Blockchain technology has been one of the most talked about innovations of the past decade or so. Its prominence is primarily due to its overwhelming role in financial transactions and cryptocurrency. However, according to Forbes, Blockchain technology is also geared to produce a lasting positive impact on many areas in and around the film and TV industry through Blockchain movie production.
Going forward, we’ll be exploring some very significant ways in which Blockchain in media is already reshaping the entertainment scene.
Copyright and Intellectual Property Protection
Alex Tapscott, co-author of Blockchain Revolution —“Blockchain is the ultimate confidence machine because it renders trust unnecessary.”
Inferring on many authorities in the field, the need for more effective mediums of copyright protection for musical artists and filmmakers has become noticable. These concerns have led to several innovations in the legal and tech spheres. Bordering on the technology sphere, Blockchain has introduced certain solutions that are already in practice like smart contracts.
Most significantly, the system allows filmmakers and artists to incorporate their work ownership rights into a decentralized digital ledger that can not be manipulated. This solution means creatives and film owners no longer have to rely heavily on third-party platforms to register and secure the exclusivity of their music and movies.
Blockchain and Crypto in Gambling Entertainment
Blockchain and Cryptocurrency are a big shot in gambling entertainment. According to some recent crypto casino statistics, crypto gamblers spend on average, $3m worth of crypto, gambling on casino gaming sites daily. These numbers keep spiking partly due to the work Blockchain technology has done in ensuring the safety, confidentiality, and decentralization of crypto-based bets. Also, online gambling as a whole has seen a new level of growth, now that individuals know how to gamble with bitcoin, seamlessly.
According to MightyTips, a resource site that also follows up on crypto gambling, the number of sports and casino gambling platforms increases almost daily. In a post where it highlighted the top three crypto betting apps for betting with Bitcoin, details of just how big crypto betting has become were apparent. Furthermore, Betting analyst, Kate Richardson also described sports betting Bitcoin options as “the new norm for internet users”.
Community Driven Platforms
Communities are of great relevance in today’s online entertainment platforms, especially with social media. As such lots of media companies have long utilized the properties of Blockchain tech, to assemble a medium that is membership-centered. This is evident with most social media algorithms and interfaces.
Characteristically, a community-driven media platform is very crucial to content consumption, streaming, as well as fan bases. These merits in turn go a long way in promoting celebrities, shows, songs as well as movies on the Internet and the vast media.
Fun fact: Only 21 million Bitcoin will ever be mined and the last block is estimated to be mined in 2140.
NFTs and Fan Engagement
With a Blockchain innovation like NFTs, entertainment stars have found a golden opportunity to tokenize their online fan engagement. So far, tokenization has taken the form of NFTs, Non Fungible tokens in full. And with NFTs, artists, actors, and content creators alike can tokenize their music, film characters, images, autographs, and other valuables, to create an extra stream of revenue.
Essentially, NFTs present a unique opportunity for entertainment stars to further explore their followership and fan love. A typical instance was witnessed when reports from several Hollywood sources confirmed Snoop Dogg’s “A Journey With the Dogg” NFT project. The collection reportedly sold over $100,000 worth in under 48 hours.
Furthermore, here are a few other celebrities, who have successfully launched and sold NFT projects online;
- Paris Hilton
- Logan Paul
- Shawn Mendes
- Justin Bieber
Peer to Peer Content Distribution
Brian Wong, CEO of Kiip—“We have a problem in media and advertising with people getting paid, with the supply chain. Blockchain could make it transparent.”
For close to a decade, Blockchain technology has done a lot in eliminating intermediaries in online entertainment. Formerly, especially with films and online content, entertainers and fan bases relied heavily upon “middlemen” for marketing and distribution. However, with the recent rise of Blockchain-enhanced platforms, entertainers can easily list their works to allow direct consumer access.
Empirically speaking, Blockchain tech is a major factor behind decentralized Blockchain-based markets like Verasity, Filmchain, etc which allows filmmakers to sell their content directly to consumers. In all, peer-to-peer distribution is advantageous to both creators and consumers alike.
Fun Fact; Once a transaction is recorded on a blockchain, it’s nearly impossible to alter or delete it.
Obstacles to Blockchain’s Involvement in Online Entertainment
Amidst the many ways in which Blockchain is influencing the processes of online entertainment, it also faces quite a lot of adversity. And mostly, these obstacles are due to the loopholes in Blockchain’s operations as well as the strong resistance faced on the side of traditional entertainment stakeholders. On that note, here are some of the most significant problems, hindering the scalability of Blockchain entertainment;
- Interoperability Problems
- Regulatory Uncertainty
- Strong Resistance from Established Entertainment Platforms
- Perception
- Integration with the legal system
Final Words
In summary, it has become clear as day, the several ways in which Blockchain technology is revolutionizing online entertainment. With other technologies such as virtual reality, users get a more immersive experience. However, some of these changes are yet to be significant enough to get endorsed by the majority of entertainers and consumers.
Nevertheless, the path is clear, and the goals are established. Blockchain’s involvement in entertainment processes is something many haven’t seen the last of.