Breaking The Chain; How Blockchain Is Sponsoring More Equity And Transparency In Hollywood

Hollywood & Entertainment Breaking The Chain; How Blockchain Is Sponsoring More Equity And Transparency In Hollywood Josh Wilson Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I cover film, TV and entertainment through the lens of a producer. New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.

Got it! Aug 24, 2022, 07:08am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Blockchain financial technology concept with network of encrypted chain of transaction block linked . . .

[+] around planet Earth, cryptocurrency ledger (Bitcoin), secured economy (fintech), elements from NASA getty What if blockchain is all that it has been touted to be? What if this technology could really change an entire industry and bring in some much-needed equity and transparency? Hollywood was one of the last industries to begin exploring blockchain technology , which was to be expected since the creative industries have been under strong gatekeepers for the longest time. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 02/03/2020, Disney+ startscreen on mobile phone. Disney+ online video, .

. . [+] content streaming subscription service.

Disney plus, Star wars, Marvel, Pixar, National Geographic. getty One of the blockchains’ superpowers is its ability to make middlemen redundant because of its transparent and direct nature. As blockchain begins to be used within the creative spaces, many possibilities immediately become apparent; For example, with Blockchain technology, there is a strong possibility of actors, producers, and screenwriters contacting film studios directly without a host of intermediaries; imagine the new stories that we could tell, imagine the fresh perspectives that we could explore.

Mails Nielson, CEO of SOLIDProof, expands on the available possibilities: ” Blockchain projects are extremely promising , but they are by no means fail-proof. It is not a magic wand that would take all the problems away wherever deployed. Like with any other technology, we still need to examine it on a project-by-project basis to ensure that it delivers as promised.

That being said, blockchain’s ability to clean up an entire system and make it extremely transparent cannot be overstated. If there is one industry that requires blockchain the most, it is Hollywood. ” MORE FOR YOU ‘Dune’ Tops Foreign Box Office With Promising $77M Cume ‘Shang-Chi’ Box Office: Marvel Movie Tops $360M Worldwide 4 Series Coming To Netflix In October That Are Worth The Binge Nielson is a blockchain expert with years of experience.

He co-founded SOLIDProof and has helped build it into one of the most efficient blockchain auditors in the crypto sphere. Over the last year and a half the company has worked with over 500 blockchain brands, helping them bring trust to their projects by auditing their blockchain projects, creating custom and thorough audit reports, performing KYC verification processes, and helping vet and certify smart contracts. Nielson considers SOLIDProof a necessary entity in the blockchain space to protect its integrity, weed out bad players and certify its longevity in industries like Hollywood and beyond.

LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 03: A view of the Hollywood Sign on Mount Lee on February 03, 2014 in Los . . .

[+] Angeles, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) GC Images Transparency in Ownership and Contributions At every given time in Hollywood, there are court disputes between producers and directors or between studios and actors. These disputes are often about ownership issues, compensation issues, or a breach of other contractual stipulations.

However, the possibility of erasing this recurrent issue is high with the blockchain. Once initial information about the primary contributors to a movie or TV show is entered into the blockchain system, it cannot be manipulated. This means that everybody’s contributions are evident for all to see, reducing the possibility of a dispute down the line.

Also, If a script was already recorded on the blockchain network, it cannot be used by somebody else; this makes it easier to establish ownership and prevent copying. The fact that blockchain projects ensure this high level of transparency does not mean that they should be adopted blindly; these projects still need to be verified and vetted at least initially before launch. This is where companies like SOLIDProof prove useful.

Nielson explains the relevance of validating every project at the first instance; “A typical KYC process at our firm would involve verifying the owners and contributors to a project with either a passport, driver’s license or ID card, we then verify the owner or founder’s address and then check the entire project against our internal risk catalog. If blockchain projects can be fraudulently manipulated, it has to happen at the initial stages, and that is where we come in. This is why a SOLIDProof certification badge is fast becoming a must-have for most blockchain projects in various industries.

” Transparency in Financial Compensation It is not uncommon to hear claims of breach of contract by actors or other contributors to a movie or TV show. In many cases, actors accuse film studios of making empty promises and reneging on them after the project is completed. Often, parties seek resolution in court, but what if blockchain technology could make all of this unnecessary? LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 14: Horror-film actor Zachary Horwitz, 35, center, flanked by attorneys .

. . [+] Ryan Hedges, left, and Anthony Pacheco, was sentenced to a maximum of 20-years by a federal judge for running what prosecutors say is the biggest Ponzi scheme in Hollywood history, as he exitis the U.

S. District Court on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022 in Los Angeles, CA.

Horwitz is required to pay $230 milliion in restitution to victims and must self surrender on March 14, 2022. He fabricated HBO and Netflix contracts that made it look like he had distribution rights for hundreds of films in markets overseas, but in reality had no deals at all. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Los Angeles Times via Getty Images If smart contracts are more widely utilized within Hollywood, it is almost certain to eradicate such instances.

A smart contract is a self-executing agreement that offers transparency and does not allow for information manipulation once the contract is deployed. “The premise of a smart contract is that the parties don’t have to take further action regarding the agreement once it is deployed. The smart contract does the rest,” Nielsen explains.

“Smart contracts consider the pre-agreed terms and are set up to act based on certain pre-arranged criteria. For instance, if the agreement is an agreement on compensation for the different parties once they execute their roles, then the smart contract automates this payment once the said roles have been executed. A great example would be where the actors in a movie are paid the pre-agreed amount when the movie is released or paid a pre-arranged percentage of the ticket sales once it hits a certain number.

The idea is to make sure that the terms are very clear and actionable at the beginning and this drastically reduces any chance of disputes later on. ” The nature of a smart contract makes it a very valuable tool and a very powerful one. This necessitates the auditing process for these smart contracts before it is signed.

As with other blockchain projects, smart contracts are only open to fraud or manipulation before it is signed. Companies like SOLIDProof have made a name for themselves in the industry on this basis. Smart contract auditors access the contracts on a chain explorer like Github.

After auditing it, they provide the audited parties with an audit badge, a unique certificate with the project name and website, and the smart contract security audit. The idea of these audits is to assure every party to the contract of the security and suitability of the contract. Such double-layered security measures could soon begin to be used increasingly within Hollywood.

Decentralized Movie Funding “He who pays the piper dictates the tune. ” This age-old adage has been true in Hollywood for a long time and has ensured that the movies that get made, the songs that get heard, and the stories that get told are determined by a small number of people who hold the purse strings in the industry. HOLLYWOOD – AUGUST 26: Paramount Studios is shown August 26, 2003 in Hollywood, California.

(Photo . . .

[+] by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) Getty Images The movie industry is ruled by a few high-profile producers, who decide everything from actors’ payroll to how well a movie does in cinemas. These investors are extremely powerful, and this has grossly affected the equity score within Hollywood. In the last few years, however, blockchain brands have been trying to change all that.

Companies like Dream Frames are initiating decentralized funding processes for movies by lowering investment barriers and tokenizing individual movie frames; this process allows for micro-investments from many investors who then retain some ownership of some parts of the movie. The possibility of funding movies using tokens is getting indie filmmakers excited at the prospect. Ideally, screenplays and productions can be tokenized to create more creative collaboration and content.

These tokens can later be converted to dollars to pay for the production, and after that, the blockchain platform, the creators, and the token holders can share the profits from the movie or project. It’s a unique form of crowdfunding and investment that has the potential to introduce more equity in the industry and end the monopoly of big producers. These possibilities illustrate the power of blockchain tokens.

SOLIDProof is set to launch its token in 2022, and Nielson believes that; “Tokens would revolutionize the way projects are funded across industries and not just in Hollywood. One thing is clear, the current way things are done in Hollywood is less than desirable; investors are often skeptical of touching projects that touch on specific social issues or promote certain viewpoints, resulting in a grossly limited entertainment spectrum for viewers. Blockchain promises to widen that spectrum and reduce the disputes within the industry; that’s a big promise, all things considered.

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