Can Web3 and Blockchain help empower content creators?
Web 3.0 integrating blockchain technology can help the trillion dollar media and entertainment industry by democratizing the industry. In this way, we help with copyright infringement, make money from content and much more. But despite the hype, the blockchain segment remains “unexposed.”
The global media and entertainment industry has recently undergone a digital revolution. Today’s consumers expect immersive, on-demand content tailored to their preferences and available anytime, anywhere. Meanwhile, the rapidly increasing number of players and entertainment options is leading to subscription fatigue. So what does it take for a media and entertainment company to stay relevant and competitive in today’s ever-evolving market? A human-driven approach? Cutting edge technology? Personal storytelling? or seamless connection?
The answer may be a combination of all these factors under one roof, but with a blockchain twist. Whether it is new age media cloud OTT, quality of experience connectivity or security, the future of media and entertainment with the integration of blockchain.
So here’s a deep dive into how blockchain can play a crucial role in transforming the Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry. More to help the ever growing industry.
2021 saw unprecedented traction in the ever-evolving industry worldwide. Here, the media and entertainment market is worth $2.20 trillion as of 2021. The market size of the US media and entertainment industry is $717 billion. The US media and entertainment industry can grow at a CAGR of 8.90% until 2030.
Australian consumers spent more than $30 billion, up 6.23% from the previous year. This was the highest one-year jump in the history of the E&M Outlook, according to a report by PwC Australia.
“The largest contributor to consumer spending remains internet access followed by gaming and subscription TV, which accounted for almost 60 percent of the remaining A$14.0 billion, both of which are expected to see significant continued growth over the forecast period.”
Growth for the entertainment and media industry is set at 5.50 percent in 2022, reaching a market share of $32.66 billion, according to PwC Australia’s forecast.
The aforementioned growth was in line with the pure transformation within the aforementioned industry. Creators need to create content faster than ever before. More content is being created than ever before. And so the entertainment industry in general is looking to technology as a way to empower the creative community.
Simon Crownshaw, Head of Media and Entertainment Strategy at Microsoft, stated in a YouTube video:
“We’re seeing massive disruption in the way content is consumed, and I think that’s only going to continue. There’s always going to be thinking about how we get more and more people involved in that content creation process. And so if you layer on on top of that, I have to collaborate across borders, for example, to make sure these things happen in real time because I need to get it done much faster.”
The Role of Blockchain Technology in the M&E Industry
Given the growth of the industry in question and the need for the latest technology, Blockchain continues to play a critical role in further democratizing the rapidly growing M&E space.
When it comes to understanding how blockchain can help the entertainment industry, here’s a simple narrative. The attractive feature of blockchain is that a middleman is taken out of the industry, given the decentralization aspect. Likewise, within the entertainment domain, the role of middlemen is immense. So the connection between an artist in any form, be it a journalist, an entertainer or a content creator – an intermediary enables the audience in some way.
But with blockchain integration, said cohort can connect directly to the public. They help creators further monetize their work. Another exciting and direct applicability of blockchain is in digital rights management.
Protect rights
Digital rights management solutions today are complex as they must be developed to support the diversity of current business models, such as streaming services for music downloads and multi-device consumption. Today’s ownership and usage data is supplied to record companies, film studios, publishers, distributors and so on in quite complex ways.
The interest of blockchain is really to use this technology and create self-executing smart contracts that can make digital rights management for the entertainment industry transparent, accessible, easy to understand and help monetize assets quickly.
Fun fact: one of the most popular shows, Game of Thrones season 7, received over one billion views as of September 2017 report. Surprisingly, the total legal views were only 16 million, increasing the need for blockchain technology to serve money on creators’ work.
The intersection between Web3 and content creation
With the increasing trend of demand for web3, the entertainment industry can also benefit from it. Web3 already allows diverse creators to engage with never-before-seen content. Furthermore, it aims to offset creators and artists constrained by a business-first, conservative, risk-averse bureaucracy.
Navdeep Sharma, the creator of ReelStar, talks about this matter with BeInCrypto. According to the company’s claims, ReelStar is the first “everything app” developed from the ground up on a decentralized web3 multi-blockchain platform with integrated live streaming, video sharing, peer-to-peer chat, audio/video calling, NFT minting, NFT marketplace, and a digital wallet with unique functions.
The app looked to “rebalance the economics of content creation, engagement and value for both creators and those who value their creativity using blockchain technology.”
Thoughts on the matter
Symbolizing the value of one’s creative work can greatly improve how it is presented in the digital world. By creating content in NFTs, artists can take back control over their creations and how and where they are used.
Web3 may be the next technological step and has been touted as a new age to be revolutionized by blockchain. The technology is still new and has relatively less exposure to extreme conditions.
In addition, there must be more clarity around regulations around the niche segment. With the increasing traction of blockchain technologies, be it web3, regulatory watchdogs can crack down with strict rules. This may or may not call into question the “decentralization” concept behind this sector.
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