When I started in the blockchain supply space back in 2018, most people in media saw it as a shiny crypto toy—something for tech bros trading Bitcoin, not a tool to fix a industry that had been bleeding for years. Today, after three years of partnering with news outlets, content creators, and even independent film studios, I can tell you that impact isn’t just theoretical. It’s tangible: from how creators get paid to how audiences trust the stories they read. As someone who works day-to-day supplying the infrastructure that powers these blockchain projects, I’ve watched this shift up close, and it’s not just about hype—it’s about solving problems the media industry has ignored for decades. Chain
Let’s start with the biggest pain point most media insiders talk about: broken revenue models. For years, ad revenue for news and content has been funneled through middlemen—Google, Facebook, dozens of ad exchanges—who take 50% or more of every dollar a brand spends. Publishers get stuck with scraps, and content creators? If you’re a YouTuber or Instagram creator, you’re at the mercy of algorithm changes that can tank your income overnight. Blockchain changes that by cutting out those middlemen. Instead of ads being bought and sold through opaque platforms, brands can pay directly for ad space on a blockchain, with smart contracts automatically releasing payment once the ad is viewed or interacted with. No more waiting 90 days for checks, no more fees.
Last year, I worked with a mid-sized independent news outlet in Ohio that had lost 40% of its ad revenue after a Facebook algorithm update dropped their reach. We supplied them with a custom private blockchain that let local businesses (cafes, gyms, small retail shops) buy ad spots directly. The smart contracts tracked impressions, so businesses only paid for actual views, and the outlet kept 90% of every dollar. Within six months, their revenue was back to pre-drop levels—and they didn’t have to beg tech companies to change their policies. That’s not a small win. For small, local media outlets that are the backbone of community information, blockchain isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a lifeline.
Then there’s creator ownership, a topic that’s been blowing up lately, and for good reason. Think about it: when you post a photo on Instagram, or a video on YouTube, the platform owns that content. They can delete it, repurpose it, or sell access to it without asking you. Blockchain changes that because content is stored on a decentralized ledger, not a company’s server. Each piece of content gets a unique digital signature (a non-fungible token, or NFT) that proves who created it, when, and who owns it. That means creators can retain full rights to their work, and if their content is used by someone else, the smart contract can automatically send royalties right to their wallet—no need to track payments through a messy publishing contract.
I saw this first hand with a freelance documentary filmmaker we supply our blockchain infrastructure to. He spent two years making a film about small-town farmers struggling with supply chain issues, and instead of going to a traditional streaming service that would take 70% of the revenue, he minted his film as an NFT. Fans bought the NFTs, which gave them access to the film, a private Q&A with the director, and even a say in future projects. He made more money from the first 100 NFTs than he would have from three years of streaming royalties. And every time the NFT was resold on a secondary marketplace, he got a 5% cut automatically, no middleman to negotiate with. That’s the kind of power shift that used to only exist in theory. Before blockchain, creators had to fight for crumbs; now, they control their own work and their own income.
But it’s not all about money. Blockchain is also fixing trust in media, which is arguably the most urgent problem facing the industry right now. We’re living in an age where fake news spreads faster than real news, and it’s almost impossible to prove who created a piece of content, or if it’s been altered. Blockchain solves that because every edit, repost, or creation is recorded on an unchangeable ledger. If a news article is published on a blockchain, readers can click a button to see exactly when it was written, who the author is, and any changes made to it—no hidden edits, no anonymous posts. That transparency helps rebuild the connection between media and audiences, which has been fraying for years.
Last year, a major non-profit investigative journalism group partnered with us to use our blockchain infrastructure for their investigations. They started timestamping every source document, interview transcript, and draft of their articles on the ledger. When they published a story about local government corruption, a lot of people doubted it at first. But because they could prove the documents were from 2022, before the story broke, and that there were no edits after publication, their readership trust jumped 60% in three months. Readers didn’t have to take their word for it—they could verify it themselves. For media, that trust is everything. Without it, audiences don’t engage, don’t subscribe, don’t support. Blockchain isn’t a magic fix for misinformation, but it’s a tool that lets legitimate media prove they’re trustworthy.
Of course, it’s not all smooth sailing. There are real challenges here, and I see them every day as a supplier. One big one is user adoption. A lot of media professionals still don’t understand how blockchain works, or they’re scared of things like cryptocurrency volatility, which can make payment streams unpredictable. For example, if a creator gets paid in a volatile crypto, their income could drop 20% in a week if the market crashes. That’s a problem we’ve been working to solve, too—we supply stablecoin integrations, so payments are pegged to the US dollar, and we also offer custom training for media teams to help them learn how to use the blockchain tools without getting overwhelmed.
Another challenge is regulation. Different countries have different rules about blockchain, NFTs, and digital payments, which can make it hard for media companies to scale their projects. For small outlets in particular, the cost of navigating regulations can be a barrier. That’s why we focus on building flexible, compliant infrastructure—so media teams don’t have to rewrite their entire business model just to use blockchain. We work with legal teams to make sure our tools follow global rules, so our clients can focus on making content, not stressing about compliance.
I also hear a lot of critics who say blockchain is overhyped, or that it’s just another way for big companies to make money. But from what I’ve seen, the people using it are the ones who have been left behind by the old media system: local news outlets, independent creators, small publishers. They’re not doing it to get rich quick—they’re doing it because the old way wasn’t working for them. That’s the difference between a fad and a real change.
Looking ahead, I think blockchain will become as common in media as social media is now. In the next five years, I expect most major news outlets will have some kind of blockchain-based system for creator payments or content verification. Even small local outlets will be using it, because it’s no longer a fancy tool—it’s a practical one that solves real problems. For creators, it’ll mean never worrying about whether their platform will own their work again. For audiences, it’ll mean being able to trust the stories they read. For the media industry as a whole, it could mean a return to a time when content mattered more than ad metrics, and creators were fairly compensated for their work.
But none of that happens without the right infrastructure. As a chain supplier, that’s where we come in. We don’t just sell hardware or software—we build the tools that let media companies, creators, and audiences take back control. We partner with every kind of media organization, from small independent blogs to major global outlets, to customize blockchain solutions that fit their specific needs. Whether it’s streamlining royalty payments, verifying content authenticity, or cutting out middlemen to boost revenue, we’re here to make blockchain accessible and practical for media teams.
If you’re in media—whether you’re a publisher, a creator, or a team looking to fix your revenue or trust issues—we’d be happy to walk you through how blockchain can work for your business. We don’t push one-size-fits-all solutions, and we don’t believe in hype over results. Let’s talk about your specific challenges, and build something that helps your team grow, and your audience trust what you do.
Ungalvanized Steel Wire Rope References
- PricewaterhouseCoopers. "Blockchain in Media and Entertainment: Unlocking Value Through Decentralization." 2023
- Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. "Digital News Report 2024: Trust, Revenue, and the Future of News." 2024
- World Economic Forum. "Blockchain and the Future of Content Creation: Opportunities for Creators and Audiences." 2023
- Statista. "Global Blockchain in Media Market Size, 2020-2030." 2024
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