nollywoodThe Nigerian film industry is almost as famous as Hollywood and Bollywood, known for creating unique stories and providing a platform to some of Africa’s most talented actors and directors.
The industry has achieved global success, but Nollywood film producers still face significant issues that hinder their progress and prevent them from reaching their full potential. Fortunately, a solution already exists in blockchain, a decentralized, transparent ledger technology closely related to cryptocurrencies.
At a recent event held by the United Nations General Assembly, TaiwuCEO of Nigeria Blockchain Development Company Growadescribes how the technology transformed Nollywood filmmaking and helped it gain global recognition
Although Nollywood is second only to Bollywood in output, producing thousands of new films every year, it faces problems with funding, piracy and limited access to international markets. Filmmakers have struggled to create a transparent revenue-sharing business model, which has hampered their fundraising efforts, while piracy has resulted in significant revenue losses.
Financing Nollywood through tokenization
at the united nations Destination 2030: Nigeria is everywhere At an event hosted by Nigeria’s Ministry of Culture, Gluwa CEO Oh outlined how blockchain could make it easier for foreign investors, including retail investors, to enter the Nigerian film industry. Using this technology, Nigerian filmmakers will be able to market their film scripts or ideas to global audiences and raise the funds needed to bring them to the big screen through the tokenization of revenue rights.
The idea is to overcome one of the major obstacles for Nigerian filmmakers, the difficulty of obtaining funding. With traditional finance offering only limited options, many filmmakers are forced to either self-fund or seek investment from informal sources. But through blockchain, decentralized finance protocols and tokenization, the Nollywood industry can find another way to attract much-needed capital.
The basic premise is that filmmakers can use DeFi platforms to tokenize their films, creating tokens or digital assets that represent “shares” of the film project. They can then sell these tokens to investors on a decentralized marketplace, with each token giving holders the right to a percentage of a movie’s revenue via box office, streaming platforms or otherwise distributed.
This is a novel way to finance films, and what’s exciting is that the infrastructure is already in place to make it happen. Using Gluwa Credit coins On the platform, filmmakers have access to the mechanisms needed to tokenize their films and reach a global community of investors.
Tokenization of films offers a way to democratize investment in the Nollywood film industry, allowing investors from any country to find and fund the most exciting projects. Therefore, it greatly increases the pool of funds available to filmmakers.
As an added advantage, blockchain will make income distribution more transparent. Traditionally, Nollywood’s revenue distribution has been very opaque, but with blockchain, every transaction, including ticket sales and royalties, will be recorded on a publicly visible ledger. This will ensure that every stakeholder, including film producers and investors, gets a fair share of the revenue.
“As a blockchain entrepreneur, I hope to work closely with Nigerians to create a truly borderless financial system that amplifies their creativity on the global stage,” Oh said in his speech.
Other blockchain benefits
The benefits of blockchain for Nollywood go beyond funding and transparency. Additionally, the technology could help filmmakers prevent piracy, a problem that has long plagued the film industry. By using smart contracts that automatically execute when specified terms are met, filmmakers will be able to ensure that their films are only accessible to authorized users who have paid for the license. Any unauthorized attempts to copy or distribute a movie are automatically blocked, making life even harder for pirates.
Smart contracts can also automate payments, meaning filmmakers have a more reliable source of revenue.
One of the great things about Nollywood is the quality of its films, but due to limited distribution channels, the vast majority of films produced in Nigeria go unnoticed. Blockchain could also solve this problem, facilitating direct distribution from filmmakers to consumers so they can eliminate the middleman and reach audiences directly. By launching movies on blockchain platforms, e.g. film group or movie ioNollywood creators will be able to make their content available to anyone willing to pay. These borderless platforms enable secure encrypted payments on a subscription or pay-per-view basis, making it easier to distribute movies to global audiences.
The final advantage is the opportunity for Nollywood filmmakers to collaborate with global peers and expand beyond their local ecosystem. Blockchain enables producers, directors, screenwriters, screenwriters, actors and other industry players to collaborate without any intermediaries, managing their agreements and payment terms through smart contracts and releasing them when certain milestones are reached Agreed funds. It provides a decentralized approach to film production that reduces costs and increases efficiency, so more resources can be used in actual film production, meaning higher quality films can be produced.
We can even envision the creation of Nollywood decentralized autonomous organizations. DAO, as the name suggests, is a decentralized community organization responsible for collective decision-making. To participate, users need to hold the DAO’s native token, which provides them with voting rights and the opportunity to submit proposals to the wider community. The DAO has the potential to change the way Nollywood movies are made, with community-managed film projects where multiple stakeholders will be able to vote on which actors will play specific roles, storylines, and anything else that needs to be decided.
Nollywood’s exciting potential
Nollywood faces many long-standing challenges, and blockchain technology stands out as a possible solution to all of them. By facilitating new avenues of financing, increasing transparency, combating piracy and providing access to international markets, blockchain will allow Nollywood filmmakers to finally realize their true potential and showcase their incredible work to the world. The ability to tell stories.
“The power of blockchain is its ability to break down barriers and empower creatives wherever they are,” Oh said.
Some Nollywood film producers have begun researching the potential impact of blockchain. In February 2022, Nigerian-British film producer Kenim Obaigbena roll out Nollywood’s first NFT short film “second husband”, filmed in 2020.
Obaigbena released the film as a collection of NFTs, providing holders with early access to the film, viewing of deleted scenes, a one-hour Zoom call with the writer, director or producer, and a copy of the original script.
“The Second Husband” stars Nigerian actors Osas Iguodaro, Ade Lawyer, Ibrahim Jamal, Udoka Oyeka and Diana Yekini. The story of a powerful woman living in Nigeria’s upper class who embraces the concept of polyandry and takes a second, younger husband, and how her first husband copes with the consequences. The entire short film is now available to watch on YouTube:
For Nollywood to truly embrace blockchain, it will require significant cultural changes within the industry and the creation of robust, decentralized infrastructure. But the good news is that DeFi platforms like Creditcoin and distribution networks like MovieBloc and Film.io already have many of the key components in place.
With the support of Nigeria’s Ministry of Culture, the United Nations, startups like Gluwa, and a passionate community of crypto investors, Nollywood filmmakers may finally get the chance to showcase their talents on a global stage.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It does not provide or be intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice
