all projects

Blockchain in the creative industry

Client

Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection’s Centre of Competence for Cultural and Creative Industries

Year

2022

Partner

u-institut


Our mission

Blockchains open new perspectives for the cultural and creative industry. Blockchains are programmable systems that enable digital property to be owned and traded transparently in a peer-to-peer manner without the engagement of trust-building third parties.

The cultural and creative industry is well known for its rapid adaptation of new technologies. In arts, trading digital art with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) gains increasing popularity. In fashion, brands experiment with innovative marketing approaches by tokenising clothing and design. In film, blockchains are utilized for fundraising. And in music, a new form of label emerges, organized as DAOs.

Our approach

Our publication “Blockchain in the Cultural and Creative Industry – Opportunities for New Business Models” offers an overview of the leading narratives and mental models on blockchain and Web3 in the cultural and creative sphere. Using real world examples, it illustrates how artists and creatives are experimenting and implementing ideas and business models in creative ventures. The methodology at hand is based on an extensive analysis of relevant literature.

Core results

We identify four areas where blockchain and Web3 could benefit the cultural and creative industry in the long run:

  • To prove province of artists’ work and introduce digital scarcity. NFTs carry an unforgeable signature of the author, proofing the originality of art. At the same time, NFTs introduce scarcity to the digital realm, which allows artists to claim and enforce higher prices on the market.
  • To provide an unforgeable record of license rights. Blockchains offer opportunities for improving the integrity of data used for the exploitation of license rights. Moreover, it allows for automated remunerations via smart contracts as soon as license rights are used by third parties.
  • To facilitate access to finance via tokens. Tokens can represent ownership in creative ventures. Incentives to invest in such tokens stem from the prospect of token appreciation as the token value increases when ventures succeed. By offering tokens, artists can allocate capital from fans, supporters, and speculators.
  • To organise collaborations between artists and creatives. Decentralized Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) represent a new approach in organising project-related work between creative professionals and companies. Through token incentives, collaboration and decision-making processes can be coordinated collectively and more efficiently, allowing for a fairer share of generated profits.

Links and downloads

The dossier (kreativ-bund.de, PDF in German)

More about our work (in German)

Project team: Dr Olaf Arndt, Roman Bartuli, Bianca Creutz, Kathleen Freitag, Christina Schenten

 

Latest update: 31.08.2022

Mehr Studien & Projekte zu diesem Thema

More studies & projects on this topic

Mid-term evaluation of the Single Market Programme (SMP)

2025
| Project

The Single Market Programme promotes the EU internal market in order to strengthen it, standardise it and make it more competitive. Prognos was involved in the mid-term evaluation of the programme.

Design and implementation of the Resilience Expo

ongoing
| Project

Prognos is supporting the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of the Environment in organising, implementing and establishing the world's first trade exhibition for the climate adaptation industry.

Mid-term evaluation of the public sector loan facility

2025
| Project

The Public Sector Loan Facility is an EU financial instrument to ensure a socially just transition to climate neutrality in the regions. Prognos and t33 srl evaluated the instrument.

German industry’s resilience and sovereignty

2025
| Project

German industry is heavily dependent on raw materials and intermediate products from abroad, especially from China. Prognos analysed supply chains and developed recommendations for action.

Evaluation of the ‘Innovative University’ funding initiative

ongoing
| Project

How can innovations be implemented in practice? This is where the BMBF's ‘Innovative University’ funding initiative comes in. Prognos and Fraunhofer ISI are evaluating the programme.

Evaluation of the Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings (BEG)

ongoing
| Project

On behalf of the BMWK, we evaluate the impact of the BEG in the funding period 2021 – 2025 together with ifeu, ITG, and FIW.

Technologies to combat the shortage of skilled workers

2025
| Expertise

Specialists waste a lot of time on tiresome routine tasks. 3D planning tools or digital twins can help. Our analysis for the Fraunhofer IGD shows which professional groups benefit directly from their digital technologies.

How far are the regions on the road to a circular economy?

2025
| Project update

Prognos has developed a tool for the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) that supports cities and regions in monitoring their circular economy activities.

How dependent are we really on the US and China?

2025
| Expertise

Foreign trade, employment, investment and raw materials: ahead of the new US administration taking office, we analysed for the Süddeutsche Zeitung how dependent our economy is on the US and China.

Economic potential of the green tech sector in Bavaria

2024
| Project

How powerful is the green tech industry in Bavaria? What is its economic significance? We examined these questions on behalf of the vbw using our envigos model.

About us

Prognos – Providing Orientation.

Prognos is one of the oldest economic research centres in Europe. Founded at the University of Basel, Prognos experts have been conducting research for a wide range of clients from the public and private sectors since 1959 – politically independent, scientifically sound.

Learn more