How Blockchain Is Evolving The Digital Media Industry

Over the past few years, blockchain technology has transformed from the emerging phase to the trending phase across various industry sectors and many of them are primary verticals. In short, blockchain can be defined as a distributed and encrypted ledger technology that also powers one of the most powerful currencies like Blockchain.

The above image showcases the different types of blockchain applications that took over this year. This includes AI-based apps, used in the finance sector, Internet of Things (IoT), Cryptocurrencies and Smart Contracts.

Cryptocurrencies like DASH, Bitcoin and Ripple are some of the most publicized applications of blockchain technology, but apart from this, there are many use cases of blockchain that are not that popular in the public eye. And in this article, we will be discussing about those blockchain applications.

For instance, the role of blockchain in the Digital Media industry and what is its role in its evolution...

Although, there are many industry verticals like diamond mining, manufacturing, banking & finance, food safety etc. but for today the limelight will be in the media sector and the contribution of bitcoin in it.

The year 2018 has been quite an existing ride for the blockchain, which was surely filled with various ups and downs, for instance, Bitcoin completed its 10th year anniversary just a couple of weeks before.

The above image showcases the concept behind the technology of blockchain. As a universal digital ledger, blockchain can be effectively used in a number of applications, few examples are registration of a new device, checklist for automobile safety, authentication of remote users, etc..

According to a report released by Statista, it was seen that the size of the blockchain technology market worldwide in 2018 was 548.2 million U.S. dollars. And by next year, it is estimated to cross the threshold of 885 million U.S. dollars, which is a huge leap in such a short span.

Role of Bitcoin In Digital Media

With numerous digital security breaches yet triumphs in the media industry, working as a content creator in a digital space is becoming more challenging and more exciting at the same time. But now, the struggles of creating content have been minimized in comparison to previous years, all thanks to blockchain!

The above image by McKinsey & Company efficiently answers the question ‘How to create a blockchain transaction’? The above process is divided into four simple steps which start from assigning an encryption and ends with the updation of the ledger.

From publishing an ebook on Amazon to uploading your music or personal playlist to a streaming platform like Spotify, the blockchain technology is here to simplify all these different processes, which will further benefit to the professionals working in the field of media.

Here are some of the useful ways in which blockchain technology is contributing to the evolution of the digital media:

1. Elimination of Mediators

With the help of blockchain technology, the need for any middleman and mediators is eliminated because the technology itself creates an increasing list of data which consists of transactions as well as wire transfers. With this information, we can collect instantaneous and unalterable payment records.

Through blockchain-backed payment methods, media professionals can be assured that they are getting paid at a much faster rate with the amount that they truly deserve. This is only possible with the amount of transparency that blockchain technology provides to its users.

2. Minimizing Fraud Activities

One of the biggest problems that we are currently facing in the online media industry is the access of fake reviews and bogus users which only add a delay in the process by including various obstacles. And the technology of blockchain offers a solution to this problem with the help of real users and genuine reviews/ratings.

The image shows the wide range of possibilities with the blockchain technology which consists of use cases like supply chain management (SCM), KYC processes, big data apps, legal services, video streaming, healthcare industry, reporting systems and many more.

The blockchain-based services for digital media don’t just benefit the users’ wallets but also act as a great alternative to the outdated ratings and review systems that currently exist across all media platforms.

If we look at present-day scenarios, we can say that review systems are often fooled by fake reviews/ratings which can easily be created by bots. For example, twitter bots were quite popular in the past few months due to the same reason. But with the blockchain, we add the feature of digital fingerprinting or storing the digital identity; this will ensure that user review is real and cannot be altered from its original form.

3. Bringing a Revolution in Digital Media

The transparency, as well as the convenience offered by blockchain, cannot be overstated and in regards to this, the digital media industry needs to adopt the technology completely and also correctly. Now, the media industry has started to distribute digital media content through a system that is backed up by blockchain technology.

This is a great time for content creators and artists to take power back from the big platform providers and organizations. This will give birth to new opportunities to finally receive a fair share of profits over securely distributing a creator's work and maintain the integrity of original content reviews.

Some of the most influential musical acts like Tool, Beyonce and Yoko Ono are continuing to boycott these streaming services as an act of unity for all artists, as well as high criticism continuously plaguing the media industry as well.

Final Thoughts

It can be concluded that the main components of blockchain technology are now already available in the field of digital media. For instance, the songwriter Bjork recently released an album in conjunction with Audiocoin, which gave their customers a share of this trending cryptocurrency, this in return ignited the user's interest in blockchain-based media.

To be honest, the upcoming year will play a crucial role for the large-scale adoption of blockchain technology in the digital media industry, so you better stay tuned!