professionals, breaking into the entertainment industry or maintaining a lasting career feels nearly impossible. The industry has long been structured around a system of intermediaries — producers, distributors, networks, and agents — who serve as gatekeepers to casting, hiring, funding, visibility, and distribution. You may have talent, technique, and professionalism, but without connections or the money that brings them, luck and perseverance are your only friends.

This structure is not the result of malice but rather a consequence of how industries evolve in competitive, high-demand environments. In an unbalanced economic system, those who control access to resources naturally consolidate power, attempting to manage risk and ensure profitability. While this has helped stabilize the industry and support consistent investment, it has also created significant barriers that limit the number of artists who can thrive independently.

The audience, potential fans, supporters, and patrons have traditionally had little say in what content gets made and who gets opportunities. The process of funding, producing, and distributing entertainment has…