Between 2017 and 2020, funding for blockchain startups increased by double, and by 2023, real investment is anticipated to be $16 billion.
Blockchain’s rising popularity is expected to have a long-lasting effect on the entertainment industry, even though the most apparent changes to date have been in the financial sector — from crowdfunding redesigns to decentralized finance (DeFi) apps impacting loans and credit, insurance, and asset trading — and infrastructure and security.
Blockchain technology has the potential to significantly impact entertainment for years to come, affecting everything from how the material is produced, gathered, disseminated, and consumed to the relationship between content producers and their audience.
The Potential Effects of Blockchain on the Entertainment Sector
The infrastructure of the entire world is already being decentralized. Finance is already feeling the effects, and now leaders in the entertainment industry are beginning to understand how it can affect their companies. While not yet widely used, blockchain-based smart contracts could impact entertainment agreements by offering a secure alternative to conventional negotiations, guaranteeing consistent payment for creators, streamlining collaboration with the crew on international projects, and reducing the bureaucracy that stymies many large projects.
The film and entertainment sector “is ready to revolutionize its business activities with cryptocurrency and blockchain, permitting secure, transparent, and traceable transactions across the market.” in a recent article for Fast Company, Ahmed Shabana, founder of Parkpine Capital, discussed how cryptocurrency is expected to transform the entertainment industry. Parkpine Capital invests in seed series A firms based on cryptocurrency for entertainment.
Due to the expansive nature of blockchain technology and its independence from physical limits, artists and consumers who previously lacked access will now be able to engage with the sector. Tools that give artists and content producers a better understanding of how content is consumed and distributed can be used. Independent filmmakers who struggle to understand the intricate finance network for the film business can now access a vast new pool of resources from significant investors and blockchain-powered crowdfunding sites. Additionally, it can mean more reliable profits for media businesses better equipped to deal with piracy.
The entertainment sector gains from adopting blockchain-powered processes, such as content micropayments, the elimination of content aggregation, more dependable and accurate royalty distributions, and support for consumer-to-consumer sales, as that system is currently decentralized.
Hollywood Is Changing Already
The seeds of change can already be seen by those searching for clues.
By the end of 2021, AMC Entertainment Holdings will begin accepting Ether, Bitcoin, and Litecoin to purchase tickets and concessions. Google Cloud and the Canadian firm Dapper Labs have partnered to support and scale Dapper’s Flow blockchain. Zero Contact, a brand-new science fiction picture starring Anthony Hopkins, will be “the first film auctioned off as an NFT.” According to Yahoo! Finance, the movie will be sold through the NFT film distribution network Vuele, which aims to transform the way movies are distributed in the future: According to Rick Dugdale, co-Founder of VUELE, “what we’re attempting to accomplish is demonstrate that there is a cash stream in Hollywood that has never been before.”
Consider the following trends that are already appearing:
Moviegoers can acquire a portion of a film using NFT-based transactions. Recently, MGM and VeVe collaborated to distribute several digital assets as NFTs in support of the debut of the newest James Bond movie, No Time to Die. Marvel and Fox have also tried using NFTs, releasing a set of Deadpool 2 limited edition NFTs. Various digital movie posters are available as NFTs from OpenSea and Terra Virtua, respectively.
Celebrities like Tom Brady, Spike Lee, and Neil Patrick Harris are working with cryptocurrency companies like CoinFlip, Robinhood, and PayPal to promote the widespread adoption of the technology. These businesses are growing in popularity. FTX provided sponsorship for the 2021 Major League Baseball Playoffs.
The use of blockchain technology will eventually be fundamental to how we engage with new media. It seems as though curiosity is just increasing. Nevertheless, there is still a need to improve access and finance for different entrepreneurs and companies around the globe who frequently go unnoticed. These people have the chance to gain attention in the media in a whole new way, thanks to blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
The potential effects of blockchain and cryptocurrency access and investment on the entertainment industry are currently being intensively investigated by significant studios, angel investors, and crowdfunding platforms. We’re in a transitional period, similar to when the commercial internet first went online in the 1990s. Media and entertainment will differ from where they are now in ten years. Decision-makers must keep an eye on this field as entertainment businesses roll out new technology to distribute information and collectibles over blockchain.
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