Amazon’s purchase of MGM is a reminder that movies and shows are just commodities to be traded and hoarded
This week,
Amazon acquired the hallowed movie studio MGM for a sum of $8.45bn, second in size to the company’s $13.4bn purchase of Whole Foods in 2017. The day before, the attorney general of
Washington DC sued Amazon over antitrust concerns in the retail market; it joins attorneys general from
California,
New York, Massachusetts,
Pennsylvania and Washington state who have also raised similar concerns. Chief executive
Jeff Bezos, who is stepping down from the position in July, said in a statement: “MGM has a vast, deep catalogue of much beloved intellectual property. We can reimagine and develop that IP for the 21st century.”
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