Streaming content is quickly supplanting traditional cable and television as the primary way people watch video content. According to a Pew Research Center survey, a whopping 61% of respondents aged 18-29 primarily use online streaming services to watch television. Emarketer estimated that there were 22.2 million cord-cutters aged 18 and older in the U.S. in 2017, a 33.2% increase over 2016 figures.
Streaming content is the wave of the future. SuccessLife is using blockchain to take the streaming content world even further by changing how personal development educational videos get distributed.
Blockchain’s Promise for Streaming Content
Streaming content has provided some unique benefits, such as more choice and flexibility for consumers and more targeted advertising opportunities for brands. But monetization of streaming content has always been difficult.
Early digital platforms such as Napster and Limewire mainly enabled piracy. Streaming services such as Netflix require a flat fee for monthly access, which means viewers who only use the service occasionally wind up subsidizing those who use it heavily. Streaming service users are also subject to the shifting whims and rights access of content providers, often discovering that a beloved TV show isn’t available on their chosen platform, or that the platform unexpectedly took their favorites down.
Independent creators without the financial resources of a movie studio, TV company, or major streaming service usually fall back on Youtube, but Youtube recently implemented new rules requiring channels participating in their monetizing Partner Program to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours over 12 months. This controversial decision demonetized the platform for many small contributors, but even most Youtube stars don’t make enough to quit their day job or create elaborate productions.
Blockchain has a promise for changing industries ranging from healthcare to energy to banking, and it has potential to change the streaming content market too. Content providers can use blockchain’s transaction ledger to offer content directly to consumers, without middlemen such as centralized streaming providers (Netflix, Youtube, etc.) controlling the financial relationship between providers and consumers. Much as Bitcoin uses blockchain’s immutable ledger to enable transactions that don’t require third-party oversight, streaming content providers and consumers can use blockchain to exchange payment and content directly. Cutting out intermediaries provides higher revenue to content creators and more flexibility and reliability for consumers.
The Personal Development Market
Marketplaces that are particularly underserviced by existing streaming platforms are uniquely ready for a blockchain revolution. Personal development is one such marketplace. The same young age cohort that’s far more likely to use mostly or exclusively online streaming services is also increasingly interested in personal and professional development. 94% of millennials reported making personal improvement commitments in 2015, while only 84% of Baby Boomers and 81% of Generation X members did the same. Millennials say that they plan to spend twice as much annually as Baby Boomers on self-improvement, despite earning far lower income. It’s no surprise, then, that the personal development industry is worth almost $10 billion.
SuccessLife is launching a blockchain-based streaming content market for the personal development industry. This crypto venture is a new project from Success Resources, a group of personal development companies who produce educational events and seminars featuring speakers such as Tony Robbins and Richard Branson. Success Resources has held thousands of events across thirty countries over their twenty-five years in existence, connecting with 10 million live event attendees and generating years of educational footage. Event topics have included personal finance, entrepreneurship, time management, investment strategies, and many other personal and professional skills.
SuccessLife’s central venue is a blockchain-enabled virtual marketplace. Learners can use SuccessLife Tokens (SLTs) to access streaming video content offered on the platform. This content will include footage of Success Resources events, personal coaching sessions, skills workshops, and other streaming videos. By handling transactions with blockchain-based SuccessLife Tokens, SuccessLife provides content transactions that are both highly reliable and cost-effective.
When token holders use their tokens to access content, the token’s immutable ledger and smart contracts automatically provide the purchaser with the content and the provider with payment. The transaction ledger also guards against piracy, as access credentials based on blockchain can’t be duplicated. This arrangement helps small creators as much as it does large ones looking for better distribution models. That’s why SuccessLife integrates community-building tools such as forums and digital classrooms into its marketplace and will encourage users to create and offer their content on the platform. Other uses pay SLT tokens to access this user-created content, offering successful creators real monetization for their work.
A streaming content solution for the personal development marketplace is past due, especially given Millennials’ interest in both areas. SuccessLife is launching that marketplace by unlocking the power of blockchain.
