Category: Content

Record-breaking returns, critical acclaim, packed screenings and loads of awards.

Yep, it’s fair to say that the music biopic has performed pretty impressively recently.

However, it wasn’t always the case.

Because, besides an occasional hit, the genre has historically brought in low to middling box office numbers; certainly nothing compared to traditional blockbuster bankers like action, comedy and drama.

So, what’s changed? What are the reasons for this shift to the mainstream, and why now?

Let’s take a look at a few reasons why.

Bohemian Rhapsody’s Breakthrough

Sometimes a one-off success is needed to bring a style in from the margins, and this is precisely what Bohemian Rhapsody did for the music biopic.

Chronicling Queen’s career from their formation up to that Live Aid performance, it was the ideal introduction for those who knew little about the subgenre.

The numbers were remarkable. The 6^th highest-grossing movie of 2018, its $900 million-plus return is especially noteworthy when you consider that Straight Outta Compton was, until then, the top-performing music movie with $201 million (almost $700 mill less!).

But the good news wasn’t just financial. The film won four Oscars as well as Best Motion Picture (Drama) at the Golden Globes, and, with a very respectable IMDb rating of 8.0, is well-liked from an audience perspective.

Such a total, on-all-fronts success was completely unexpected (it even took Brian May by surprise), and proved that the humble music biopic could compete at the box office, and beyond.

Music Streaming

It’s no coincidence that, as streaming has become the dominant model of music distribution and consumption, more music biopics have hit screens than ever before – but how are the two connected?

Well, on the one hand, now that listeners have vast libraries of music at their fingertips, musicians are, generally speaking, being heard by audiences that are more evenly spread across nationalities and generations.

An offshoot from this wider listenership is a heightened interest in the lives of the artists themselves, and the eras from which they came – elements that the music biopic is uniquely well-suited in depicting.

It’s inevitable, so, with the rise of music streaming, so too would there be an increased demand for them.

A downside of streaming though, from the perspectives of the artist and their labels at least, has been the decreased revenue from traditional models (album sales, for instance) – a factor that, as we’ll see in the next point, has also had an impact on the subgenre’s popularity.

Changing Attitudes to Rights

A sticking-point for biopic creators in the past has been the acquisition of an artist’s music and life rights.

The much-delayed Janis Joplin movie is the classic example, so infamous that it was the subject of a particularly excellent 30 Rock parody:

However, things are changing. With the losses felt by the industry due to streaming, artists and labels are becoming increasingly flexible and open, something which Dan Simpson sums up in this article:

But, as Simpson also points to in the same piece, the potential benefits of the biopic aren’t just financial:

Taking these shifts in music and media into account, it’s no wonder that we’re seeing the industry become more flexible when it comes to rights – which means, ultimately, more music movies.

We’ll get that Janis Joplin one yet.

Heightened Audience Appeal

Stories about the rise-and-fall (and rise again) of a character never seem to go out of fashion.

Whether it’s Rocky, It’s a Wonderful Life or The Shawshank Redemption, these type of movies have a universal quality that resonates with us all.

With the up-and-down nature of a life in the spotlight, famous musicians are a natural fit for this type of narrative arc, and Hollywood has recognised this – hence several recent biopics have been based around cosily familiar three-act structures that often conclude with the protagonist’s rebirth.

By shaping the movies like this, filmmakers have been able to tap into an established audience, and this has, in turn, helped push the subgenre to prominence.

Another recent trend has been to soften the biopics’ subjects, and present PG-13 versions of what are often R-rated lives – one example being Queen, whose rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle was toned down for any impressionable kids watching.

Since adult-only music films have historically had a rough time at the box office, the milder ratings of recent ones mean that they can reach a broader, and younger, audience.

In Conclusion!

The music biopic has been one of the major breakout genres of the last few years, and a combination of four factors go some way to explaining why: the enormous success of Bohemian Rhapsody; significant changes in music distribution; shifting attitudes to rights and licensing; and the creation of a more accessible batch of biopics.

Whether it has the staying power of other recent industry trends (superhero movies and remakes, for example) is anyone’s guess. Still, you can be sure that the music movie will be hitting inflight screens for another while at least.

Very welcome news, I’m sure you’ll agree, for music obsessives everywhere. 😉

Written by Conor Regan.

Inflight Dublin prides itself on providing the most current and on-trend film, TV, and audio content to our clients – and this includes music biopics! If you’d like to learn more about our company, and perhaps how we can do the same for your organisation, contact us at mail@inflightdublin.com

Further Reading

• 2020 movies: The best upcoming musical biopics this year, from Elvis to Bowie by Sian Hamer and Tom Eames.

• Hollywood is hoping music biopics are their new golden ticket by Gregory Wakeman.

• Rocketmen and stardust: why music biopics dominate the film industry by Dave Simpson.

• The Year of the Musical Biopic by Katherine Schwartz.

• Best Music Biopics: 30 Essential Films For Music Fans by Tim Peacock.

Image Credits (in descending order)

• Bohemian Rhapsody. Photo: 20th Century Fox.

• Music Streaming. Photo: Unknown @ Canva.com. 

• Cinema Audience. Photo: mail272 @ Canva.com.

• Lightbulb: Photo : TeroVesalainen @ Pixabay.

Inflight Dublin has been awarded a 3 year contract for the provision of IFE content by Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), Scandinavia’s leading airline. The first cycle of content provided by Inflight Dublin will commence in January 2020.

An inventory of content including movies, TV shows, music albums and games will be provided by Inflight Dublin. Locally produced and International movies and TV shows will be incorporated into this selection, chosen specifically to cater to the airlines’ audience. A next generation microsite created and managed by Inflight Dublin’s in-house Design and Software teams will also be provided. The microsite will enable passengers to browse the current entertainment, watch trailers and engage with SAS’s IFE offering. The platform is dynamic, enabling content to be seamlessly viewed on mobile, tablet and PC devices. 

SAS operates a fleet of 169 aircraft to 123 global destinations, with hubs in Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm. The inflight entertainment seatback system will be available on all long-haul flights to Asia and the US.

Inflight Dublin is a global provider of IFE content and wireless solutions with over 35 years’ experience within the industry. This latest announcement coincides with the launch of their next generation Everhub™ portable wireless server to be debuted at APEX Expo in September 2019.

Inflight Dublin, a leading Inflight Entertainment (IFE) provider, has been awarded the contract to provide the latest IFE content to TUI, the world’s leading tourism group. TUI owns five European airlines and is the ninth largest airline operator in Europe. The TUI airlines fly more than 27 million guests per year to more than 150 destinations worldwide departing from more than 60 airports in eleven European countries. The collaboration with TUI aims to further improve the airline’s passenger experience through innovative content. The new relationship supports TUI’s dedication to elevating passenger experience to new heights.

© 2019 Warner Bros. Ent. All rights reserved.

Inflight Dublin covers licensing, programming and delivery of inflight content for the TUI airlines in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and the Nordics. Content includes blockbuster movies, television programmes, eclectic audio selections, and broadcasts in 8 languages (English, German, French, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Finnish). The new IFE content is available across the fleet of TUI’s Boeing 787 and 767 (in-seat IFE) and the Boeing 737NG (overhead IFE).

© 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.

Get in touch with us today to find out how Inflight Dublin can help you transform your airlines in-flight entertainment experience by providing the broadest selection of content, a range of design and digital services, and the Everhub wireless IFE solution.

Inflight Dublin, a global provider of IFE content and wireless solutions, has been appointed by SriLankan Airlines to provide inflight entertainment services for the next three years.

SriLankan Airlines is the national airline of Sri Lanka and an award-winning carrier that flies to over 111 destinations across 48 countries. The airline is focused on providing passengers with a reliable, safe, and pleasant travel experience.

SriLankan’s reputation for a first-class service will be enhanced through the collaboration with Inflight Dublin and the provision of a substantial collection of Hollywood new release titles, choice classics, international movies, popular television shows and a diverse selection of audio content.

© 2019 Paramount Pictures. All Rights reserved.

The partnership between Inflight Dublin and SriLankan Airlines will deliver a huge boost to the passenger experience through the provision and extensive promotion of inflight entertainment that is of the highest quality and most up-to-date.

Global provider of inflight entertainment and wireless solutions Inflight Dublin has been awarded Icelandair’s contract for inflight entertainment.

The partnership with Inflight Dublin will significantly improve Icelandair’s passenger experience through an extensive catalogue of fresh content that aligns with the airline’s desire to provide the best entertainment for its customers.  Content will include an inventory of recent Oscar-winning films as well as a large selection of family-favourite classics, along with the choice to view numerous popular comedy and drama television boxsets. The passenger offering will also include a collection of locally produced movies, television shows, audio albums, and audiobooks in native Icelandic.

© 2019 Warner Bros. Ent. All rights reserved.

Operating to over 45 gateways across Europe, the United States, and Canada, Icelandair has over 80 years of experience in making the passenger journey as memorable as the awe-inspiring landscape of Iceland itself.

Icelandair operates frequent flights to Dublin from over 25 airports across Europe, Canada and the U.S. To learn more: https://www.icelandair.com/en-gb/flights/dublin/ 

Regardless of potentially polarizing reactions, some of the greatest movies of all time have been based on or drawn influence from books – The Shawshank Redemption, The Lord of the Rings, Apocalypse Now, and The Shining to name a few. A who’s who of iconic filmmakers have rolled the dice and successfully adapted these winding narratives into condensed and satisfying cinematic experiences, often taking risky creative liberties to make the most impactful films possible.

This month on the IFD Podcast, two of our in-house bookworms, Aoife and Eimear, take a look at a few of their favourite book-to-movie adaptations, exploring the history of the titles and drawing comparisons between the different mediums.

Artwork © 1999 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. 

First up on Aoife’s list is David Fincher’s 1999 classic, Fight Club. Based on the novel of the same name, written by Chuck Palahniuk and released just 3 years prior to its visual counterpart, Fight Club has been labelled as a “coming of age film” by Fincher. The movie amassed a loyal cult following in the years after its release, featuring strong performances from Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, and Edward Norton, along with one of the most memorable endings in recent memory. Aoife explains that while it took heavy influence from the source material, the movie arguably rescued the book from eventually fading into obscurity.

Aoife’s second choice was Spike Jonze’s adaptation of the iconic 1963 children’s picture book, Where The Wild Things Are. An unconventional movie with an atmosphere that can be difficult to define, it perfectly reflects the surreal nature of Maurice Sendak’s original illustrations while simultaneously managing to feel like its own entirely unique experience. Aoife discusses the challenges facing a director when handling such a treasured work.

Eimear decided to hone in on some classics from the high school teen movies of the 90s, taking 1995’s Clueless as her first point of discussion. Loosely based on Jane Austen’s 1815 novel Emma, Eimear discusses how the film reappropriates the setting, characters, and themes to resonate with a modern audience, but maintains strong parallels to the novel with regard to its narrative structure, and how Amy Heckerling’s clever reimagining of the material ushered in an entirely new sub-genre of classic texts framed through a contemporary lens.

TM & Copyright © 2019 by Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved.

Next up on Eimear’s list was Gil Junger’s 1999 rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You. A loose modernization of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, the film abides by Eimear’s case for the 90s-era obsession with recontextualizing older writings to create compelling modern stories. It acted as a springboard to success for a number of young actors, providing breakthrough roles for Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Heath Ledger.

Are you a book-purist that believes treasured material should be left untouched? Or do you welcome films based on your favourite books with open arms? We’d love to know what you consider to be some of the best adaptations we’ve seen to date, or what books you’d like to see on the big screen in the future!

Inflight Dublin currently works with over 50 African distributors providing specialised content for some of the largest airlines within the region including Ethiopian Airlines, Egypt Air, Royal Air Moroc, and Kenya Airways.

Clark and Hampton, Closer Pictures, FilmOne Distributors, iROKO, Gravel Road, Rififi Pictures, Rushlake Media, Sahel Sounds, and SaniFilms are just some of the African film distributors we work in partnership with. When it comes to TV distributors, Inflight Dublin works with the largest distributors of African TV content such as Africa XP, Buni TC, Africa 24 Media, Cote Quest, The Africa Channel, Vox Africa, and Wananchi.

We also offer the widest variety of African dialects including Afrikaans, Arabic, Hausa, Oromo, Swahili, Shona, and Zula, to name but a few and of course including English, French, and Portuguese. 

Our team are industry experts in editing, encoding, and multilingual subtitling, which is complemented by long-standing partnerships with all major hardware providers. This ensures that whichever IFE system your fleet is operating on, screening content provided by Inflight Dublin will be a seamless process. Our in-house content specialists are also accustomed to cultural sensitivities which allow airlines to tailor content and featured footage adhering to their passenger demographics.

At Inflight Dublin, our African content is not limited to just Movies or TV. With a comprehensive library of over 10,000 musical tracks from some of the biggest artists across the African music scene allowing your clients to listen to their favourite music whilst cruising to their next destination.

Inflight Dublin’s strong relationships with all major distributors across the continent allows us to deliver unrivalled African content to our clients at cost effective rates which in turn allows our clients to enhance their passengers’ experience on board via economical means.

If you’re interested in finding out more about our CSP services, or indeed any of our other IFE services, get in touch with us now and discover how we can help you transform your passengers’ experience on board.

Inflight Dublin was delighted to sponsor Apex MultiMedia Market’s Networking Event which took place on the evening of Tuesday 16th April between 19:30 – 22:30 at the Ely Wine Cellar in the IFSC.

The Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) is the only non-profit membership trade organization comprised of the world’s leading airlines, industry suppliers, major media groups and related aviation industry leaders dedicated to elevating the passenger experience for more than 80% of global passengers while driving industry initiatives and desired regulation.

The association offers members a wide range of opportunities to excel in the airline passenger experience industry by keeping them current with the latest industry news, trends and developments and by helping them develop relationships with clients and colleagues from around the world. 

APEX MultiMedia Market’s Networking event is a chance for airlines and service providers to meet with distributors offering a range of new and acclaimed TV, movie, games, app and audio content options. It is an invaluable experience to discuss current IFE content trends with top distributors from across the globe.

In addition to attending the APEX Multimedia Market, Inflight Dublin annually exhibits at the APEX Expo, which this year is taking place in Los Angeles from the 9-12 September. Our team of IFE specialists will be on site at the Inflight Dublin Booth 1307 to meet with both our existing airline partners and prospective airlines, showcasing first hand our full range of IFE products and services.

If you wish to schedule a meeting with one of the team attending the Expo, contact us via email on: mail@inflightdublin.com 

“One that really stood out to me, which I would have seen when I was about 15, was Breakfast on Pluto.”

Eimear chose the comedy-drama Breakfast on Pluto as her favourite, which came out in 2005 and is based on the novel by the same name by Patrick McCabe, of Butcher Boy fame.

“It’s directed by Neil Jordan who also did The Butcher Boy and The Crying Game. Very well respected Irish director.”

Starring Cillian Murphy as the lead, a transgender woman who was abandoned at birth and grows up in a small town in rural Ireland in the 1940’s.

“They get the essence of Patrick ‘Kitten’ Braden, who’s the main character, played by Cillian Murphy in the film.”

Cillian Murphy is famed for many roles, notably as the Scarecrow in The Dark Knight trilogy, but he also played lead roles in other famous Irish films, such as Intermission and The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

“Basically it’s split into about 36 chapters. So it’s a kind of, picaresque film, where it’s just following Patrick Kitten Braden through his life.”

From her upbringing in an uncaring foster home, to running away from home with a glam rock band and getting involved with the IRA, it’s a tumultuous existence Kitty lives, and yet she does it with complete poise.

“It’s sort of Dickensian in the way that his spirit triumphs throughout.”

Featuring a whole host of stars, some of rest of the cast include Liam Neeson, Ruth Negga, Liam Cunningham and Stephen Rea.

“I’d say the best cameo in it has to be Brendan Gleeson as a Womble.”

An award winning film, Breakfast on Pluto secured four Irish Film and Television Awards and earned Cillian Murphy a Golden Globe for Best Actor.

“I’m glad I re-watched it! And the costuming is incredible.”

Aoife, who if you’ve been listening you know loves all things horror, chose the recently released The Hole in the Ground. Released at the start of March of this year, The Hole in the Ground is a horror thriller that had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

“It’s starring Seána Kerslake who was also in A Date for Mad Mary which I also absolutely loved. It was just such a fun movie, but this is a very different vibe.”

Seána Kerslake (pronounced Shaw-nah) is also well known for being one of the leading roles in the Irish television show, Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope. She is definitely a star on the rise in the film industry.

“It’s an interesting film because, you know we get a lot of these horror movies where these mothers are stuck in their houses and they become afraid of their children.”

A mother flees a possibly abusive relationship with her young son to the Irish countryside and settles down in a house next to a forest, where a large sinkhole sits in the centre.

“What would you do if you found out your child was becoming someone you didn’t like?”

The film draw on themes of doppelgängers and changelings, with changelings being heavily featured in Irish folklore as a cruel trick played by faeries, and doppelgängers originating from Germany and representing extreme bad luck.

“I think that Irish horror in general is having a little bit of a moment.”

Some of the more popular Irish horror films that have come out in the last decade and that we highly recommend are The Hallow, The Lodgers and The Canal. If you’re a horror fan they are definitely worth a watch!

“I wanted to talk very briefly about Without Name. This is the eco-horror.”

Directed by Lorcan Finnegan and starring Alan McKenna, this film centres on a mysterious forest and a man with something to hide.

“Extra Ordinary is coming out as well which is sort of like a, comedy horror it looks like? With Maeve Higgins in it, I think she plays a driving instructor who can converse with the dead.”

Extra Ordinary had its world premiere in March at the SXSW Film Festival in the United States. Official release date is still to be announced but it is making waves in the festival circuit.

“I feel like the Irish have a good sense of a Gothic tale.”

As the birth place of Bram Stoker, Halloween and banshees, it’s safe to say the Irish know how to tell a good horror story.

That’s not to say they can’t tell an uplifting one from time to time either! Have a listen and leave a comment, do you have a favourite Irish film? Let us know!

Samantha Lyons | Inflight Dublin

We started out as Inflight Audio in ’84 in a small studio with two employees and our focus was entirely on audio, specifically analogue. Ken Harley, who is still with us today, joined in 1998 when we moved to a two-room location and added a Tech Guy to bring Inflight into the Digital Age! Ken started as an audio engineer and studio manager and now is the Head of Analogue Audio as well as being the glue that keeps our physical office together!

In 2000 Megan Fannin joined our ranks as an Account Exec as one of 8 staff members, she is now the Head of Operations for the entire company and knows more about operations than anyone else.

Shortly afterwards in 2002, we moved to a new office in Ranelagh and Pat Nolan came on board as an Audio Engineer, rounding the numbers up to 10. Pat is now Head of AV and IT and is the go-to man for all computer issues in the office.

In 2004 Barry Flynn arrived as Output Manager and our numbers rose to 15, and today Barry is our Chief Commercial Officer and the man with all the knowledge.

It wasn’t long after that when Clint Withington arrived in 2006 as a video editor, our numbers were about the same and Clint still works today in our Video department and can answer any question you may possibly have about video.

Immediately afterwards in 2007, Philip McCarthy joined us in the Output Department and we kept steady at 15 staff. He’s now one of two Senior Account Managers and is always willing to impart his wisdom.

Shane Healy arrived in 2010 as an Output Engineer and moved from that, to Head of Audio, to the Account Manager he is today.

It was after that in 2011 that we moved to Belfield Office Park and grew to a staff of 25 people and John White became our CEO.

Now here we are in 2019 with two offices, 75 incredible staff and every day we keep growing. Something we couldn’t do without the backing of our wonderful employees.

Here’s to the next 35!