As a seasoned crypto investor with a penchant for both blockchain technology and Nollywood movies, I find myself captivated by the potential synergy between these two realms. The idea of using blockchain to revolutionize Nigeria’s film industry is not just intriguing; it’s downright exhilarating!
The Nigerian movie industry, often referred to as Nollywood, is now nearly as renowned as Hollywood and Bollywood, gaining recognition for its production of distinctive narratives and serving as a springboard for many gifted African actors and filmmakers.
As a crypto investor, I’ve witnessed the remarkable global success of this industry, but it’s disheartening to see Nollywood filmmakers grappling with substantial challenges that hinder their growth and limit their full potential. However, there’s a promising solution within our reach – blockchain technology. This decentralized, transparent ledger system, often linked to cryptocurrencies, could be the key to unlocking their true potential, overcoming obstacles, and propelling Nollywood into new realms of success.
Recently at an UN General Assembly gathering, Tae Oh, CEO of Nigerian blockchain firm Gluwa, discussed how this tech could revolutionize Nollywood movie-making, potentially elevating it to international fame.
Despite trailing behind only Bollywood in movie production with thousands released annually, Nollywood grapples with challenges related to financing, piracy, and restricted entry into global markets. Filmmakers find it difficult to establish a clear business model for revenue distribution, which hinders their fundraising initiatives, while piracy leads to substantial losses of these earnings.
Financing Nollywood Through Tokenization
At the UN’s Destination 2030: Nigeria Everywhere gathering, which was held by Nigeria’s Ministry of Culture, Gluwa’s CEO Oh explained how blockchain could make the Nigerian film industry more approachable for international and even retail investors. By utilizing this technology, Nigerian filmmakers will have the opportunity to present their movie scripts or concepts to a worldwide audience and gather the funds necessary to produce these projects by tokenizing revenue rights.
One method for rephrasing in a natural, easy-to-understand manner is: The concept aims to address a significant challenge faced by Nigerian filmmakers – funding difficulties. Conventional finance often offers limited solutions, causing many directors to either fund their films independently or solicit investment from unofficial channels. However, blockchain technology, decentralized finance protocols, and tokenization could potentially offer the Nollywood industry a new avenue for securing much-needed financing.
As a researcher, I propose an innovative approach where filmmakers can leverage Decentralized Finance (DeFi) platforms to tokenize their films. This means creating digital assets or tokens that symbolically represent “shares” in the movie projects they’re working on. These tokens can be offered for sale on decentralized marketplaces, providing investors with a stake in the film’s success. Each token grants its holder the right to a proportion of the film’s earnings, whether it comes from box office sales, streaming platforms, or other distribution channels.
As a crypto investor, it’s fascinating to explore innovative avenues for investment, and one such opportunity lies in the realm of film financing. Remarkably, platforms like Gluwa’s Creditcoin have already established the necessary infrastructure. This means that filmmakers can tap into the tools required to tokenize their cinematic creations, thereby opening up a global pool of potential investors who are eager to support their projects.
Breaking down movies into tokens (or shares) makes it possible for people worldwide to invest in Nigeria’s Nollywood film industry, allowing them to discover and finance promising productions. In turn, this significantly expands the funds accessible to movie creators.
One significant benefit of blockchain technology is its ability to promote greater transparency in revenue distribution. Historically, the distribution of earnings in Nollywood has often been shrouded in mystery, but with blockchain, every financial transaction, such as ticket sales and royalties, will be logged on a public ledger for all to see. This increased transparency guarantees that everyone involved, from filmmakers to investors, receives a fair portion of the revenue.
Speaking as a blockchain innovator, Oh expressed his vision of collaborating intimately with Nigerians to develop a genuinely worldwide financial network, empowering their unique creative expressions globally.
Other Blockchain Benefits
One key benefit of blockchain technology in Nollywood extends beyond funding and transparency; it also offers a solution to the persistent issue of film piracy. By employing smart contracts that activate upon meeting specified conditions, filmmakers can restrict access to their movies solely to those who have legally acquired licenses. Any unauthorized attempts to duplicate or disseminate the movie would be instantly thwarted, thus making life considerably harder for pirates.
In simpler terms, smart contracts could automate the payment process, ensuring a more dependable source of income for filmmakers.
One of the great things about Nollywood is the quality of its movies, and yet the vast majority of Nigerian-made films go under the radar because of the limited distribution channels available. Blockchain can fix this too, facilitating direct, filmmaker-to-consumer distribution, so they can eliminate the middleman and reach out to their audiences directly. By launching a movie on the blockchain platform such as MovieBloc or Film.io, Nollywood creators would be able to make their content available to anyone who’s willing to pay for it. These borderless platforms enable secure crypto payments on a subscription or pay-per-view basis, making it easier to distribute movies to a global audience.
A significant benefit lies in the potential for Nollywood filmmakers to work alongside international counterparts, venturing beyond the domestic film scene. Blockchain technology facilitates collaboration among producers, directors, scriptwriters, screenplay writers, actors, and other industry professionals without the need for intermediaries. Smart contracts handle agreements and payment terms, releasing funds only upon achieving specified milestones. This decentralized method of movie-making could lead to cost reductions and improved efficiency, allowing more resources to be allocated towards actual film production, ultimately resulting in higher-quality productions.
As a crypto investor, I can visualize the emergence of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) within the Nollywood industry. Essentially, these are community-driven entities that make decisions collectively. To take part, one must possess the DAO’s native token, which grants voting rights and allows for proposal submission to the entire community. The beauty of DAOs is their potential to revolutionize movie production in Nollywood, fostering collaborative film projects where various stakeholders can vote on casting choices for specific roles, storylines, and other significant decisions.
Exciting Potential For Nollywood
The movie industry in Nigeria, known as Nollywood, faces several persistent issues. However, blockchain technology emerges as a promising solution that could resolve all these problems. It offers innovative financing options, ensures transparency, fights piracy, and opens doors to global markets. By doing so, it empowers Nollywood filmmakers to truly thrive and display their extraordinary storytelling abilities on a global scale.
As a researcher delving into the realm of blockchain technology, I’ve come to deeply appreciate its potential for dismantling boundaries and amplifying the creative voices of individuals across the globe. In essence, it’s a tool that empowers creators, regardless of their geographical location.
Some movie producers in the Nollywood industry are now considering the possible effects of blockchain technology. In February 2022, Kenim Obaigbena, a Nigerian-British filmmaker, debuted the first NFT short film from Nollywood, titled “A Second Husband”, which was actually filmed in 2020.
Obaigbena made the movie available in the form of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), granting owners exclusive benefits such as early viewing of the film, behind-the-scenes content, a one-hour Zoom meeting with the screenwriter, director or producer, and a copy of the original screenplay.
A Second Husband stars Nigerian actors Osas Ighodaro, Ade Laoye, Ibrahim Jammal, Udoka Oyeka and Diana Yekinni, and tells the story of a powerful woman living in Nigeria’s high-society, who embraces the idea of polyandry and takes on a second, younger husband, and how her first husband is left to deal with the consequences of that. The entire short movie is available to watch now on YouTube:
To fully integrate blockchain into Nollywood, a substantial shift in mindset within the industry and establishing a strong, decentralized framework is essential. Fortunately, some vital pieces are already set up with DeFi platforms like Creditcoin and distribution systems including MovieBloc and Film.io.
Supported by Nigeria’s Ministry of Culture, the United Nations, innovative companies like Gluwa, and a passionate community of cryptocurrency investors, Nollywood filmmakers could potentially display their skills to a worldwide audience for the first time.
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2024-09-26 15:09