Rob Salkowitz of ICv2 recently wrote about the link between blockchain and collecting, focusing not only on how the technology can change industries, but also the ways the two are similar. Many of these similarities are easy to understand when you compare bitcoin — the first-ever cryptocurrency and collecting.
In any industry, items become more collectible as there are less of them available. Whereas, with digital technology, you are able to make an unlimited supply of items without incurring the same production costs. In fact, the movie and music industries have learned that you can sell items infinitely at a dramatically lowered, almost “almost zero marginal” cost. The same goes for other digital items such as comics, cards, and virtual goods such as video game skins and other in-game items. This is great for companies, but it also makes it difficult to establish scarcity around digital media. Video game publishers, on the other hand, have figured out that having a small quantity of rare items promotes the purchase of in-game loot packs and currencies. This is a challenge other industries have yet to fully address.
But, blockchain offers an answer with its ability to authenticate transactions and so virtual goods which are created using this technology. Although there may be many copies of a song or other type of digital media on the market, you can’t know for sure that they are legitimate. With blockchain, a company can add watermarks or print hashes to their intellectual property — meaning you know you have the genuine article when it’s purchased via an approved blockchain-enabled platform or vendor. This then increases the value of items because both the seller and potential buyers are assured the goods are authentic.
This goes for physical goods as well as digital ones, and companies such as IBM and HP are already utilizing blockchain to safeguard their physical inventory against counterfeiting and protecting the entire supply chain from start to finish. Not only does this ensure that you receive goods which are verified, but the company can also account for damage and loss because with blockchain it’s simple to backtrack where an item dropped out of the chain of custody.
Furthermore, blockchain technology allows newer creators to stand on equal footing with big companies when it comes to creating their own collectible items. Previously, if a company wanted to use an idea which someone else created, they might just do so, regardless of whether they had permission. But, if creators make use of blockchain, they can more easily enforce contracts that prove ownership, thereby compelling larger companies to pay them a fair share of the profits.
BLMP (blockchain licensing marketplace) is currently building the first B2B2C blockchain enabled decentralized marketplace which encompasses the entire virtual goods supply chain, including tokenizing these assets so they can be tracked from the point of creation to ownership.
If you want to learn more about BLMP and other platforms and technologies revolutionizing the licensing industry, check out David Uy, BLMP’s co-founder and CEO on C-suite Network’s Hero Club: Entrepreneurial CEO’s & Opportunities.
Additionally, be sure to attend the Licensing Expo seminar FutureTech: New Technologies That Will Affect Licensing in Las Vegas. David Uy will be speaking at this event, which is being held on Thursday May 24th at 10:00 am in the Global Licensing Group Theater (Booth A107).
