The entertainment industry has always been at the forefront of technological change – just consider advancements in recording equipment, both the kind used to produce blockbuster movies and the soundtracks that accompany them. Yet despite this fact, it remains a space where fans are all too often passive consumers while artists themselves remain at the mercy of opaque industry mechanisms.
Enter web3 technology, a suite of blockchain-based systems poised to inject unprecedented levels of engagement, interaction, transparency and democratization into an industry valued at $2.32 trillion. In particular, the web3 tech stack can bring consumers and fans closer to the action, opening up the entertainment world in new and exciting ways.
The Dawn of Participatory Entertainment
Evidence of this particular technological transformation is piling up. Take Modhaus, a South Korean music agency and management label preparing to launch the world’s first K-pop artist made and operated by fans. Not an avatar, not a hologram: a real human singer or band effectively community-managed by their buying public. CEO Jaden Jeong refers to Modhaus as an “open-architecture entertainment company.”
Here’s how this ‘EnterTech’ model works: Modhaus uses a blockchain-powered mobile app called COSMO to record votes cast by fans. In its own words, the company is “a firm believer that the role fans play should be acknowledged and empowered. Fans should hold more power over the production of their favorite artists.”
This people-centric model means that power is siphoned away from managers and middlemen and given to K-pop listeners themselves. Case in point: the girl group tripleS, whose lead single and member composition were determined by fans using an NFT-based voting process called Gravity. During a four-day period in September, approximately 8,000 NFT owners had their say, casting thousands of votes to elect their favorite pop stars – a bit like a web3 version of American Idol.
It’s not hard to imagine how this model might evolve over time, with fans getting to influence wide-ranging decisions related to song choices, concert locations, touring schedules and track lists, album themes, stage costumes, guest features and so on.
It isn’t just about engagement, in other words: it’s about empowerment. The transparency guaranteed by blockchain, of course, guarantees that every vote cast by a fan is a verifiable contribution to the overall creative process. In the same way that legal streaming via apps like Spotify and Deezer forever changed the music industry, web3 could well represent the next major evolution of the entertainment sector.
If the current model measures fan engagement is likes, shares, streams and merchandise sales, the model of the near future could quantify it in token-votes cast or DAO membership numbers. In Modhaus’ case, a lot will ride on whether their hot new act tripleS can become the next K-pop success story.
Gamifying the Viewer Experience
The music industry isn’t the only place where we see web3-powered models coming to the fore. The world of gaming is perhaps even further along the road, as evidenced by the rise of an entire offshoot known as GameFi – gamified finance. GameFi releases use blockchain and tokens to give players the opportunity to earn digital assets with real-world value from their virtual endeavors.
Azarus is a platform that seeks to leverage blockchain to instill a participatory ethos in gamers. A blockchain-based streaming venture, its raison d’être is the integration of games into livestreams, giving viewers the chance to do more than just watch along as their favorite gamer does his or her thing. With Azarus, games pop up on livestreams and viewers can play along and earn AzaCoins, adding an immersive and interactive layer to the stream-viewing experience. Like the Brave browser and its BAT tokens, the model is about rewarding users for their time and attention.
Recently acquired by web3 gaming giant Animoca Brands (creator of The Sandbox), Azarus has already distributed over $2 million in rewards to more than 20 million players. Interestingly, AzaCoins earned from in-stream games can be spent in the Azarus store which has over 35,000 items for sale including releases like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and FIFA 23.
The Invisible Hand of Web3
Perhaps the most notable aspect of web3 technology in an entertainment context is its ability to operate unobtrusively, quietly humming in the background like an air-con unit on a balmy day. For fans using Modhaus, blockchain is merely the silent enabler of a new form of fandom, one where votes translate into real-world action. For Azarus users, the distributed ledger is just the unseen mechanism ensuring participation is fairly rewarded.
In both of these cases, the value proposition of web3 is clear: it enhances the entertainment experience without insisting that users understand the complexity of the technology. After all, understanding what’s under the hood isn’t necessary, just as it isn’t essential to know the intricate workings of a combustion engine to drive a car. This seamless integration is the hallmark of tech that truly serves its users, enhancing without intruding, empowering without overwhelming.
The implications of web3 technology in entertainment extend beyond current applications, of course. As more platforms tap into blockchain, the potential for new forms of value creation is immense. Imagine a world where every interaction, every engagement and every contribution a fan makes is part of a value chain, with tangible rewards and recognition.
The entertainment industry stands on the cusp of a new era, one where the lines between creator, consumer and contributor are blurred. Through blockchain, NFTs, DAOs and fungible tokens, web3 tech can refresh an industry that formerly worked in a top-down manner. As platforms like Modhaus and Azarus demonstrate, when fans and players earn a real stake in the outcomes of their engagement, the entire ecosystem thrives.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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