Fopp Flopped

The home entertainment industry's fortunes don't seem to be getting any brighter as the recent closure of retailer FOPP demonstrates. It seems their ideal demographic... the customer who came in every couple of weeks and spent around £50 on DVDs & CDs just weren't there in the required quantity.
Profit warnings from HMV, reduced designated shelf space for home entertainment products from all the major multiples like Tesco & Sainsbury's (who have freely admitted they don't make money on DVD or CD, just stock them as loss leaders) comes as no surprise to us.
So who's the real casualty besides retail.... film makers, because since the demise of Rental there's not going to be an outlet for their work! Rental at least gave a window for indie films, however bad, which every now and again translated to retail via word-of-mouth.
This can explain to some degree the sudden rush for indie distributors to get their films out on the net, perhaps seeing it as their savior.
But even more worrying perhaps are recent reports from the US and Europe that there's a whole generation of 16-24 year olds who just aren't interested in film like they used to be. Prefering to spend their time on social networking sites like Facebook, Bebo, youtube & myspace, where they can at least get their egos massaged and collect even more 'friends', however REAL they are. Interesting times and perhaps more of a catalyst to merge the PC and TV than we realize!
The law-suits have started on Second Life... anyone tried the SEX-BED yet?