Thread by @DavidHSteinberg

Some of you know I dabbled in NFTs earlier this year, offering tokens of produced scripts to test my theory that NFTs in scripts are owned by the writers as part of the reserved publication right. I continue to believe that crypto/NFTs can revolutionize the industry. 🧵

I know, I know, I don’t want to be your annoying relative at the Thanksgiving table talking about crypto and bitcoin and NFTs but hear me out and I’ll explain for people who don’t give a shit about any of that crap why this is A GOOD THING for creatives.

Disclosure: I am an adviser and an investor in HollywoodDAO (@DAOHollywood) but this is not a solicitation to do anything, I’m just excited about it and wanted to share what they’re planning.

@DAOHollywood has plans to roll out an idiot-proof platform called NextHollywood. They expect to launch soon, with a goal of financing 5-10 film and tv projects per year. And if they’re successful, they want to buy a studio within 5 years.

https://twitter.com/daohollywood/status/1475627301685833729?s=20

We all know the standard complaints about Hollywood. It’s all sequels, reboots, and remakes, or adaptations of books, comic books, video games, or podcasts. In other words, NOTHING IS ORIGINAL!

But that strategy actually makes a lot of sense. Studios spend millions producing content and they’re mega-corporations so they need to make a profit for their shareholders.

And the holy grail in the world of marketing is “pre-awareness.” Original content by definition has no awareness and building a fanbase from nothing costs $$$ marketing dollars.

Then, there’s development. I actually think execs are great at their jobs but on the other hand I’ve had potential shows die because a similar idea had “bigger IP.”

So content creators are not free to be 100% creative because the marketplace demands compromise. And that’s mostly fine--I’m not saying we need to be auteurs here--but it does make originality a challenge.

Not to mention the lack of diversity. “Pre-awareness” means existing IP but more often than not it also means existing creators! So underrepresented voices don’t get their chance to create because they’ve never created something successful before!

So demand for profits dictates a risk-averse strategy that weeds out a lot of original content and diverse creators.

But NFTs (and other similar tokens) can democratize the industry, put creative control in the hands of the creators, fund underrepresented voices, and decentralize the decision-making process. In short, the best ideas win!

If you’re a content creator, this is a no-brainer for so many reasons: more money, more creative control, no promises, guaranteed distribution, and you own your own IP.

With @daohollywood's NextHollywood platform, you put your project out there like Kickstarter but instead of rewards, fans are getting access to creators and talent, and building a direct relationship with the creative team.

Maybe it’s interactive and the token holders vote on the narrative direction. Maybe not. But either way, you get to make your project your way. And you keep the IP.

Look at the NFT market. You don’t need to understand it to know it’s got real money pouring in. DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) set up to invest in NFT projects like these have over $80B in assets.

So you make your project your way with more potential money and no promises at the end of production. No stupid t-shirts, no mailing out DVDs.

And when it’s time to distribute it, you don’t need to worry about making back your costs. You just digitally distribute it to the fans and if it gets a lot of notoriety and Netflix calls asking for distribution that just increases the value of your IP. Which you own!

Sounds great but what’s in it for the fans? Besides access, fans can help participate in the creation (depending on the project). Imagine an animated series where the fans vote on character designs. Or an interactive game where the fans decide on the narrative direction.

Even with a set narrative film or tv project, fans can have access to the production. Imagine weekly zoom calls to check in on casting or a livestream of the table read. The ways to involve fans who’ve invested in the project are limited only by the imagination of the community.

But fans also get tokens, NFTs, whatever the project is offering. Like Kickstarter, there is a reward of sorts. Imagine a unique avatar of a character from the project, written into the permanent blockchain and guaranteed to be yours and yours alone.

Imagine being the owner of the one-and-only avatar of Player 239 from Squid Game. Or Player 456!

I honestly believe this could change the way we make content. Taking the creative control and putting it into the hands of the creatives. Democratizing the industry. Funding and supporting the underrepresented. The best ideas win!

It’s not only possible, it’s happening. And it’s going to be a GOOD THING for creators and fans alike.