CoinGeek TV: Tony Mugavero to build a streaming platform for Web3 on BSV blockchain
Do you remember the day when you walked into a store and bought a DVD if you wanted to watch a movie at home or a record if you wanted to listen to your favorite music? It seems like forever since in a world where streaming has changed music and movies. And although streaming has solved many of the pain points that the previous system had, it has taken away any form of ownership. Tony Mugavero is looking to change this and give consumers ownership of the content they pay their money for.
Tony is a co-founder and CEO of Rad NFTV, a relatively new player in the BSV blockchain ecosystem. He joined Patrick Thompson for CoinGeek TV on the sidelines of the BSV Global Blockchain Convention to talk about how his company uses NFTs to change the streaming culture.
“We are building a streaming platform for Web3,” Tony told CGTV. His platform has worked with large film studios and broadcasters as well as smaller and independent creators. It also has a consumer-facing app that lets users view this content.
Tony aimed at streaming platforms and the effect they have had on the content landscape. From Netflix and Prime Video to Spotify and Disney +, streaming platforms have become so ubiquitous that we no longer question their content distribution model.
Before the advent of streaming platforms, consumers bought DVDs and discs to consume content, giving them a sense of ownership. Today, the streaming model is built around rentals, something Rad NFTV is looking to change. Tony believes that consumers have recently started questioning this model where they pay so much money but do not end up owning anything.
The streaming platforms have not only affected consumers. In the past, content producers could sell their content and make money in advance, such as a music artist who wanted to sell their records and get the money. Today, they depend on getting a fraction of a penny when someone streams their music. The big winners are music streaming apps like Spotify, which end up taking out most of the revenue.
Use NFTs to open up a world of possibilities
Rad NFTV allows content producers to package their content as NFTs and then sell it directly to consumers so that they can finally get the rightful compensation for hard work.
“… you connect directly to the artist and you buy into a more community as a fan. So the fandom can really grow around the intellectual property because the fans actually buy into the artists,” Tony explained.
With these NFTs, consumers can not only access content, but also have access to this whole other world of interaction with their favorite creators.
Rad NFTV started as a streaming platform in the virtual reality world. However, this market slowed down around 2017, which got Tony and his team looking for the next innovation. They started building a content marketplace on Ethereum in 2018, and relied on smart contracts to automate the entire process.
Before long, Tony realized that Ethereum could not deliver over time, “it just got more expensive and slower and harder to use.” With gas charges reaching as high as $ 100, Ethereum was not possible for Rad NFTV’s model. The team started exploring alternatives, and landed on Bitcoin SV as the best solution as it scales indefinitely and has very low fees.
As Tony revealed, Ayre Ventures played a major role in the migration to the BSV blockchain and has even invested in the startup.
The Rad NFTV team is currently fine-tuning its migration to BSV. It also works to integrate with its client applications, everything from PlayStation, iOS market, Android TV and more.
“We make it easy for video creators to use blockchain and do it in a cost-effective, high-performance way,” Tony concluded.
See: BSV Global Blockchain Convention panel, entertainment, sports and blockchain
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