With the End of the Pandemic, Entertainment Sales Fall

It's spring, Dr. Anthony Fauci says the pandemic is over*, and Americans are suffering from a major case of cabin fever after two years of limited in-person social contact. So people are out doing the things they've missed--sporting events, graduation parties, barbeques with neighbors, etc.

Toss in the current inflation spike which is a long term effect of the pandemic plus the invasion of Ukraine. People no longer buying a lot of indoor entertainment.

Netflix stock dropped by almost 50%  last week after thousands of subscribers eliminated the service. The other streaming services are starting to see similar results.

Movie theaters haven't recovered. New releases are lucky to break eight-figures on their opening weekend, much less the nine or ten figures some of these movies would have made prior to the pandemic.

Now, both trad and indie publishing are seeing a loss of sales. And writers are panicking. "We aren't making as much as we did in <name the year>."

I'm really confused by everyone's surprise at this. First, the pandemic growth simply wasn't sustainable. People are no longer trapped at home with limited entertainment choices. Heck, even I'm getting outside of the house. DH and I went to dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant in town last night. It's been two and half years since I sat down INSIDE this place. And damn was it delicious!

Second, it doesn't mean everybody has quit reading (or watching) forever. This is a a short-term lull. Why do I believe that?

If an introvert like me is getting out, my readers are too. And you know something? That's okay. I'll have new books ready for them when winter rolls back around and we're stuck at home because of ice and snow.

*Don't take either me or  Dr. Fauci wrong, COVID-19 is still a dangerous disease, but the U.S. is no longer suffering from millions of infections per day and most of our hospitals have normal capacity again.