This week, a Hollywood media firm announced the launch of a new blockchain-powered entertainment industry crowdfunding platform.
According to a press release provided to BSN, Leveller Media has been in “stealth mode” for three years.
Blockchain has already been used to fund a number of media projects. One notable instance of this was the 21 Million project, which lauched its own ICO. The production underwent some drama.
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According to more recent posts on Twitter, the film project is going forward.
Leveller Media’s blockchain crowdfunding project will bring the ICO model to film projects. Founding Co-CEO Eric Vonfeldt:
“The entertainment industry is not living up to its full potential. Gifted creators are being neglected and consumers are being denied compelling content. Leveller Media will change this, aligning incentives between creators and investors, ultimately returning diversity to storytelling by enabling consumers to invest in and consume productions they believe in. We welcome creators to partner with us and advisors who would like to help us shape the Leveller community.”
For those newer to the crypto space, the importance of crowdfunding as a blockchain application may be hard to grasp.
The biggest bull run in cryptocurrency history, which took place between mid-2017 and early 2018, was propelled in large part by a massive variety of crowdfunded “offerings.”
Called “initial coin offerings,” the projects were of every imaginable kind, from government policy-oriented programs to entertainment dApps.
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Demand for Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies surged as everyday investors and people pushed to get in on the gold rush.
The bubble and its subsequent pop aren’t sufficient reason to declare the model “dead.”
Exchanges including Coinbase and Binance understand this, and have rebirthed the concept in the form of the “IEO.”
Leveller’s effort is a bit like the IEO model, in that a central party will play an important part in listing and promoting the projects seeking funding.
The entertainment industry only grows year over year, historically, with little variation. Increased access as well as higher standards of living have enabled a ready market so strong that companies such as Netflix can count nearly 1 in 2 Americans among their paying customers.
American entertainment is also a massive export.
Perhaps the only more pervasive commodity in history is gasoline and associated oil products.
However, investing in the entertainment industry is a risky and difficult endeavor. For the most part, you can’t just throw money at anything, unless you’re a bank from whom a film effort is seeking funding.
Through the power of blockchain, Leveller, and probably others, will enable people to put small amounts in and potentially reap profits from the nearly half-a-trillion dollar industry.
