NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – AUGUST 28: Eminem and Snoop Dogg perform onstage at the 2022 MTV VMAs at … [+]
When it comes to ownership among entertainment fans, the exchange is quite simple; the fans pay money and in return, they get something of sentimental value, whether that be a picture, video, or other types of content from their favorite franchise or celebrity. What they do not get, typically, is any chance to make money. Fans have historically been removed entirely from the financial aspect of show business, but that may be about to change.
The entertainment industry has been introduced to NFTs where all sorts of companies and celebrities are releasing projects. Recently, Snoop Dogg and Eminem appeared at the VMAs to give a performance that was beaming with imagery from the Bored Ape NFT collection, of which they are both vocal fans. With increased NFT use coupled with a growth in knowledge around how to utilize them, it has meant that there are now more ways of generating revenue on the part of the fans.
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Some projects come with massive resale opportunities in secondary markets and some projects act as an investment vehicle for the projects themselves. For example, Kevin Smith’s recent horror release has allowed fans to become producers—of sorts—by buying the film’s NFTs, allowing owners to make decisions regarding the planned sequel.
Along with this, we’ve seen many NFT projects emerge that are looking to bring NFTs further into the global forefront, making any transition easier for current or future stakeholders in the industry.
Ready Player DAO is a present stakeholder and gaming organization focusing on working with game publishers that include the involvement of global marketplaces for gaming assets. The marketplaces are elevated by digital ownership of in-game assets and sometimes in-game resources. This is a core part of Ready Player DAO’s business model.
According to Rich Cabrera, the co-founder of Ready Player DAO, more time and money are being spent in the digital world, and thus there is a need to prioritize players’ desires.
“As the global consumer becomes more internet/digital native, spending more time doing more things in digital environments, modes of entertainment will continue to shift to the metaverse while new forms of entertainment will emerge,” they said in a statement.
NFTs are also finding use as revenue generation and engagement tools. The internet is full of subcultures and there are now different ways of tapping into them through NFTs. Batman fans all around the world were allowed to come together to indulge in its NFT release. We’ve witnessed that as NFTs as a concept become even more popular, different sub-cultures and brands are joining in.
SaDiva is an NFT project that is focused on the Cannabis niche. Users can “buy” land, dispensaries, and facilities within the SaDiva ecosystem and this translates into real-life benefits, due to the facilities that the SaDiva company has in its portfolio.
The cannabis sector has been a growing cultural niche, coupled with a hugely developing industry. SaDiva has tied this together using NFTs.
“We believe NFTs have a major role to play within the entertainment space and with SaDiva we want to amalgamate our communities love for Cannabis and the arts,” says Jon-Paul Doran, CEO and Founder of SaDiva.
NFTs are also steadily expanding their market share in the gaming sector through an increasing number of renowned publishers, such as Ubisoft and EA, who are actively using them in new productions. However, while the popularity of NFTs in gaming is undoubtedly increasing, some fear that the tech approaches a bottleneck. In response to that, several innovators in the space are working on the introduction of new functions and mechanisms.
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MAD Metaverse, a Web3 (new iteration of the World Wide Web) project that offers NFT-based gaming in collaboration with various successful gaming studios, has taken an innovative approach through the creation of so-called evolving NFTs. In a nutshell, this function allows users to evolve, mutate, and transform their NFTs using not only in-game items, but also users’ favorite third-party NFTs that can be imported into the metaverse. This opens avenues for brand new gameplay and revenue streams.
Players start by minting a MAD Metascientist, which will allow them to get their own laboratory to experiment with “MAD Metacells, MAD Nanocells, and other in-game items.” Revolving around the evolution of these cells, the storyline sees players grow armies and battle with them in the microcosm while trying not to destroy the world in the process. During their journey, players are allowed to earn $biometa, an in-game ERC-20 token which can be swapped to USD stablecoins and other currencies via internal and third-party marketplaces.
Outside of Web3, there are also projects that have previously operated under Web2 that will also need to make changes to keep customers interested. This will come with its own hurdles as making the switch to Web3 requires infrastructural overhauls that not every business has the expertise or budget to do. Game Space is aiming to capitalize on this.
The tech helps current web2 gaming companies make the switch to Web3 without needing to build from scratch. Instead, they can switch over in less than a week. They can onboard NFT functionality, create marketplaces for trading, and deploy multi-on-chain functionality. As mentioned, several existing gaming projects are embracing web3 and this usually comes with a significant cost implication, especially with setting up new infrastructure. Game Space is banking on their method ultimately being faster and cheaper.
Many newer NFT projects have also shown the ability to cut across cultures. Given how visual NFTs tend to be, all sorts of art styles have been represented within them and naturally, cross-culture collaborations and fusions have found their way into the mix such as the Sachi Collection, which offers a fusion of Asian and American styles, all of which were designed by acclaimed artists who created the NFTs with 544 unique traits. The collection began its mint on the 13th of September on the Magic Eden Launchpad.
Outside of the collection, Sachi has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry including EA, Fortnite, EPIC Games, Lucasfilm, Elden Ring game creators Bandai Namco and many more. In terms of whitelisting, the company has also worked with BAYC alpha, Moonbirds, Doodles, Degods, Okaybears, and many more prominent NFT collections.
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Another example is Creta. Creta aims to circumvent the pitfalls of the first generation of play-2-earn games by erecting a metaverse, which centers around AAA content. Gamers will be able to enjoy moving across sci-fi, anime, and fantasy worlds and even build their own city. Creta’s video game called Kingdom Under Fire: The Rise will be one of the first projects with a blend of free-2-play with optional play-2-earn elements. It is set to release in 2023.
NFTs and the metaverse have so far been leveraged by some of the biggest entertainment platforms and franchises in the world. For the fans, this development means that they can profit off their favorite entertainment franchises, as well as enjoy them.
In the future, we can expect devoted fans to have a seat at the table when revenue from these projects is being divided. That, in itself, shifts the dynamic between consumers and the producers of entertainment content. Many companies within the space are constantly experimenting with what NFTs can do, and should this continue they could be at the forefront of the entertainment industry for years to come.
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