Hey, it’s Marc!
“There are only two ways to make a film today: pitch a studio and give up all the upside – or find a rich guy on a yacht. We’re building the third way.” – Marc Iserlis, Republic
Entertainment hit $2.9T in 2024, yet 96% of creators can't make a living. The global music market is a $29.6B industry, yet less than 4% of its 200M creators earn a sustainable income. While streaming revenue topped $20B, artists still earn $0.003 per play.
The industry is drowning in middlemen, trapped in 1970s payment rails, and bleeding billions to inefficient systems that add zero value.
This is why today we’re launching our most comprehensive report on “Blockchain & the new music and entertainment economy.” together with Avalanche.
And we give it out for free to all our subscribers.
We hosted a panel with people actually building the future of entertainment: Mag Rodriguez (Even), Billy Huang (Insomnia Labs / CreatorFi), and Marc Iserlis (Republic).
Why now?
The music and entertainment industries have a structural issue that requires a big infrastructural upgrade:
$43B flows through music annually, but artists see only $5B. The rest disappears into a maze of intermediaries: labels, streaming platforms, rights organisations, promoters, and distributors. Plus, fan relationships are owned by platforms.
Superfan economics are exploding: Universal Music Group's direct-to-fan business is growing 33% annually. EVEN artists earn $17 AOV per fan, 41% higher than Spotify subscriptions from 186 countries, with fans paying 14x their local streaming cost just to own something exclusive.
The payment problem. Top entertainment companies are haemorrhaging money on payment processing that adds zero operational value. The film industry loses $71B annually to piracy alone. Cross-border royalty payments take 30-90 days while artists wait for their money. Meanwhile, stablecoins infrastructure is exploding.
Blockchain infrastructure is an answer to these and the infrastructure shift is already happening: Blockchain in media will jump from $2.68B to $48.5B by 2030 (78% CAGR).
The use cases driving real value
These blockchain-powered models are already live and creating measurable value.
Music Infrastructure & Fan Monetisation is fixing the broken pipes of the music industry. Instead of waiting months for fractional payouts, artists can get paid instantly and own their fan relationships directly.
Key Developments:
EVEN is building a "Shopify for Superfandom," enabling artists to sell directly to their most dedicated fans. One artist earned $28K from just 600 fans, the revenue equivalent of over one million streams.
CreatorFi, built on Avalanche, provides creators with financing based on their actual earnings, not personal credit scores. It has already issued a $1M tokenised bond, allowing artists to invest in their careers without sacrificing equity.
3LAU earned $11.6M by auctioning 33 album NFTs, proving the power of digital collectibles for superfans.
Ticketing & Live Events are using on-chain tools to eliminate fraud, cut out scalpers, and create new revenue streams. Bots account for nearly 40% of ticket traffic, with resale markups often exceeding 50%.
Key Developments:
Seedhe Maut's concert tickets were issued on-chain via Metasky on Avalanche, eliminating scalping and ensuring fair distribution.
Tixbase and SI Tickets use NFT-based tickets to reduce fraud, enable dynamic pricing, and create post-event value.
The Cleveland Cavaliers launched a blockchain-powered loyalty program with Avalanche and Uptop to reward fan engagement with real-world value.
Film Financing & IP Management is democratising an industry traditionally locked behind Hollywood gates. Tokenisation enables fan-funded films and fractional IP ownership, removing the bottleneck.
Key Developments:
Republic has raised over $30M from 35,000+ investors on Avalanche, allowing them to get real stakes in films through regulated security tokens.
Eli Roth (director of Hostel) raised $5M+ from 2,500+ fans for his new unrated horror slate, giving them co-ownership in the "next Blumhouse for goreheads."
KOR Protocol is building a purpose-built Avalanche Layer-1 for managing IP on-chain, empowering creators to license, remix, and monetise their work with automated, rule-based systems.
Who is building the new stack?
Avalanche is emerging as the core infrastructure layer for this shift. The key feature? Its subnet architecture allows for the creation of custom, application-specific blockchains for use cases like ticketing, loyalty, and IP licensing. This provides the speed, low cost, and scalability needed for consumer-grade applications, which is why brands like Coachella, Sports Illustrated Tickets, FIFA, and the creators of Maple Story build on it.
Here are the top vendors:
EVEN leads direct-to-superfan infrastructure with 73% artist retention and sales counting toward Billboard charts. They've abstracted blockchain complexity while delivering premium fan experiences across 186 countries.
Republic commands regulated entertainment investment with $30M raised and actual returns delivered. Their SEC-compliant tokenisation makes film investment accessible to retail audiences while maintaining creative control for filmmakers.
CreatorFi dominates creator financing with proprietary credit scoring for YouTube, Spotify, and TikTok creators. Their 0-850 Creator Credit Score enables instant funding decisions based on real earnings, not personal credit.
KOR Protocol is building programmable IP infrastructure, partnering with Black Mirror and Animoca Brands to create licensable, remixable content for the AI age.
Legitimate partnered with Puma and Jay-Z's Roc Nation to embed NFC chips in sneakers, unlocking exclusive digital content.
This shift is about moving from renting audiences on streaming and social to owning the fan relationship. And the challenge isn't the technology; it's designing fan experiences that feel intuitive with true ownership, instant payments, and direct access baked in.
Take care,
Marc
Download the full report
Why the old entertainment model is collapsing
How the Direct-to-Fan model is evolving with blockchain
How fans are now funding music and film – and earning from it
Why EVEN pays artists 10–50x on top of Spotify
Complete entertainment ecosystem map with 100+ blockchain vendors
How superfan drops beat streams in engagement and revenue
The real business case for brands, labels, and platforms
Playbooks and case studies from EVEN, Republic, and CreatorFi
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