Blockchain for Media Industry
Blockchain is the most hyped and talked about technology and it has the potential to disrupt a number of industries and introduce new business models in those industries.
What is Blockchain?
A blockchain is a digital, distributed ledger that records transactions in real-time. Hence there is a control mechanism on the errors and very little scope for manipulation of data.
Blockchain technology was originally created for cryptocurrency Bitcoin, but blockchain has number application areas where a central authority is not required.
The media industry has been hugely affected by piracy of intellectual property as there is free access to a variety of content where users very rarely pay subscription fees.
Blockchain can be used to resolve these issues and the many challenges faced by the media industry.
With blockchain based technologies, copyright infringements could be avoided. Monetization options could emerge for various content types, like, photos videos, etc.
Although the development of these technologies is still evolving and currently in a very young stage, this could help boost the industry
How blockchain can disrupt media
The industry structure in the media space is such that artists create content and there are platforms for the artists to host their content. The platform providers handle the money and royalty to artists and content providers.
With blockchain technologies, there would be a shift in the industry structure. The content aggregators or platform providers could be bypassed and the market focus is shifted to the content creators and copyright owners.
Although the applications with this technology are still in development and it will take some time to adapt to this but this change will make transactions less costly. The revenues will no longer be collected centrally.
The flat subscription model on a content aggregator platform may undergo a change and micropayments will be put in place where consumers pay just for the content they want to consume.
These and more use cases using blockchain for the media industry could resolve fundamental issues within the industry.
Blockchain’s potential could benefit the media industry in a huge way especially in tracking copyrights and in payment transactions.
