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Home  >  Medical Research Archives  >  Issue 149  > Mapping the Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on the Spanish Cultural Industry: Wellbeing State?
Published in the Medical Research Archives
Aug 2023 Issue

Mapping the Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on the Spanish Cultural Industry: Wellbeing State?

Published on Aug 29, 2023

DOI 

Abstract

 

This study examines of the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the Spanish cultural industry in a context in which new technologies -such as streaming platforms- have facilitated the consumption of culture without leaving home and its contribution for the social wellbeing. Thus, after discussing some issues related to digital economy and wellbeing economics, we perform an empirical analysis based on data collected by means of a questionnaire. It is found that the consumption of culture has increased during the quarantine mainly as a means of entertainment for dealing with boredom, anxiety and stress. Audiovisual products were consumed by almost all individuals, especially in the form of movies and series. Regarding music, we find that singers or groups that performed live concerts and interacted with their fans via social networks were better positioned. Reading was also a relevant activity during the quarantine, with people preferring the paper format rather than the digital one. It is noteworthy that the most consumed cultural products tend to be Spanish productions in series, music and reading. In this way, the COVID-19 crisis did not necessarily generate a crisis for the cultural industry and, in fact, provided relevant opportunities for the growth and consolidation of this sector to the extent that the actors rapidly adapted to the digital transformation. Also, this digitalization helps to keep the social wellbeing with entertainment against the lonely and stressful situations.

Author info

Antonio Sánchez-bayón, Dante Urbina, F. Sastre

Introduction
The COVID-19 health crisis has also been an economic crisis, especially in countries such as Spain, where quarantine was decreed for almost a hundred days1,2. The government cancelled and postponed various social, political, religious, and cultural events by suspending or restricting in- person operations of firms, schools, colleges, institutes, churches, etc. The balance sheet (elaborated by international institutions), it shows losses of more than 10% of GDP affecting, mainly, the service sector3. Within this sector, the cultural industry constitutes a relevant component. In addition, cultural industry is particulary linked to the digital transformation in the service sector4. This poses the following question: Does the negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the service sector necessarily mean that the cultural industry is in crisis? To answer this question, we review the theoretical framework of the digital economy and the development of the cultural industry, offering a balance of the consumption of culture and entertainment in the Spanish case.
The relationship between culture and entertainment has become stronger during the pandemic since, under the conditions of confinement, the individuals intensively used digital means for consuming cultural products (movies, series, music, etc.) in order to dealt with boredom, anxiety or stress in a context of increasing presence of streaming plataforms and social networks. This is natural since human beings are creatures of customs, habits, and instincts who are affected continuously and constitutively by their social context5. In turn, it is relevant to consider the dynamics of “democratization of culture”6,7 that has been facilited by the development and dissemination of information and communication technologies, so that the access to culture is just a clic away from most of people. In this way, the consumption of cultural products is no longer an exclusive privilege of the “leisure class”8, but rather it is available for the general population.
Given this, the main objective of this research is to analyze the consumption of culture as a means of entertainment during the quarantine decreed in Spain due to the pandemic caused by
 
the coronavirus (COVID-19). The study is focused on the type of consumption and cultural products that have been used as a means of distraction during the confinement of the population that began on March 15, 2020.
This general objective originates a series of specific objectives which will guide our research. The specific objectives are the following:
i)    To find out whether culture has been consumed as a means of entertainment during the COVID-19 quarantine in Spain.
ii)    To analyze what type of cultural products were consumed during the confinement.
iii)    To define the tools, platforms and formats used to consume culture during the quarantine.
iv)    To assess whether the consumption of culture during confinement has been a means of entertainment for Spanish people.
v)    To know what type of works and artists have been the most consumed during the quarantine.
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. In section 2, we presente the theoretical framework discussing issues associated with digital economy, wellbeing economics and cultural industries. In section 3, we analyze digital culture and entertainment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Section 4 presents the material and methods used in our research. Section 5 shows the results about the impact of the lockdown in the Spanish cultural industry along with our anlyses and discussions. Section 6 concludes.
Theoretical framework

The digital economy is not only the economic use of the Internet tools (i.e., web, email, PayPal), it corresponds to a new paradigm of principles, processes and institutions, even with other purposes9. It is not so much about the mere generation of income, but about the sense of it and the level of life satisfaction and wellbeing that it provides10,11,12. Therefore, to better understand the digital economy, it is necessary to compare the transition from welfare state economy13 to wellbeing economics14,15. This comparison is shown in Table 1.
 
Table 1. The old and the new paradigm

The premise that explains everything is change: we saw a world in constant and accelerated transformations, given the transition between epochs18. The crises of an outdated rigid world (dominated by the nation-state and the replicating bureaucratic management) thus take place, giving way to the emergence of a flexible world, tending towards the global village in a context of governance of international intitutions and transformative organizations. As a framework for this transformation, we are currently in a stage of post-globalization19, i.e., a time of global convergence, initiated after the end of globalization (with the 2008 crisis of values) and valid until the year 2030, called Horizon 2030 (H2030), which is seen as an expiration date of the converging transformative programs of international organizations20.
Given this, the H2030 represents a point of no return at the point of technological singularity (with the superiority of artificial intelligence) and human singularity (transhumanist standardization). Those countries and companies that have aligned to this paradigm will be closer to the “knowledge society” and its economy21. Those who remain outside the convergence process will run the risk of becoming part of a dependent global mass consumer society19. In this framework, changes are not considered as good or bad, they are only inevitable and we must be aware of them in order to know how to manage them rather than continue in a short-lived and already outdated paradigm, such as the welfare state and its apparent security (i.e., indefinite full-time work in a company). In the early days of globalization, the World was described as VUCA (acronym for volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, as established in the 1990s by the U.S. Army and popularized by Harvard University). Then, with the crises of the 2000s (from the .com to the aforementioned stock market crisis), we began to speak of a fragile World (considered so because it is risky, liquid, corrosive, etc.) in which institutions expire and not crystallize18,19. Thus, in post-globalization, thanks to learning and knowledge technologies, we are invited to think in terms of “antifragile”22 and, finally, “agile”23. Then, if everything has changed, the game and its rules must also change.
Thus, following Trincado and Sánchez-
Bayón16,17, the current board (i.e., the gig phase and its manifestations) can be structured as follows:
i)    Sharing and circular economy: Based on social networks, recycling, and shared goods and services (i.e., AirBnB, Uber).
ii)    Autonomous economy: Based on big-data, internet of things, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and articulated through 5G, block-chain,
smart-contracts and decentralized autonomous organization (i.e., investment funds in autonomous car fleet, fintech).
iii)    Orange Economy: Based on talent and creativity applied to experience and entertainment (i.e., gastronomy, tourism, videogames, festivals).
Given this, the gig phase of the digital economy is one of its first stages and includes manifestations such as circular economy, autonomous economy and orange economy. This is related to tours or artistic gigs (i.e., professionals that offers their services for a performance and, if liked, repeat). Something similar works the gig economy: a professional must be on social networks and platforms, awaiting the call for his performance, which is valued and on that depends whether he continues to provide that service in his area, even in other places24. In this context, we consider the pros and cons of the gig economy phase:
a)    Pros: It allows ordinary people from all over the world to start businesses and participate in markets without intermediaries and respecting the environment by sharing, recycling and renting, thus curbing programmed obsolescence and electronic waste. One is his own boss, managing his time and income; everyone knows his talent and puts it at the service of others; there is not so much bureaucracy and management, but rather, the risk becomes an opportunity and experience, which is also shared with others, generating a collaborative intelligence, adding even more value to the work done.
b)    Cons: In a virtual context, offices and camaraderie disappear, making unionization and the defense of labor rights more difficult. Since hardly any taxes or contributions are paid, there is almost no labor protection in terms of paid vacations, unemployment or sickness benefits, pensions, etc.
All this has been possible due to the 4th industrial revolution and digital transition with the Internet, programming, social networks, apps, etc. It is also the period of the emergence of smart- contracts in the form of codes in the cloud, whose parties are artificial intelligences, operating from stock exchange to chauffeurless driving. In this way, we not only move to the gig phase of digital economy, but also outline the new stage of capitalism, fostered by happiness management and other manifestations such as the economy of genuine personal wellbeing.
It also offers an outline of culture the cultural industries, which have been considered for this study. Many definitions of the term “culture” have been formulated from different perspectives and eras. According to Kroeber and Kluckoln25, culture consists of patterns of behavior acquired and transmitted by means of symbols and constitutes the singularizing heritage of human groups, including their embodiment in objects. The essential core of culture is traditional (i.e., historically generated and selected) ideas and, especially, the values attached to them. In the past, culture was a differentiating element of the classes that existed in society. Cultural offerings were designed for a specific social class that accepted and consumed them. In this way, as Bourdieu26 has shown, culture was used to differentiate the existing social classes. In addition, it must be considered that, as Zallo27 states, “culture goes beyond the ideologies themselves to be the consequence, in a given mode of production, of the social processes of cultural action and production” (p. 24). From this perspective, we can see how culture evolves with cultural production. This cultural production has also evolved over time, which led to the creation of the cultural industry.
The term culture industry was coined and disseminated by Adorno and Horkheimer28 in their critique of the emergence of a standardized culture that focused more on mercantile reasons and criteria than on aesthetic factors. They disagreed with the mass production of culture that responded to a generalized demand of society and that encouraged the creation of works with less quality to meet the aforementioned demand. In technological societies, a greater penetration took place and the media were given a fundamental role in the cultural industry. Consequently, as Bustamante29 notes, to speak of cultural industries means effectively recognizing that a good part of modern culture –in fact, the one with the greatest economic and social impact– has been industrialized. This situation causes society to be divided into producers and consumers. Culture is produced in series and with a homogenization of products. There are an infinite number of works and products that are difficult to classify due to the great supply that citizens can choose and consume.
In this sense, globalization has also affected
culture as it has allowed different industries in different countries to interrelate thanks to digital tools. Claussen30 said: The globalized cultural industry offers us the possibility of knowing what is happening at the other end of the world” (p. 321). The cultural industry has changed. It has become more accessible and is consumed in different ways and forms. The creation of cultural products is carried out at a global level to transfer values to
 
the citizenship that provokes its development and evolution. According to Sánchez Ruíz31, cultural industries are among the main actors that can promote symbolic diversity in the world(p. 207). This can be connected with cultural democratization, which is defined by Bonet32 as the idea of bringing high culture to the widest possible layers of the population (p. 2). It is intended to make the different existing cultural products accessible to all citizens.
In this context, UNESCO33 proposes a less critical definition of cultural industries than that of the Frankfurt School when states that they are sectors of activity whose main object is the creativity, production or reproduction, promotion, dissemination and marketing of goods, services and activities of cultural, artistic or heritage content (p. 17). In this case, it includes all persons, companies and institutions that disseminate and generate culture of any kind so that it reaches all citizens. From this perspective, we can find television, radio, the film industry, the music industry, video games, literature, natural heritage, performing arts, among others. The cultural industry has also caused the valorization of different products. It is possible to find an economic value that is fixed when the product is put on the market and a social value that is more difficult to measure.

Digital culture and entertainment in the coronavirus pandemic
New technologies and the Internet have modified the cultural industries and the consumption habits associated to them. With technological tools, new forms of dissemination have appeared, as well as new products and formats. According to Pou34, this cyberculture has changed the cultural offer that includes new formats of digital edition of music, painting or cinema, and creations for the entertainment of a society with a high ludic component (p. 28). Just as mass culture generates a change in cultural products and their commercialization, new technologies and the Internet brought about a new change in this paradigm.
This easy accessibility to culture from mobile devices, computers, digital televisions, etc. means an increase in consumption time dedicated to culture. New technologies are a fundamental support for cultural products that become a form of entertainment and digital leisure for the consumer.
The pandemic caused by the coronavirus meant that consumers of culture could not do so in person. Therefore, they could not go to theaters, museums, concerts, among others. Therefore, during this quarantine stage, consumption was based on digital platforms and with one main purpose, entertainment. Many artists and promoters adapted to this digital consumption by offering cultural products via streaming and for free in order to entertain citizens and increase the consumption of culture at a social level.
The cultural industry faced one of the greatest challenges by the coronavirus crisis since most countries were forced to quarantine the population to curb the spread of the virus. In the case of Spain, on March 14, 2020, the government decreed a state of alarm, which led to the confinement of citizens. Subsequently, on April 28, a deconfinement plan was announced in phases to eliminate the limitations in the different territories. On May 25, no autonomous community was under total limitation. On June 20, the state of alarm decreed by the Government came to an end.
Throughout this stage face-to-face culture could not be consumed, which led to the positioning of digital platforms as tools for digital consumption and entertainment. This meant an increase in subscribers during this confinement as citizens sought avenues to entertain themselves from their homes. In this way, as Primo35 notes, information and communication technologies have changed the realm of culture and entertainment.
Digital technology distributes entertainment in a more comfortable way by eliminating barriers of space and time. Digital leisure advances marking the evolution of the entertainment industry that has created new production and distribution formats that respond to this new relationship with consumers. According to Aced36, in this scenario, the consumers cease to have a passive role to actively participate in the market. Users select products (series, movies, etc.), interrelate with producers and artists, and comment in forums and social networks. This is what is known as prosumer, a term that comes from the sum of producer and consumer, and defines the new relationship between the public and the cultural and entertainment industries.
Materials and methods
Since this research is based on a quantitative perspective, quantifiable and measurable data is collected to find out what type of cultural consumption is carried out with the aim of entertainment during the quarantine of COVID-19 in Spain. In this way, we analyze the consumption balance during confinement by means of a descriptive analysis. With this type of research, it will be possible to quantify and describe the object of study in order to achieve the objectives proposed.
In order to be performed this analysis, the methodology of data collection is a survey by means of a questionnaire. This tool consists of a set of standardized questions, regarding one or more variables to be measured, addressed to a sample of the population to ascertain states of opinion or facts, which is why it is the most appropriate as it will allow us to know the consumption of culture made by the respondents during the COVID-19 lockdown and also to analyze the way in which they have made that consumption.
Once this method of data collection has been selected, the first step will be to define and elaborate the questionnaire that the individuals will complete on-line using a specialized platform that allows them to answer the questions on any computer with an Internet connection without having to install any programm. This type of questionnaire is a self-administered questionnaire37, which is completed by the respondent himself, i.e., the respondent fills in and answers the questions without the need for the researcher to be present at the time of completion.
Because of this, objective questions focused on the object of study are elaborated in order to obtain the necessary information. Our questionnaire is available upon request and consists of 19 questions, which are focus on the consumption of culture during quarantine. The questionnaire is composed of closed questions where the respondent is objectively asked about a specific topic. There are also open questions where the respondent is given the freedom to answer whatever they wish without conditioning them. The questionnaire begins with two control questions, since it is important to know if the person interviewed is or is not part of the sample to be established. The first control question is about age in order to allow us to know whether the respondent is of legal age or not. This is relevant because individuals must be of legal age since they have no restrictions on access to different works, so they can consume any cultural product. The second is about the Spanish city of residence. This question allows us to know in which Autonomous Community the respondent resides. In this way, the universe is made up of individuals resident in Spain and aged 18 years or older. The rest of the questions are based on whether they have consumed culture, what type of culture, how they have done it, among others.
Once the universe has been established, a sample is selected by means of a non-probabilistic strategy through the selection of voluntary participants   (via   invitation).   Therefore, the questionnaire is carried out on-line and published in different social networks to reach the greatest number of people who will voluntarily respond to the survey. This type of sampling will be complemented by “avalanche sampling”38,39 which consists in asking informants to recommend potential participants (i.e., the respondents who participate in the research can send the questionnaire to individuals who have the appropriate profile to be part of the research sample). These individuals fill out the survey and, in turn, forward the invitation to other individuals. Following this sampling method, more than 250 surveys have been completed.
Once the quarantine was over, the Government of Spain established several phases of de-escalation to move towards normality. In these phases, different stores were gradually opened; citizens were allowed to go out in the street at certain hours, etc. The survey was conducted from May 25th to 31st, with the end of the quarantine and de-escalation phases (without any confinement). In this way, it was possible to analyze the consumption of culture during the quarantine when citizens could not leave their homes due to the COVID-19 health crisis. Before sending the questionnaire, tests were carried out to see if it worked correctly, if the questions were valid, if there was any kind of misunderstanding on the part of the interviewee, etc. To this end, the questionnaire was sent to 10 individuals with the aim of carrying out this test and checking whether the structure, time spent and questions were adequate. Once the viability of the questionnaire had been checked, it was sent and implemented on the dates indicated above with a standardized process, i.e., all individuals received the same questions in the same way.
Results
As indicated, this research is composed with more than 250 surveys completed and carried out on- line by individuals who form part of the fixed universe by fulfilling the established profile. The age range of the sample members is between 19 and 71 years old, 75.75% of the participants are between 23 and 43 years old, where most of the responses are concentrated.
One of the objectives of this research is to know the consumption of culture as entertainment in Spain, so all communities or regions of the country should be represented in order not to bias the information. After collecting the data, it has been possible to verify that the sample is dispersed throughout the national territory, which makes it possible to obtain consumption data from all the regions of the country.
Virtually all the individuals in the sample stated that they had consumed culture as entertainment during the quarantine decreed in Spain due to the COVID-19 health crisis. This cultural consumption was a means of entertainment and distraction during the quarantine, which helped them to cope better and eliminate stress and boredom. In addition, as can be seen in Figure 1, 73.8% affirm that they have increased their consumption of culture during quarantine as a means of entertainment. Before the health crisis, the respondents already consumed culture, but most of them have increased their consumption considerably during this stage.

Figure 1. Increase in consumption of cultural products in Spain during quarantine. Souce: own elaboration.

The cultural offer available to consumers is varied as they can consume different types of cultural products. Among the entire offer, respondents have mainly consumed four types of formats as shown in Figure 2. As observed, 98.1% of the individuals surveyed stated that they consumed audiovisual products during the quarantine produced by the COVID-19 health crisis. This type of products refers to movies, series, among others. On the other hand, 89.3% stated that they consumed music during that stage. In addition, 68% of the sample stated that they used reading as entertainment during confinement. A little further behind are games, either board games or video games, since 42.7% of the people surveyed used this form of entertainment. Behind these four products is the consumption of performing arts such as theater or dance (9.7%). Finally, 2% of those interviewed stated the use of other products such as virtual museums, painting, among others.

Figure 2. Types of cultural products consumed in Spain during the quarantine. Souce: own elaboration.

Regarding audiovisual products, we analyze with the responses obtained which type they have used most frequently. As shown in Figure 3, 84.3% of the people interviewed stated that they have consumed series as a means of entertainment during the quarantine. In addition, 80.4% also stated that movies were one of the audiovisual products they consumed. Below these uses are documentaries which have been watched by 37.3% of the interviewees, while 35.3% affirm that they have watched television programs within the audiovisual offer in order to be entertained. Below all these are tutorials on YouTube, tutorials on social networks, showcooking, among other products, which have been viewed by 6.9% of the individuals in the sample.

Figure 3. Types of audiovisual products consumed in Spain during the quarantine. Souce: own elaboration.

 
Once the audiovisual products consumed had been analyzed, respondents were asked about the way in which this viewing took place, i.e., what type of platforms or tools were used to view these audiovisual works. As shown in Figure 4, the Netflix platform has been the most used since 79.4% of individuals state that they have used it as a means of entertainment. On the other hand, 40.2% used the Movistar+ platform to watch series and movies while 40.2% have also used conventional television to watch movies and entertainment programs. Below these options is Amazon Prime which has been used by 32.4% of respondents, while 17.6% have also used the Disney+ platform. To a lesser extent we can find other tools such as Youtube which has been used by 4.8% of the respondent for watching series and movies, followed by the Filmin platform which has been used by 2.9%. Finally, 2%of respondents have used other platforms such as Orange TV, A3 Player, among others.

Figure 4: Platforms used to watch audiovisual products in Spain during the quarantine. Souce: own elaboration.

Among all the audiovisual products consumed by the interviewees, there is a wide variety of movie titles, series and television programs. The extensive existing offer in this field produces a high variety of works that have been consumed during the quarantine. Among the series, considering the respondents who use this type of product, the most watched series is La Casa de Papel, a Spanish production, with 25.4% of respondents having seen it. Behind are other Spanish series such as Vis a Vis, which has been consumed by 17.6%, or Valeria, with 11.7%. Having this same percentage (11.7%) is the German series Unorthodox followed by the American series Ozark, which has been viewed by 7.8% of those surveyed. Below these percentages are other products consumed to a lesser extent such as Arde Madrid, Fariña, The Good Doctor, El Embarcadero, Vikingos, among others.
In terms of movies, the Spanish comedy Te Quiero, Imbécil with 23.5% and the U.S. romantic drama Historia de un Matrimonio, with the same percentage, stand out, considering all those interviewed who said they watched movies. Behind these two films, we can highlight Harrty Potter with 17.6%, as well as the Japanese film Parasitos, the American film Origen and the Spanish film Legado en los Huesos with 11.7% each. As in the case of series, since they have such a wide range of offerings, other titles, such as Maids and Ladies, Jurassic Park, Inglourious Basterds, or E.T., among others, are below them, with a lower percentage of viewers.
On the other hand, as previously mentioned, 35.3% of those interviewed consumed television programs for entertainment. The most watched programs during the quarantine period were Masterchef 8 (gastronomic contest), OT2020 (musical talent contest), Supervivientes 2020 (survival reality show), El Hormiguero (talk show) and, to a lesser extent, Me Resbala (comedy program). All these audiovisual products are produced in Spain by different production companies and distributed by different Spanish television networks. As an exception, Supervivientes 2020 has a part of the production made in Honduras, as the contestants are there, but with a Spanish production company and team that travels there.
Music is another of the cultural products that have been consumed during the quarantine with 89.3% of respondents having made use of it. There are different streaming platforms or other tools to listen to music that were used during the confinement produced by the COVID-19 crisis. In Figure 5 we can observe that 69% of the people who have consumed music have done so through Spotify, a Swedish multiplatform application for music streaming. Behind it is the Youtube platform, which has been used to listen to music by 66%. Traditional radio, with its programs and music channels, has also been used during the quarantine by 30% of the people who listened to music as a means of entertainment. On the other hand, Soundcloud (streaming music distribution platform) was also used by 6% of individuals, as well as Amazon Music with 4% of individuals and Apple Music with 3%. To a lesser extent and percentage    are other platforms such as Tidal, Ivoox, or Twitch.

Figure 5. Platforms used to consume music in Spain during the quarantine. Souce: own elaboration.

 
Another option for listening to music are live concerts via streaming platforms or social networks. In this case, 46.6% of people who have listened to music have stated that they consumed live concerts during the quarantine. Of this group of people, 68.7% listened to concerts via the social network Instagram while 29.1% made this consumption of live culture via the YouTube platform. The remaining 2% selected Movistar+ for this purpose.
As regards audiovisual products, in the case of music the variety of groups and artists is quite high and consumers have listened to different singers. Among all those who have listened to music in confinement, 9.2% have selected Rozalén as their entertainment. Below is the Spanish group Amaral who have been listened to by 7.8%. Next is Pablo López with 5.2% and Pablo Alborán with 3.9%. All these artists are Spanish, with respect to the international ones we find Dua Lipa who has been chosen by 3.9% of the respondents or the groups The Weekend or Coldplay with 5.2% of the interviewed individuals. The rest of the artists and groups are below these percentages, we could highlight artists such as Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, JBalvin, Beret, Marea, Morat or Estopa, among others.
Another of the cultural products consumed as entertainment in the stage investigated is reading, according to 68% of the individuals surveyed. Taking these people into account, and as shown in Figure 6, we find that 90.2% of them read books, while 26.8% also read magazines as a means of distraction. Below, 1.2% of these respondents have also used comics and newspapers as reading during this stage. In this context, the newspaper industry faces an important challenge since most consumers refuse to pay for online content and, as O’Brien42 has shown, this mentality is particularly associated with a reluctance to pay for online news.

Figure 6. Types of reading products consumed in Spain during the quarantine. Souce: own elaboration.

In turn, when consuming reading for entertainment, 58.5% of these individuals have done this in paper format while 14.6% have done so in digital format. On the other hand, 26.8% have used both digital and paper formats for reading. Divided into these two formats, it can be affirmed that 85.4% of the individuals who have read during confinement have done so on paper at some point while 41.5% have used digital tools on some occasion to carry out this reading.
As has happened with other cultural products analyzed, the literary offer is very high, so that the interviewees have consumed works of different types. It is worth noting that 8.5% of those interviewed who have read at this stage have selected the book La Reina Roja, by Juan Gómez- Jurado, while 7.1% have read La Sospecha de Sofía, by Paloma Sánchez-Garnica. Below this percentage are several works among which we can highlight some works such as Patria, Todo Esto te Daré, La Red Púrpura, El Día que se Perdió la Cordura or Falcón, among other literary works. As for those interviewed who have consumed magazines, 33.3% have read the Hola magazine, followed by Pronto with 22.2% of the individuals in the sample. Below these media are the magazines Elle, Glamour, Vogue or Telva, each of which was selected by 11.1%.
In addition to all these cultural products consumed, 42.7% of those interviewed consumed games as a means of entertainment. As can be seen in Figure 7, 75% of the respondents have used board games during the quarantine. On the other hand, 50% have stated that the consumption of video games has been their avenue for distraction. Below this, 1.9% has stated that they played live roles virtually.

Figure 7. Types of games consumed in Spain during the quarantine. Souce: own elaboration.
The most used board game during the quarantine period was Parcheesi, which was used by 17.9% of the people interviewed. Below are the cards that have been selected by 10.2% to play Poker, Brisca, among others. In addition, 7.6% of respondents have used Bingo as a means of distraction while Monopoly was used by 5.1%. Below these percentages are other games such as Cluedo, Catan, Taboo or Checkers. With respect to video games, The Sims was the most consumed, with 15.3% of people saying that they had played it. Behind this product are others with lower percentages, since the variety of video games used is very high, as is the case with other cultural products. By way of example, respondents have used League of Legends, Zelda, Age of Empires, Final Fantasy or FIFA 20. As for the performing arts, 10.6% of all the individuals in the sample consumed them during the quarantine. Of these individuals, 72.7% have watched Cirque Du Soleil shows via the Youtube platform, while 27.2% have watched opera, on the same platform, as a means of entertainment.
Discussion
As a usual rule, the consumption of cultural products during quarantine has been done exclusively, that is, the only activity was to perform that consumption. However, 64.1% of those surveyed stated that at some point they combined this consumption with some other activity. In this way, 57.5% of the individuals have been cooking while listening to music or watching a series. On the other hand, 50% have combined these cultural products with cleaning activities, while 36.3% have practiced sports with this type of cultural consumption.
According to the Survey of Habits and Cultural Practices in Spain 2018-2019 published by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport40, before the pandemic the most frequent cultural activities among Spanish people are listening to music (87.2%), going to the cinema (65.8%) and reading (57.8%). This consumption of culture is closely followed by visiting monuments or sites (50.8%) and attending museums and exhibitions (46.7%). In addition, 46.8% of Spanish people attended live shows such as theater or concerts.
Given this, since the consumption of movies, series and music has increased during the confinement compared to the stage before the pandemic, it can be said that the most consumed cultural products are still the same but to a greater extent. However, the rest of the cultural habits that stand out in the statistics of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, such as attendance to concerts, theater, museums, among others, have been cancelled due to the fact that citizens could not go in person to consume culture. This has led to the consumption of culture as a form of entertainment, as stated by those surveyed, and digital and streaming platforms have been the most widely used tools for this consumption. Before the pandemic, 13.5% of the Spanish people watched a music concert online, but this rate has risen significantly during the confinement. According to the Survey of Habits and Cultural Practices in Spain 2018-2019, 52.2% of the population had subscriptions to digital platforms for music and audiovisual products39, while in the results of this research, 79.4% claimed to use the Netflix platform, which was the most used. In consequence, it can be affirmed that this type of subscriptions has notably increased in the confinement.
In turn, one of the cultural products that have had a greater increase in consumption in the quarantine has been video games. According to the Survey of Cultural Habits and Practices in Spain 2018-2019, 13.8% of the population used video games once a month, while in the quarantine the use has been higher than 50% of respondents. This is consistent with the results of Barr & Copeland- Stewart41, who also find a substantial increase in the use of video games during the quarantine and associate this with positive impacts on the wellbeing of video games users in terms of cognitive stimulation, opportunities to socialize and reduction of anxiety.
Moreover, the cultural industry, and mainly the music industry, has carried out actions to offer free products such as concerts, shows, etc. In addition, some of the most consumed artists have published a song dedicated to the quarantine, as is the case of Aves Enjauladas by Rozalén, which causes that, due to the situation, this type of more active artists was more consumed. In this way, artists or audiovisual products such as series that published new seasons or themes dedicated to confinement were comparatively more listened to and more watched. Artists increases their active role to get closer to people and make them see that they are with them at all times and that they can be a means of entertainment in adverse situations.
Artists who were in full promotion of their new albums and who had concerts set for the dates of the confinement were also heard, as is the case of the group Amaral who performed a live concert via Instagram on March 21, the day they had scheduled one of their main concerts at the Wizik Center in Madrid with their new album Salto al Color. In this way, event marketing has positioned as an important means of promotion, not only for individual performers but also for events like sports tournaments43. In the case of series and movies, during the quarantine new seasons of successful series such as La Casa de Papel or Vis a Vis were published, thus generating a greater interest on the part of the public who have at their disposal new premiere products for their entertainment during that stage and this has been reflected in the results of this research.
Then, it is clear that the consumption of the different cultural products has been done mainly through streaming platforms and cyber- entertainment has been the most used form due to its easy accessibility during the lockdown period. In this context, Netflix had the advantage of being the first-mover as the largest global video streaming platform and during the quarantine had an increase of users somewhat higher than in previous periods44. However, this advantage has been attenuated because of the emergence and growth of several competitors in the market of streaming platforms such as Movistar+, Amazon Prime and Disney+.
Conclusions
The COVID-19 has had several impacts at the economic and social level, including the cultural industry and the social wellbeing. Thus, after collecting and analyzing the data obtained, we find that during the quarantine decreed in Spain due to the pandemic, the supply has been digitalized: the citizens have consumed more cultural products on different platforms and formats. As a general rule, this consumption of culture has increased during confinement. Prior to this stage, there was also a consumption of culture of different works and products, but it increased notoriously during the quarantine. This is explained by the fact that virtually all of the people interviewed consider that cultural products have served them as a distraction while in confinement. In this way, the consumption of culture functioned as a means of entertainment. This consumption was generally carried out as an exclusive activity. However, a percentage of the population engaged in other activities while consuming this culture, such as cooking or cleaning (as a way for wellbeing).
Therefore, to answer the initial question: Does the COVID-19 crisis necessarily mean that the cultural industry is in crisis? According to this analysis, despite the loss of more than 10% of the service sectors GDP, the orange economy and its cultural industry are in good health, having grown (because they helped to the social wellbeing with entertainment and stress control). With the COVID- 19 crisis, most consumers have gone digital, so it is urgent that workers, companies and entrepreneurs in the service sector do the same (although many of them have already done so, fulfilling a dual function by generating income and keeping the population entertained).
In the digitalization-work relationship, the possible destruction of employment and the risk of digital unemployment will be compensated with the adaptation of the existing jobs and the appearance of new ones (especially in the orange economy and its cultural industry). For each type of job that becomes obsolete and disappears, three new type of jobs are generated, namely, the designers of the technology, the manufacturers, and the technical supervisors. Certainly, to facilitate this transition, it is necessary to pay attention to the readjustment effect. It means that unskilled and easily replicated workers will be replaced by capital goods, being freed and urging a digital training of technological specialization to discover their talents and apply them in the digital economy. In this way, workers will be able to become talented collaborators in higher phases further away from the mere production level and in accordance with wellbeing economics, thus providing added value and in exchange receiving better salaries and working conditions.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the research groups Grupo de investigación consolidado para el Estudio y seguimiento del ciclo económico de la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos) and Círculo de Estudios de Desarrollo Económico y Social (Universidad de Lima).

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Acknowledgment: supported by GESCE- Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC), GID-TICTAC CCEESS-URJC & INES-Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (UNIR). 
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