by Bernard Thornhill
Introduction
There is rarely any field that has not been affected by these non-fungible tokens, and their usefulness in fostering originality has not gone unnoticed. The movie industry worldwide has gotten into the NFT rave, albeit late, and Hollywood seems to be pulling a lot of strings to get a fair share of the pie. Before we look at the telling problems in the movie industry, let’s try to explain the concept of NFTs.
NFT is an acronym for Non-Fungible Token. It was first introduced by the Ethereum blockchain and referred to tokens that cannot be duplicated, replicated, or counterfeited.
For instance, if I give you a $100 note, you can give me two $50 notes later. I would still have $100, but not the $100 note I gave you. I could decide to give the new $100 (now two $50 notes) to another person, and if he decides to give me in another form, I can now have a hundred $1 notes. The simple explanation of this example is that the dollar is a fungible token. It can change form while retaining the same value. There are many other fungible tokens, from fiat currencies to cryptocurrencies, and while they are not bad in themselves, the prospects of changing the form of digital art have cost the movie industry trillions of dollars over the years. Let’s see some of these problems plaguing the movie industry.
Problems facing the movie industry
1. Authenticity:
Ever heard of piracy? If yes, then you would be shocked at the facts surrounding it. A research carried out on movies spanning over the last nineteen years has shown that movies nominated for an Oscar award have been leaked online for ten out of those nineteen years.
While some have opined that these pirated movies are a form of free advertisement for the movie producers, I doubt the movie producers themselves will want to lose millions of dollars to pirates for each movie produced. The coronavirus has made things worse, and many movie producers are boycotting theaters to salvage what is left of their profits.
2. The Big Divide:
There’s really no way movie producers can connect with their watchers. Almost no incentives exist for being a local fan of one movie studio over another. While most fans are not complaining, success in other facets of life points to the fact that the current systems employed by Hollywood are not sustainable anymore. Will things change? Perhaps the time is now.
3. Intermediary problem:
There are lots of intermediaries in every movie production. While the big players in the movie industry might not see the demerit of this, many upcoming movie producers are reeling in debts just to settle the many intermediaries.
Importance of NFTs
1. Authenticity:
Although it has been a year-long debate, how does one claim ownership of digital art when the same art can be saved by another person with just one click. Well, that you have something does not mean you own it. Just as you can download da Vinci art online with a simple google search, it does not mean you own the original artwork. With movies, this would deter pirates from having replaceable access to the movies and, in so doing, give the producers a chance to earn more.
2. The NFT space fosters inclusiveness:
There are talks on people investing in an upcoming movie and getting tokens that show that. They also get to have extra perks and incentives like private viewing offers. This way, the movie viewers feel more involved in the production phase, and perhaps in the future, they would be able to vote on some minute details regarding the movie’s characters.
3. Fairness:
The NFT space is the fairest opportunity to date for new and aspiring movie artists to get a good share of the market and monetize their intellectual properties. Will it be as equitable as many believe it would be? No, the NFT space is not a utopia. Rather, with the right strategies and a quick response time from errors, new folks will be able to make a name for themselves and carve their own niche, all while making money.
4. A new creator economy:
The world of digital content is fragmented. There are a lot of middlemen involved, and the goal of making money is often substituted for exposure. The blockchain technology can help creators stand alone and not be used as bait for ads and promotions.
5. Immutability:
NFTs are a good way to ensure immutability. Although it is still unclear how much this would affect the movie industry, some experts quote that it would help in wading off piracy as the system cannot be hacked into or modified; hence, movies will not be seen before their official release dates.
Conclusion
Hollywood is not taking the back seat anymore, and it seems like the race for who can outdo the other is just heating up. Most fan-favourite movies are being released as collectibles, and they are divided into the rare and common collectibles categories. Several companies are looking to create marketplaces for movies’ arts and connect with their viewers in so doing. Although they would look more like Opensea than like Redot.com, the point of intersection for all is blockchain technology.
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