By Ejiofor Francis Updated by Leila Stein
- Blockchain will break up entertainment monopolies.
- This technology will put the power back in the hands of the creators.
- Many industry problems can be solved through the blockchain.
The innovations in blockchain technology are evolving at the speed of light. Industries are planning to deal with current challenges with the help of these technological advancements.
By the year 2024, the global blockchain market for the media and entertainment industry is set to pass $1.54 billion. With a compound annual growth rate of 32% expected from 2018 to 2024.
The main reason why industries are keen to use blockchain technology is because of its traceability, accuracy, efficiency, and transparency.
Obstacles for blockchain
Blockchain has the potential to create more ways for artists to make moneyfrom new and existing.
It will also play an important role in the protection of intellectual property for content owners. But, this technology is still under development. Initial players in this area must consider the potential costs and challenges.
At the moment, blockchain is unregulated. There is a need for the creation of common use standards. This includes common standards among participants for blockchain use case that require numerous constraints.
In some cases, the current technology may need to be replaced entirely to make the advantages of blockchain solutions work best. Overall, integration of such technology is mandatory for the assurance of building, testing, and security.
There are also questions about where exactly these intellectual properties are stored. Also, with third-party integration storing that massive amount of data, who owns the real estate? Answering these questions will be central to building these blockchain solutions.
It is crucial for those in the entertainment industry to start working on these standards. This includes identifying those areas where the technology will be beneficial for key players.
Blockchain transforming entertainment
Blockchain in the entertainment industry is helping organizations develop new business models. This allows for a wide range of sectors to meet technological innovations and evolving customer requirements and demands.
The incorporation of blockchain helps create a friendlier approach for content creators. For example, it enables different payment methods with the help of automated settlements.
Below are the top five use cases for blockchain that are going to reshape the entertainment industry.
Royalty payments
The collection, as well as distribution of royalty payments has become more complicated, especially with the rise in streaming services. For many years now, independent content creators have been hidden behind Hollywood and other major industry monopolies.
These talented creators struggle to pitch their ideas directly to a worldwide audience of investors. Likewise, when a new musician gets discovered and signs their first contract, they discover that 90% of their earnings go to the industry.
However, a number of innovative projects are seeking to resolve this issue. For example, a group of artists and developers, who call themselves Blockchain Music Entertainment, are decentralizing the music and entertainment industries.
To achieve it, they created the utility tokens MP3 and MP4. These DeFi coins are made to end the industry process of having to reach out to investors, labels, and centralized greed-machines.
Additionally, blockchain will make it possible to develop smart contracts for content. These will then be attached to a piece of music or film. This will also add trust, speed, and precision to the verification process. This will be done by automatically executing contract terms and profit-sharing among artists.
Blockchain will also play a crucial role in the disruption and elimination of copyright collection associations. At the moment, these are playing a role as centralized intermediaries in the collection of payments.
Piracy and fraud prevention
For the entertainment industry, piracy and fraudulent activities are a big problem. Money lost through these activities will hit $52 billion by the year 2022, according to analysts.
Counterfeit copies of content result in big losses for artists and content creators. But the incorporation of blockchain in the entertainment industry for the prevention of piracy is still in its early stages.
It is extremely difficult to combat piracy. This is because there isn’t enough evidence to explain the reasons behind it.
According to the copyright research body CREATe, the reasons range from cultural standards to lack of accessibility. In some cases, there is even a deep-rooted cultural belief that the content is worthless.
To assist with this, blockchain will first be included on a small scale. This will be done through measures for facilitating content surveillance to the use of forensic watermark technology.
As we develop more of an understanding of the main motivation behind piracy, blockchain will start to evolve as a tool to help stop it from happening.
Advertising engagement metrics
In 2019, advertising fraud cost the industry $23 billion. Advertising money is lost because of invalid traffic, bot traffic, or hidden ads. This results in a frustrating user experience and poor return on investment.
The incorporation of blockchain technology for entertainment advertising will provide immutable metrics for creators. These will assist advertisers, agencies, and clients to attribute and track advertising metrics accurately and efficiently.
This will help them clearly keep an eye on how their budget is being spent. In addition, they can track the source of real clicks and easily identify bots.
The use of blockchain as a shared ledger also guarantees protection against unauthorized access, manipulations, and fraudulent activities.
Micropayments
At the moment, content creators are losing out on money from those who are not willing to pay for an entire subscription to their work. This is because they currently place this media behind paywalls.
In the future, micropayments will play a bigger role in income for artists. Interest in paying a small amount to access the blog post or television series that you’re interested in will increase. This will result in the growth of micropayments.
Peer-to-peer sales
In the future blockchain technology will empower content creators to have better oversight of their copyrighted material.
Sharing of illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) files of movies and television shows is already very common. In the future, this file-sharing will become a legitimate process that can be monetized and controlled.
Content owners will charge fees when customers subscribe or purchase blockchain-hosted content. Once bought they can then share it among their friends.
This will create another stream of money for content owners. It also provides transparency on the sharing and use of copyrighted assets.
Artists will also be able to business administrative work through automation. This will include contracts, payments, and licensing. Creators can sell their work peer-to-peer once the contractual-based work is automated. It will also be performed at a fraction of the cost.
A blockchain-based market allows digital content creators to interact with their audience without expensive middlemen.
Unlocking the future with blockchain
The application of blockchain in the entertainment industry is progressing by leaps and bounds.
In certain areas, there is always room for improvement. Blockchain is allowing industries to reshape their processes for the upcoming competitive era.
Blockchain technology provides for a wide range of applications. It also hands all the power over to content creators. This is done by providing a more customer-centric approach.
This will help companies work with a high rate of accuracy and efficiency. It will also remove reliance on intermediaries and improve money collection for artists. It also paves a way for new business models with a competitive edge.
As a result, the entertainment industry should be excited to unlock all the possible potentials of blockchain technology.