The media world is changing rapidly. This is one of the most fascinating industries to watch as things shift.
At the core of this is technology. We are seeing innovation in a number of different areas starting to have a major impact. For some entities, it is catastrophic. Over the last year, we detailed how Hollywood is in decline.
However, while some are getting crushed, others are finding opportunities. Innovation provides solutions. The question often comes down to who is the one utilizing what is provided?
Artificial intelligence is getting a great deal of attention. There are other developments in play, including blockchain.
Web 3.0 is going to play an important part in the future.
In this article we will discuss a couple aspects that are emerging.
Media Companies Adopting Blockchain?
Blockchain in a very powerful technology. The fact we are dealing with an immutable database is becoming more important.
While the average user could care less, as we enter the age of generative AI and deepfakes, authenticity is becoming a growing problem. How do people operate if we literally cannot believe what we read or, worse, videos seen?
Here is where blockchain enters. The ability to track the history of the image or video is essential. Obviously, scanning through a block explorer history will reveal what the original was, who posted it, and then the history after that.
There is a network called Adex that seeks to cater to this.
Blockchain offers the ability to tokenize. This is important in an era where copyright and ownership is in question. We see the battles between the companies behind LLMs and publishers. Lawsuits over copyright infringement are being launched, something that will likely take years to settle.
One big question is whether media companies will embrace blockchain. This might not be up to them.
Regulation could emerge which forces the ability to fully track the history of a work. While housing it on a closed server is the preference, we could see laws stating how public access is required. In this instance, the client-server model might not work.
Of course, anyone who was involved in Web 3.0 for any period of time understands the benefits offered by blockchain.
At issue is when the rest of the world will catch on.
Sadly, the industry, to many people, is nothing more than a casino. The building, or lack thereof, was outpaced by the widespread speculation and hopes of overnight riches. Along the way, many were wiped out due to ignorance about markets, fraud, scams, or hacks.
This will continue as long as the masses believe that wealth accumulation is that easy.
At the other end of the spectrum is those looking to be the Googles, Amazons, and Pricelines of this era. They are not concerned about markets. Instead, the focus is upon building companies that provide services. Here is where those tied to blockchain can offer up some solutions.
The AI Race
Reverting back to the essence of the media industry, part of the upcoming disruption is the emergence of artificial intelligence.
AI is going to alter content creation. This is going to affect every level. It is also the death nail for Hollywood. Centralized entities will be scaled down as they need less people. That is what automation does.
Many are fighting it while other embrace it.
James Cameron is one of Hollywood's most notable figures. He is behind many blockbuster films such as Avatar. As we can see from the above headline, he is joining the board of Stability.
Is anyone surprised that a well-known Hollywood figure is joining an AI company that focuses upon the generation of images and video?
Cameron is certainly not running from the technology.
“I was at the forefront of CGI over three decades ago, and I've stayed on the cutting edge since,” Cameron said in a statement accompanying the news. “Now, the intersection of generative AI and CGI image creation is the next wave.”
The net effect of this is "doing more with less". From this, we can read less to mean people.
Today, the technology is such that it is a bit wonky, especially with video. That will likely not be the case in two years.
While the likes of Cameron are jumping on board, there will be many who are following suit yet do not operate in Hollywood. Something like Stability is going to eventually enable the creation of feature length films using nothing more than a laptop.
This means that the amount of product hitting the market will be mind boggling. It is logical to conclude that a lot of it will be awful. That said, simple percentages mean some will be smash hits.
Again, we could see blockchain entering the equation. Tokenization is the form of monetization that could be adopted. This will not be the only form of compensation but it will allow for content creators to generate some revenue stream.
It is probable that we see platforms set up for this purpose.
In Conclusion
It is going to be a wild 2-3 years for the media industry.
We are going to see more fallout. Traditional companies struggle as the fragmentation of the industry continues.
With each passing more, not only does generative AI improve but we are also seeing people get more comfortable with using it. That is going to lead to a great deal of experimentation. Some of the people toying with the new technology will have breakthroughs.
This is going to be a bludgeoning for those who resist. The pace of change along with the potential numbers becomes overwhelming. This is the situation that propelled YouTube to the top of the charts.
On that platform, there are 114 million channels. That is a lot of selection. That said, there are over 320K with 100,000 subscribers or more. Source
This means the numbers are against anyone trying to compete. If 1% of those channels are decent, that is still 3,200, a number that far outpaces traditional media.
Soon, all these people will be supercharged with even more powerful tools.
Blockchain could be at the center of this in a few years.