Blockchain - Cascade8

blockchain in the content industry

blockchain
in the content industry

What is blockchain?

A blockchain is like a digital ledger that keeps an unchangeable record of data operations. It allows millions of assets to be exchanged in a transparent, secure and decentralized way, with total traceability.

SOME HISTORY

The first blockchain was used in 2008 to exchange electronic money (Bitcoin) without the intervention of a central bank. The rapid evolution of this technology has made it possible to develop more sophisticated applications, particularly on the Ethereum blockchain, which introduced « smart contracts » in 2013. These contracts automatically execute value transfers based on the fulfillment of predetermined conditions. These smart contracts are the fundamental technology that allowed the deployment of blockchain technology into the B2B environment. They make it possible to automate operations and reduce the costs of verification, execution, arbitration and fraud.

How does blockchain link to the content industry?

Blockchain technology brings traceability, transparency, security, consensus,
automation, efficiency, trust…

Because of its fragmentation, complexity and opacity, the entertainment industry is
a privileged application sector for blockchain technology, especially smart contracts which allow the automation of rights management and revenue redistribution.

How does Cascade8 work with blockchain?

Cascade8’s main use of blockchain is Blockframes, its open-source right & revenue management platform, allowing the replication of a film’s chain of title on a blockchain.
Blockframes enables reliable and transparent tracking of all payments related to a film’s chain of title, as well as the automation of rights management and revenue redistribution, thanks to smart contracts.

Initiated in September 2018, Blockframes had a successful proof of concept with the movie Terra Willy (it managed to calculate the film’s complete waterfall on the public Ethereum blockchain). Since then, Cascade8 has been conducting in-depth research and development, in collaboration with major industry players, to build a powerful tool to streamline the content industry.

Cascade8 has also been looking at NFTs as they represent a great new revenue stream for audiovisual content. Since early 2021, the Cascade8 team has been conducting in-depth technical and legal research on NFTs, positioning itself as an NFT Lab in the entertainment industry. Cascade8 launched the first NFT marketplace for films and TV series NFTs: FilmSeriesNFT.com.