In addition to the lack of governance and regulation, mass adoption is the second greatest challenge faced by the Web3 industry. The majority of the current Web3 products are being built for existing native Web3 users. The need of the hour is for the industry to focus on use cases that can drive or rather ease the next billion users into Web3.
Today’s average consumer spends over 6 hours a day streaming content between various SVOD, AVOD and social media platforms. As per a recent study, this number has gone up to a whopping 8.5 hours a day for the average GCC consumer.
As the growth of most Web2 content streaming platforms slows down, especially subscription video-on-demand platforms (SVOD), it is obvious that this new generation of streaming consumers are looking for more power than what they have today. We believe that Web3 has the potential to deliver more power to the consumer by offering a new economic model, circular rewards, distributed ownership and superior experiences. Thus a streaming platform can potentially onboard users in such a seamless interface that they may not even realize they have moved from Web2 into Web3, which is exactly what will bring the next billion people in to the sector.
The Viewer’s Evolving Definition of Power
Consumers’ engagement with content has evolved over time and so has their definition of power. The consumer wanted more power at the time when streaming platforms disrupted the traditional TV and cinema business in and around 2008. Their thirst at that time was more flexibility, to choose what to watch at a time and place of their choice.
Today’s young consumer has an evolved definition of “more power” that involves shared ownership and shared earning potential that are becoming increasingly appealing to these audiences. According to a recent survey, 79% of Gen Z and 67% of millennials are interested in earning money by creating content online. As more creative users become interested in monetising their content, the consumer watching also wants a Decentralised economic share.
The Downward Trend of Traditional Streaming Services and Gen Z’s Shifting Habits.
The streaming industry has seen exponential growth over the last decade turbo charged by the pandemic, with SVOD services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ leading the way. As of 2022, there were over 1.1bn SVOD users globally, however all traditional platforms are now starting to see a user decline.
Generation Z’s shift towards free to watch AVOD (advertising video-on-demand) content platforms, mobile devices, and increasingly personalised content has quickly transformed the media industry. While AVOD platforms such as Youtube & TikTok are growing rapidly today it is largely driven by the creator economy and the current AVOD model is still unfair to the viewer.
Can Everyone Become a Creator?
My belief is that there is an imminent shift in the streaming and content business, from the currently popular “creator economy” into what I call a “viewer economy”, which is in fact strengthened by the success of the former. The simplest argument for this is that since it is the monetisation that drives a user to become a creator. This begs the question, are we about to see a day when the number of creators on a platform becomes more than the number of viewers? And is the economic model viable and sustainable under such a scenario.
A Web3 streaming platform that creates an automated, circular, and scalable economy redistributing revenues between all users (both creators and viewers) based on their contribution to revenue is the only sustainable way forward. We have already seen a shift on platforms like Youtube or Twitch, where certain content creators e.g. Mr. Beast are thriving by implementing a partial Web3 model by mixing good content quality with personalised user monetisation.
If the content industry fails to adapt and move into a viewer focused economy, the industry will lose users to other forms of entertainment such as gaming that are better positioned to embrace Web3 business models.
The Benefit for Filmmakers and Creative Professionals
A Decentralised streaming economy is not only beneficial for users, but ultimately also better for creators, especially for capital intensive creators or independent filmmakers. By giving power to viewers, a Web3 streaming platform also creates borderless Decentralised funding and financing opportunities for thousands of filmmakers and creators.
Today creative professionals around the World have developed dissatisfaction with the larger studios and streamers with strikes and movements already started in different markets. Questions being asked include but are not limited to the following:
How do we create a system that doesn’t just roll out remakes and that empowers a wider and more diverse group of storytellers?
How do we better reward our favorite creative talent?
How do we engender closer relationships between talent and fans?
How do we better fund, produce and distribute content in a more democratic and equitable manner?
Fundamentally, the above can be solved in Web3 by empowering the creator and giving more power back to the viewer, rewarding them both commercially and experientially.
The Potential of Web3 Streaming
A Web3 streaming platform like myco – whilst still in its early stages, offers a glimpse into the future of streaming by decentralising and democratising all areas of content from finance to production through to monetisation.
Blockchain technology helps to create a transparent Ecosystem, where users and creators are rewarded transparently rather than relying on the opaque reporting of Web2 operators. Using smart contracts and advanced BI tools, the platforms can automatically distribute revenues to content creators and other parties involved in any transaction.
Additionally at a technology layer, by using a Blockchain video streaming infrastructure, we can also bring down the cost of streaming services thus making streaming more accessible and affordable while ensuring better user privacy and security.
myco – an Early Web3 Streaming Player
Started in June 2021, today myco (formerly MContent) is the most established Web3 streaming Ecosystem in the World. As things stand, myco has over 2mn registered users and 400K MAUs from 195 countries across the World, with 500+ popular creators, 1,000 premium watch hours and over 200,000 user generated videos on the platform. In the past 22 months, myco has funded and produced over 50 content originals globally in a completely democratised environment and has successfully live streamed 4 major sporting events while monetising viewers in a commercially viable manner.
With a social reach in Q1 2023 of 14mn, we have successfully implemented our Watch&Earn model across feature films, TV series, UGC, music videos, podcasts, and live sporting events through a one-of-its-kind vertically integrated platform.
The myco platform has over 20,000 connected wallets, using native beta tokens that reward viewers for engaging and consuming content, as well as content creators for uploading their content. These tokens can then be used for in-platform utilities, subscriptions, promotions or easily exchanged for other Cryptocurrencies and fiat while staying inside the platform.
Amongst other major partnerships, myco has recently become the first MENA project to have partnered up with Republic Crypto who are helping myCo in creating a superior Web3 economy and a journey that can facilitate the simple Web3 migration for the thousands of streaming consumers that myco attracts every day.