The Netflix problem and the Spotify solution: Why cultural curators will play a growing role in the content industry

Content making is a profit-making business, and not a social enterprise, which means money is made not just by how good a show is, but how many of them can be made. Some would argue it's the easier way. Make as much as possible, and see what sticks.

- DEVKI PANDE

Picture this: you open Netflix on a Saturday night, spend an hour looking for something to watch, watch half-episodes that don't grip you, and ultimately go back to an old favourite, dissatisfied with the whole process of choosing. You wish there was an easier way to know what to watch - rather than going through half episodes, you wish you already knew what was good and what to see.

Simply put: what is worth it?

The reason for this Netflix Problem is more complex than just an abundance of content. When producing stories fast with a quick churn rate is the name of the game, the engagement value of these shows tends to plateau after say, the first three or four episodes.

Many reasons for this. First it takes time to create a good piece of art. Less time, reduced quality of art. This model is in use possibly because three to four episodes is what you need to draw in a potential platform subscriber. Content making is a profit-making business at the end of the day, and not a social enterprise, which means money is made not just by how good a show is, but how many of them can be made. Some would argue it's the easier way. Make as much as possible, and see what sticks.

But from the viewer's perspective, when every book is a New York Times bestseller, and every show is marketed as having 100 million viewers, all you want to know before you consume content is that it won't disappoint. How do you choose?