Colombia. Independent of the massive market of the already everyday technological gadgets such as smartphones, tablets, ipods, mp3s and notebooks, which are now in everyone's hands, Colombia grows daily in the segment of the entertainment industry and beyond television, video games and applications, the use of technology for large shows of nightclubs and movie theaters, it is on par with many developed countries and above some Latin American countries.
According to the projections of a study carried out in 2011 by the consultancy Pricewaterhouse Coopers in 48 countries, at that time Colombia was one of the ones with the best potential in the technology consumption sector along with Indonesia, Pakistan, South Africa, Vietnam, the Middle East and North Africa region, and this was confirmed by 2015, Colombians spent more than $5.6 billion on media and entertainment, not counting the Internet.
Taking advantage of this boom, and in general the growth of the video, audio and lighting integration industry in the country, TecnoMultimedia InfoComm will hold in Bogotá the seventh edition of its specialized fair that will bring together in Corferias more than 70 exhibitors who represent the main brands in this segment with solutions that will set the trends for 2017.
Colombia is living a new era of consumption and, in terms of shows, other were the times in which international artists passed by Brazil or Argentina to perform in concerts due to the lack of technological support in Colombia. Today, on the contrary, we are on the agenda of the great stars of music, thanks to the fact that the country is able to meet its most extravagant technical demands, and although there are few companies dedicated to that business in the country, most of them worry about being at the forefront.
This boom has been achieved thanks to the law of public shows 1493 of 2011, with which the sector was formalized and the income tax for shows was reduced, from 33% to 8% for artists not resident in the country and vat was eliminated for artistic services with sound, lights and platforms.
On the other hand, new life was given to the sector with the strengthening and evolution of show organizing firms that have generated a dynamic never before seen in Colombia with events such as the Stereo Picnic, Lollapaluza, Soma and Hermoso Ruido, and have put legendary and blockbuster bands such as Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, on national stages. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kiss, Metallica, Coldplay, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Foo Fighters, Iron Maiden, Maroon 5 and luminaries like Madonna, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga.
In the case of nightclubs, Colombia is not far behind either, and for experts such as Andrés Vásquez, vice president of Eleven Producciones, a company dedicated to events, "entrepreneurs dedicated to rumba in the country invest great resources to acquire the latest in sound and are users of the big brands so as not to be left behind in the face of world trends, although many sites have shortcomings more in design and integration than in the selection and quality of the equipment as such."
According to Mauricio Perfetti del Corral, director of Dane, during 2015 one of the sectors that marked the economic expansion of the country was the branch of commerce made up of bars, hotels, and restaurants that had a rebound of 5.5, which demonstrates a great dynamic in investments dedicated to leisure that have repercussions, among other sectors, in the investment in technology for this type of commercial sites.
Another of the most important items of leisure for Colombians is the cinema, which has been democratized thanks to the growth of organizations dedicated to this business and the theaters located in shopping centers of all strata; they are no longer exclusive to the big capitals and every day they conquer more markets in small cities.
For Munir Falah, president of Cine Colombia, this company carried out a study in 2015 that reconfirmed the excellent behavior of Colombians in front of the cinema. "We see how the industry has strengthened in recent years. The box office has doubled in the last 5 years, going from $198 billion to $383 billion. The number of premieres also had a growth of 28% between 2009 and 2014; we went from 204 5 years ago to 263 premieres last year." And he concludes by assuring that only in the month of January 6 million people entered the cinemas in the country.
"In this sense, Colombia is also avant-garde at the Latin American level because most of the rooms have already migrated to the digital system and I do not see problems in terms of applied technology. This business that does not stop its growth, has also been diversifying, and companies such as Cine Colombia have managed to expand the offer leaving the limits of commercial cinema, thus opening interesting spaces for cinema, art and alternative content such as opera and concerts, "adds Vásquez.
For entrepreneurs, engineers and technicians specialized in these and other areas of technology, the TecnoMultimedia InfoComm fair will offer, between October 10 and 13, its great exhibition, networking spaces, and the possibility of achieving certifications in cutting-edge issues, internationally endorsed.
For more information visit www.tecnomultimedia.com.co
