Last updated on June 21st, 2023 at 04:48 pm
Blockchain technology has found application in many sectors of the economy, even though it began as an innovative tool for verifying digital currency transactions. This technology, also known as distributed ledger technology, is a collection of verified and immutable data that is distributed across all computers connected to the network. These computers connected to the network are nodes.
Currently, blockchain technology has also found application in the media and entertainment industry. This industry comprises news publishing houses, TV stations, music, filmmaking, advertising and so on.
The media and entertainment industry has experienced significant challenges like generating revenue in the face of free content flooding the internet. Also, music distribution via streaming is commercially viable for top artists but isn’t the same for upcoming and average musicians.
There are prospects for the blockchain to turn some of these challenges around. This technology has diverse applications in media and entertainment, with the potential to change the business models currently being used and also generate more revenue.
In this article, we’ll take a look at how blockchain is applied in the media and entertainment, benefits and blockchain companies currently involved in this sector.
Let’s get down to business!
Why Blockchain is Important in Media and Entertainment
Blockchain is important to media and entertainment in many aspects. This includes:
- Smart property
- Micropayments
- Disintermediated content from industry intermediaries
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Smart property
It is estimated that digital piracy, fraudulent copies, infringed studio intellectual property (IP), and duplication of digital items cost the US film and TV industry $71 billion annually.
The blockchain can be used to track and enforce rights for the creation of digital content. This content comprises music, videos, arts, books or smaller pieces of articles. This has the potential to decrease intellectual property infringement to a great extent.
The use of blockchain in media and entertainment has an append-only structure which makes it easier for creators to legally enforce their rights once an infringement occurs.
For instance, Monegraph offers ownership registration services to digital content creators, especially those of the arts, using the Bitcoin blockchain. This way, the company stores all intellectual property of the artwork, giving artists the opportunity to define their licensing terms and also negotiate transactions with digital art buyers.
A good side of this technology is that as artists store their artwork on the platform, it can be accessed by everyone. However, it cannot be stolen or falsified. This goes to show that other industries, such as real estate that is prone to issues of double-sale — one piece of land or house belonging to multiple owners — can use this technology. This will help them verify ownership history, reduce intermediary costs and also make the transfer of properties to new owners easy.
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Micropayments
Cryptocurrencies enhance micropayments that content providers can employ to enable customers to either buy or play single or videos. It can also help in purchasing permission to read a new article.
For instance, there is a blockchain company that allows authors and content creators to use its platform to publish their work and charge fees in the form of Bitcoin. This company is called Yours. The fees charged by the creators depend on the number selected when they get to spin a digital board.
Because cryptocurrency transactions are quite low and do not depend on banks or credit cards for completion, content creators can charge as low as a few cents per article, as well as publish and monetize their content by themselves.
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Disintermediated content from industry intermediaries
Just like any other sector of the economy, the advertising, media and entertainment industry is filled with intermediaries with major goals siphoning large sums of money more than actually getting services across to the final consumers. For instance, a report by CitiGroup indicates that though the spending in the United States music industry is at an all-time high of $43 billion a year; the artist only takes home $5 billion, or about 12 per cent.
On-demand streaming services like YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and Soundcloud are intermediaries as well as industry players like recorded music companies, music publishers, music managers, and music distributors.
There is a potential for blockchain to eliminate all of these intermediaries if fully employed in the media industry.
How Blockchain is Applied to Media and Entertainment
Blockchain technology can be applied to media and entertainment. Some of these uses include:
- Streamlining royalty payment
- P2P distribution and sales
- Billing models
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Using blockchain to streamline royalty payments
If content creators decide to make use of blockchain platforms, they can upload original works, control their licensing options and manage distribution. Smart contracts can also program royalty payments for every piece of content. Users can then automatically pay the creators to have access to their work.
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Use of blockchain in peer-to-peer content sales and distribution
One area blockchain is considered useful in media and entertainment is in sales and distribution of content. Content creators can automate some administrative processes regarding licencing, contracts and payments by using the Ethereum blockchain.
The contractual stages of content are usually flooded with intermediaries which tend to increase the cost. However, if blockchain is used, the contracts can be automated, letting creators sell their works directly to the final consumers using peer-to-peer. With blockchain marketplaces for digital content, creators can sell their content directly to the users without spending huge sums of money on intermediaries.
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Using blockchain in billing models
To access content on platforms like YouTube, Hulu, Tidal, Amazon Prime, and Netflix, users often get to pay content aggregators. With streaming services offering customers so much content to choose from, several billing models present themselves. One of these is the pay-per-use consumption-based model.
Blockchain has the ability to keep records of media usage, thus facilitating efficient micropayments and other pricing models.
Blockchain Companies Involved in Media and Entertainment
Several blockchain companies are springing forth, with a few of them involved in media and entertainment. Some of these companies include:
- Steemit
- Mediachain
- Dot Blockchain Media
- Civil
- Binded
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Steemit
Steemit is located in Austin, Texas. This social media platform incentivizes users with STEEM tokens for creating content and interacting with other users. Each time a user creates content or interacts, the firm’s blockchain keeps an immutable record.
Steemit’s blockchain has recorded and paid out over $60 million to community members for creating content and interacting.
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Mediachain
Located in New York, Mediachain uses blockchain to automatically connect music to its originator, while also providing necessary details about the music. The firm has an independent decentralized music library that gives listeners information about the creator, producer and lyrics of the music. The aim is to provide a transparent listening experience.
However, Spotify acquired Mediachain in 2017 to further enhance its technology that gives users who stream music on its platform a better experience.
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Dot Blockchain Media
Located in New York, Dot Blockchain Media offers rights solutions to the music industry by keeping blockchain records of artists, publishers and label rights. The firm also offers real-time dispersion of royalty payments.
The platform gives listeners access to lots of background details and also records real-time streaming payments to the artist.
Currently, Dot Blockchain Media partners with Cardstack, a platform that accrues data from multiple sources and brings it under one roof, to accurately pay artists based on streaming from dozens of music sources.
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Civil
Located in New York, Civil is a community-owned network of journalists who use blockchain to establish transparency and trust. Independent journalists create newsrooms where they add and share content, with the network ensuring that every journalist has ownership of his or her work. The network leaves no room for false information.
Many news outlets produce content on Civil’s network. They include Block Club Chicago and the Colorado Sun.
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Binded
Located in San Francisco, California, Binded is a blockchain copyrighting technology for photographers. In this case, photographers upload their images to be stored in a copyright vault secured by a unique fingerprint saved on the blockchain. This helps to minimize copyright infringements. The company is reported to have securely saved over 350,000 images.
Other blockchain-based companies involved in media and entertainment include Rebel AI, Fluz Fluz and Yours.
In Conclusion…
- Being a contract-based business, the media and entertainment industry has a major goal of protecting intellectual property rights. While this has always been difficult, the blockchain has proved to be potentially useful in this area. Some platforms like Monegraph offer copyright registration services, preventing intellectual property infringements.
- Blockchain also has the potential to increase revenue for content creators and media companies through the provision of real-time consumption-based pricing. With the elimination of middlemen during sales and distribution of content, creators have an opportunity to channel the funds that would have been used to pay intermediaries to other projects.
- It is therefore important for artists, musicians, producers as well as media executives to understand how blockchain technology works and how it can make their businesses profitable.
