BlockbusterDAO: Did Someone Say Movie Night?
Passionate community looking to revive a once iconic brand
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For many Blockbuster signifies a nostalgic pastime when you would go to the store to buy your favorite movies. That feeling of roaming the aisles waiting for something to catch your eye has long been forgotten as we now have an abundance of viewing options from the comfort of our couch. The history of Blockbuster is one of rapid ascension and precipitous fall, it provides business leaders with a master class on how to not adapt to technological change. Founded in 1985 by David Cook, Blockbuster quickly became a household name by raising $18.5 million and having 800 stores nationwide by 1988, 6 years later the company had 6,000 global stores and was bought by Viacom for $8.4 billion. In 2000, Blockbuster had the opportunity to buy a scrappy 3-year-old startup named Netflix for $50 million and infamously passed on the opportunity, Netflix is now a $150 billion dollar company…oops! Despite the startups disrupting the industry, Blockbuster peaked in 2004 with 9,000 stores and $5.9 billion in revenue. However, customers were getting tired of the enormous late fees being levied on them, Blockbuster made 16% of its revenue from late fees, and the rapid decline of this iconic brand was underway. With a last-ditch effort to pivot to this new business model Netflix invented, Blockbuster got rid of late fees and began building Blockbuster online, but it was too little too late. In 2010, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy, and Dish Network bought the company for $320 million in an attempt to keep the 600 remaining stores open. Fast forward to today and there is a lone remaining Blockbuster store in Oregon that has now been turned into an Airbnb for passionate fans. Having meant so much to so many during its heyday, Blockbuster still has 4,000 accounts and signs up new customers each day, there is now a DAO passionately dedicated to reviving this historic brand.
The DAO’s mission is to buy Blockbuster from Dish Network and turn it into a “decentralized streaming platform and entertainment studio for film, television, gaming, and other content.” As for how and why?
How?
We will use Web3 technology to build a better relationship between creators and their audiences via peer-to-peer transactions and peer-to-peer connections. We will create a diverse and vibrant worldwide community that governs and contributes to the success and trends of open-source audiovisual technology and narrative philosophy.
Why?
We aim to make the film and television business more equitable and transparent in order to empower creators and viewers alike. We imagine a world where artists and the community that supports them retain the value they create, instead of giving it away to corporations, advertisers, and middlemen.
Launched in December 2021, it is still extremely early for this community as they have not yet raised funding. However, there are already 15k+ followers on Twitter and 7k+ members on its Discord. The most important supporter of this project is probably the daughter of former Blockbuster CEO Steven Berrard. Steven’s daughter, Michelle Berrard, says “to possibly be part of a project that would carry on the legacy (my father) built was an exciting and surreal moment for me.” She found out about the community via Twitter and immediately jumped at the opportunity to contribute and give her support. BlockbusterDAO plans on raising $5 million through an NFT or token sale to provide membership to people interested in joining and being a part of this endeavor. Despite it being extremely early there is already a tentative 20-year plan in place, which is extremely ambitious as most people don’t even know what their tomorrow looks like. Now, let us take a closer look at this 20-year game plan.
5 Years
Blockbuster is a community-driven streaming platform for film, television, and games. We have solidified ourselves as the go-to platform for all independent content creators to publish and market their content. We have innovated the streaming space by providing a best-in-class, dynamic consumer experience.
10 Years
Blockbuster is using its DAO to launch and fund large-scale films and content projects, incubating original games and media to publish on the platform. We have established a path for artists (across all spectrums) to generate real income and bring their ideas to market. We have successfully, transformed the way all media is created, owned, and where the value accrues in the media industry. We are one of the leading brands that actively onboard new consumers into Web3.
15 Years
Blockbuster has built an entire film and TV metaverse that competes with all the largest gaming platforms as adoption into web3 becomes more mature and mainstream. We have built a coalition of market-leading content studios. We have become a core organization among other DAOs, expanding our reach across the metaverse, crypto, and culture globally. We have made a huge presence at IRL and Web3 events, including award shows, film festivals, and charity events.
20 Years
Blockbuster has become the leading model in the entertainment business and is once again a household name. We are at the forefront of a new entertainment culture where there is true equity and opportunity— from the Production Assistant to the Studio Executive. We have established a film academy to onboard the next generation of Web3 storytellers that rivals the film education system.
Decentralized media platforms are in their infancy and we will see how they shape out over the coming years. But in theory, you would have to imagine an entertainment experience that gives fans a say in the future of their favorite content, a closer connection to their idols, and potentially even a financial benefit for being a member will be extremely alluring to many.
So, will Blockbuster have another unsuspecting chapter in the rollercoaster-like vicissitudes of its history? It is too early to tell, but the fact that Blockbuster still has thousands of accounts, new members signing up, and was once an iconic brand to so many gives us hope for its future. It seems that this version of Blockbuster has learned from its past and is embracing the next frontier of technology through blockchain, NFTs, and DAOs this time around. We look forward to seeing this community continue to grow and execute on its 20-year plan! Just please no late fees this time around…
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