Blockchain in Media & Entertainment

What are the Benefits of Blockchain in Media and Entertainment?

The music business still primarily operates on legacy systems and business models erected when songs were distributed in a hard-copy format, and not released via the internet. Only a few players have caught up to digitization, and they dominate the streaming market, squeezing out profit for artists.

The open and decentralized nature of the public Ethereum platform will allow actors in the entertainment industry to reap the following benefits:

• Decreased IP infringement

• Disintermediated content from industry intermediaries

• Direct monetization of all copywritten assets through smart contracts and p2p micropayments

How will blockchain decrease IP infringement in media and entertainment?

Digital piracy, fraudulent copies, infringed studio intellectual property (IP), and duplication of digital items cost the US film and TV industry an estimated $71 billion annually. Enterprise Ethereum allows artists and creators to digitize the metadata of their unique content and manage and store IP rights on a time-stamped, immutable ledger. The append-only structure of a blockchain makes it easier for creators to legally enforce their rights once infringement occurs.

How will blockchain bring disintermediation to media and entertainment?

The advertising and media industry is rife with intermediaries. CitiGroup reports that although the US music industry spend is at an all-time high of $43 billion a year; the artist only takes home $5 billion, or about 12 percent. On-demand streaming services like YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and Soundcloud are intermediaries as well as industry players like recorded music companies, music publishers, music managers, and music distributors.

How will blockchain enable micropayments in media and entertainment?

Once a content creator has registered their property on a blockchain platform, the blockchain records every usage of that piece of content. This tracking enables real-time, flexible, and fully transparent consumption-based pricing mechanisms, e.g., metered billing. A smart contract can be utilized to execute automatic micropayments between the consumer and the creator.

What are the Blockchain Use Cases in Media & Entertainment?

There are several blockchain applications across the advertising & media industry. Here are some of the top use cases that Consensys has identified:

• Peer-to-peer sales and content distribution

• Streamlined royalty payments

• Usage-based billing models

How will blockchain technology enable peer to peer sales and content distribution in media and entertainment?

Utilizing Ethereum, artists can automate a large portion of the business administration work surrounding licensing, contracts, and payments. Once the contractual-based work, usually rife with intermediaries, is automated and performed at a fraction of the cost, creators can sell their work directly peer to peer. Blockchain-based marketplaces for digital content allow creators and consumers to interact without costly intermediaries.

How will blockchain technology streamline royalty payments?

On a blockchain-based platform, artists can upload original works, self-publish, control licensing options, and manage distributions. Royalty payments can be programmed into a smart contract for every piece of content and can be automatically paid out to the creator upon usage.

How will blockchain technology create new pricing options for paid content?

At the moment, customers pay content aggregators to access advertising and media like YouTube, Hulu, Tidal, Amazon Prime, and Netflix. As customers are bombarded with streaming service overload, an opportunity for pay-per-use consumption-based models presents itself. Blockchain technology has the ability to log an intricate record of media usage data and enables efficient micropayment pricing models.