While it’s common for moviegoers and film buffs to pay to consume content, piracy has become an ongoing issue. One of the driving forces behind pirating video content is the consumers’ desire to watch new content as soon as it’s released, without having to pay to see movies in theatres or through subscription-based platforms, like Netflix and Amazon.
According to Statista, in the United States, 48% of respondents have watched a movie after it left theatres, but before it was available to watch legally at home. An additional 24% have admitted to watching a pirated movie while it was still in theatres. In 2016, some of the most pirated movies worldwide included Deadpool, Batman v Superman, and Zootopia, while Game of Thrones was the most pirated TV series.
Yet as the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival kicks off, one of the highlights will be the NEXT programme, which focuses on innovation in the cinema industry through blockchain technology. Blockchain technology has the ability to solve prevailing concerns facing the film industry, such as piracy, digital rights issues and protecting user’s data.
One well-known Hollywood producer in particular is demonstrating how blockchain technology and cryptocurrency will help the film industry overcome piracy, along with a number of other problems. Ambi Media Group co-founder and CEO, Andrea Iervolino, has just announced the upcoming launch of TaTaTu, a blockchain-based platform that intertwines social media activity with entertainment viewing.
According to Iervolino, “Most content platform business models are based on making the final user pay for content, which generates a market for illegal content monetization, and therefore less revenues for content owners.”
By providing free access to mainstream content across a blockchain-based network, the TaTaTu platform lets content right holders monetize every piece of content stored within the TaTaTu library.
TaTaTu is listening to the marketplace and adapting - giving free access to content and going a step further to reward users with an automatic monetization system. And, rights holders can finally stop being concerned about piracy. They will monetize every piece of content based on the effective consumption and real views, with transparent and real time financial reporting with their IP recorded on the Blockchain, Iervolino said.
Film Buffs Rewarded With Cryptocurrency
Similar to other blockchain-based networks, TaTaTu takes a cryptoeconomics approach to content consumption and distribution, providing users with cryptocurrency incentives to participate in watching free movies, sports, gaming and other types of media.
The general concept behind TaTaTu is to reward users with an ERC-20 token, know as the TTU token, for viewing and sharing free content. However, an incentive to watch and share content is just scratching the surface in terms of what blockchain technology can provide for the film industry as a whole.
For example, TaTaTu’s blockchain-based platform will help tackle a number of ongoing issues for content creators, users and advertisers. In addition to combating film piracy, all talent, distributors, and studios on the TaTaTu platform will have an accurate record of their work since the digital rights management platform is built on a blockchain-based network that is fully transparent. Moreover, blockchain technology allows users and content providers to get rewarded with the TTU token for participating on the TaTaTu network.
We wanted to create an ecosystem based on trust and fairness, which is currently not possible through the use of fiat money. TaTaTu plans to become a global platform, therefore, we needed to create a token that is universal, without the limitations that a FIAT currency embodies. Our token will also be the only way to purchase advertising on our platform and to record on a public ledger the fair distribution of revenue. The token will also be used with our Digital Right Management tool that we will deploy to support content producers.
TaTaTu also aims to solve the issue of social media and entertainment platforms profiting from gathering personal user data. Platforms like Facebook and Netflix earn revenue by collecting user data. For instance, Netflix gathers data from their users to better understand their content preferences. However, there is currently no transparency as to how data is being collected and users are never rewarded for giving platforms access to their personal data.
Social networks and entertainment platforms are making huge profits by gathering data from their users and selling it to other corporations without rewarding their users. There is a need for a platform that provides higher levels of transparency to their users, brands, and rights holders about the revenues generated and monetization of users. Audiences need free, legal and quality content with a simple user experience.
Not To Be Confused With Subscription-Based Models
Approximately 250 hours of film content exists in the TaTaTu content library, which is being provided by the AMBI Media Group Library. A full version of the platform is expected to be released next year and will include social media functions, which will allow users to view the number of tokens they earn at any given time. And while Iervolino explains that the platform is looking to acquire even more content in the future, he points out that TaTaTu is much different from subscription-based platforms like Netflix.
It is important to understand that we don’t compete with platforms like Netflix and Amazon, as they are subscription-based, nor with platforms like Hulu, which focus solely on advertising. Our business model is unique, as we reward users — focusing on the relationship between the advertiser and the content viewer. It is something completely new in the market and that we believe is the future of viewing and sharing content.
