When you hear the term “blockchain” you are most likely associating it with cryptocurrencies like the bitcoin. Although blockchain was originally adopted for the needs of the cryptocurrency, it is emerging from its starting point and widening its range of influence. It’s only just beginning to move forward and it still isn’t at its full swing. However, it is slowly making its way towards new territories. Specifically, we’ll cover ways in which blockchain is changing media and entertainment.
The blockchain is an unchangeable, permanent, encrypted, and secure database that records every single transaction and makes it visible to all participants. It is completely transparent and can’t be altered. The question we’re dealing with today is, how does it disrupt media and entertainment?
It’s crucial for the media and entertainment industry’s companies to leverage the most of blockchain and make a strategic decision on how to take advantage of this technology, for this you can also hire blockchain expertise from blockchain development companies.
Take a look at 3 ways blockchain is changing the face of media and entertainment
1. Ownership rights
Netflix, YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify…these are all platforms enabling the consumption of music, movies, TV shows and other digital content to people all over the globe.
The platforms are in control more than the artists themselves:
- they collect subscriptions
- they get paid for advertisement by various third-parties
- they are earning solid money
The facilitators or the content distribution platforms are taking a piece of the cake purely for distributing what the artist has created.
Although this is great for the platforms, the artists are struggling to regain control over their work and ensure the fair share of the profit.
More and more artists are standing against unfair content distribution and are asking for a more transparent way of doing business. Blockchain might be the solution.
The blockchain helps the artist eliminate the facilitator, and making a bigger profit from each individual sale. How? It’s simple.
There needs to be a public database, removing the middleman, or Digital Rights Management.
Creators themselves can use blockchain to create a list of those who can access their content and determine the conditions of this agreement themselves.
2. Micropayments
Copyright content is usually accessible through subscription fees paid by the users who wish to listen to their favorite artists’ music or watch the latest TV shows.
Although the fees are credible, there are still some issues which may affect the content creators themselves.
Miranda Portman, the social media expert at top writers review is certain that “a more personalized payment method would be beneficial for both the consumers and the creators”. She adds: “Not every consumer watches the same amount of TV shows or listens to the same amount of music.”
For those who spend every day enjoying the entertainment, the subscription fees are doing the trick.
But, what happens to those who only want to listen to one song or watch one movie?
Well, blockchain could help introduce the pay-per-use system, allowing everybody to pay for just the amount of content they consumed.
3. Royalty Distribution
Blockchain has brought to life something we call smart contracts. Smart contracts are essentially rules and terms agreed by the two parties and programmed to automatically make transactions and keep track of all data revolving around the digital marketplace.
So, how does it affect the way media and entertainment content is consumed?
Well, in the music industry, there has been a lot of dispute, and even some lawsuits, regarding streaming services such as Spotify.
The copyright holder has the right to collect compensation each time his/her song is streamed, used in a video, played at a TV show or distributed in any different manner.
However, the way things are today, keeping track of the exact streaming and usage of the piece of music is extremely complex and almost impossible.
Well, with bitcoin and smart contacts, things are looking up for the artists. Combining these two and attaching it to each individual piece of music would eliminate any doubt and provide accurate information about the distribution for all parties involved.
That would ensure precise and secure royalty payments.
Conclusion:
Even though the blockchain is only just emerging as the newest addition to the media and entertainment industry business, it’s bringing in some serious changes. Some may benefit from it while others may feel at a loss.
Still, it’s undeniable that change is inevitable and we’re entering a new era of media and entertainment consumption, thanks to the blockchain.
