THOW BLOCKCHAIN COULD DISRUPT THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
WHAT’S GOING ON
Two weeks ago renowned Hollywood film producer Teddy Zee stated that “blockchain is the next game-changer, it will shake the whole entertainment industry from film to TV and music”.
For those unfamiliar with this technology, in its simplest form, blockchain is an open and public (therefore decentralised) permanent digital ledger system that records the transactions between two parties without the need for a middleman. It is held on many computers and does not allow any transaction data to be altered. More importantly, what happens in a blockchain stays in a blockchain for all participants to see (in line with the transparency mega trend).
While in its infancy, blockchain could revolutionise the way transactions are exchanged between people, including entertainment, mainly in the form of crowdfunding, ledgers for record keeping, and ‘smart contracts’. Agreements actioned via blockchain cut out intermediaries, bringing transparency to the entertainment industry. We are already starting to see pockets of this globally:
- In 2017, Mitzi Peirone became the first director to fund her film “Braid” through a crowd equity strategy using blockchain production company ConsenSys. The campaign was a success which saw her reach her goal of $1.7 million within a month. Whatever revenue Braid generates will be paid out to investors (token holders using cryptocurrency) plus 15% interest.
- Watcha, a Seoul-based video streaming provider is developing its own blockchain platform called “Contents Protocol”. Dubbed the Netflix of Korea, it aims to improve copyright distribution for all parties on its existing services ranging from film, TV shows to music, webtoons and e-books.
- MovieCoin launched two months ago providing the entertainment industry with a new transformational financing platform built on blockchain technology. It will offer investors an unprecedented opportunity to invest in Hollywood movies and TV shows with transparency regarding where their money is spent and how their investments perform. They just hired six strategic advisors all with a background in the media and entertainment industry to offer on-going strategic support. So they mean serious business.
- Apollon is a blockchain ecosystem & marketplace for the entertainment industry which covers all aspects of the industry to allow exchanges between parties across the entire entertainment value chain.
GROWTH MANTRA’S PREDICTION
- While Blockchain technology has yet to gain mass adoption in the wider community, recent developments are presenting potential to completely disrupt the state of play in the media and entertainment industry.
- This could be 5-10 years away which is supported by research company Gartner who state the technology ‘is poised to create one of the most transformative and dramatic impacts in the next 5-10 years’.
- Just like the share economy and the Internet have democratised what were once rigid and closed industries (think Uber and the Taxi industry, the Internet, making information freely available), we believe Blockchain has the potential to completely democratise the art industry.
- It opens up a new platform for independent artists to freely sell their creative talent and follow their heart without the hurdles of the multiple layers of the industry.
- Most importantly it will help shift what has been a closed industry to one that will be more open and transparent by creating a more equal level playing field for all parties involved.
