We are experiencing a mind-blowing “crypto winter.” The atmosphere in Web3 is extremely chilly. Sales of non-fungible tokens (NFT) have decreased shockingly by 97% since the year’s beginning. The much-promised promise of NFTs altering artist/fan and creator/audience connections in media and entertainment is in ruins. Shattered. DOA. Right? Wrong.
For Hollywood, the music business, and all artists and creators over the long run, NFTs (units of data kept on a digital ledger known as a blockchain that certify a digital asset to be unique and hence not interchangeable) continue to promise a transformational mass market opportunity. We are still in the early innings and are essentially just stepping up to the plate. Though it will take time, this is already in motion.
Let’s start with Hollywood
Fox Television set aside $100 million months ago to create NFT-inspired programmes, making it the only big studio without a direct-to-consumer paid subscription streaming service similar to Netflix. The new animated series “Krapopolis,” from the mind of Dan Harmon, a co-creator of “Community,” is its first significant undertaking. NFT purchasers will receive private screenings, token-gated access, and meet-and-greets with the cast, among other benefits.
Warner Bros. Consumer Products’ collaboration with illustrious trading card company Cartamundi is one of the new NFT experiments being conducted by Hollywood. Together, they created a limited-edition set of NFT trading cards based on well-known DC Comics characters called “Hro,” which unlocks new experiences and provides a fresh way to actively promote Warner Bros. movies. Incorporating both a physical and digital component, these hybrid cards can be resold on secondary markets to generate a sizable new source of income.
What about the music industry?
Major record labels like Warner Music Group have made significant investments in businesses and initiatives in the NFT sector. Just last week, WMG unveiled a significant collaboration with NFT platform OpenSea to enable specific artists to integrate their fan bases into Web3. Superfans can now participate in the music industry’s craze for large private equity-financed music publishing and master recording acquisition deals, such as Concord Song Group’s estimated $300 million-plus purchase of the music portfolios of Phil Collins and Genesis last week.
The Chainsmokers, a group that specialises in electronic dance music, recently offered fractional shares in their most recent album “So Far So Good” to superfans via NFTs on the Royal platform. The 5,000 NFT owners receive a continuing cut of the music’s revenues in addition to continuous priority access to tickets, merchandise, and events. Yes, these might be regarded as securities, so proceed with caution, but Royal must have a response because a prestigious law firm approved of its offering.
Companies like the highly regarded OP3N are creating NFT ticketing as part of their comprehensive super app platform for the world of concerts and live events, which might end ticket scalping and provide additional long-term benefits to the buyer. Even Ticketmaster is rumoured to be entering the fray to defend its land. Additionally, OOD, a cutting-edge new blockchain-enabled platform for the physical collectibles market, uses NFTs to authenticate rare real-world music artefacts like the guitars of your favourite artists and to provide the buyer with unique experiences.
So why all the dread and gloom when there are so many opportunities in the mass market?
NFT naysayers, however, primarily pay attention to the token sales that were only motivated by speculative greed and the infamous “pump and dump” scams of con artists who promised big but simply stole the money from the gullible. The very genuine market opportunity, however, is not there. All the entertainment options stated above feature and encourage real-world community and enduring value, unlike that infamous JPEG-fueled disaster.
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