The modern entertainment industry is a nirvana for consumers

FOR couch potatoes and bookworms, filmgoers and music-lovers, this is a golden age. The internet provides an almost endlessly long menu of options to meet the almost infinitely quirky tastes of humanity. Smartphones have put all kinds of entertainment—from classic rock to prestige television to silly YouTube clips—at the fingertips of billions across the planet.

Yet, as our special report this week describes, these same technologies have a paradoxical effect. Although they expand choice, they concentrate attention on the most popular hits and the biggest platforms. Perhaps because entertainment is a social activity, perhaps because consumers are baffled by the range of choices, they depend on the rankings and recommendation algorithms of platforms like Netflix, YouTube and Spotify to guide them to their next dose of content. And they are drawn to familiar titles that stand out from the clutter.

So big brands continue to thrive. Of the thousands of films released worldwide...