Can blockchain solve Hollywood's streaming challenges?

For those of us (myself included) who stream virtually everything they watch, streaming has changed how we get our entertainment for the better. It's almost hard to believe there was a time where I had to catch a show when it aired, or at the least set up a DVR (or, gasp - VCR) if I wasn't home to watch it.

But as we gained convenience, those who own and produce the content actually lost control, and more importantly, income from their work.

White Rabbit is out to see if blockchain technology can help solve the content producers problem - and most importantly - without getting in the way of the viewer!

They outline the following set of problems: Filmmakers left out of digital distribution income, a lack of transparency, pirated content, and a lack of choice outside subscription services selected content.

The proposed solution - a browser plugin, that recognizes what you watch - and doesn't care how you got to it. Subscription service or pirated - White Rabbit doesn't care.

They explain it like this:

"When streaming their favorite films or series, smart contracts deduct a payment from users and transfer this immediately to rights holders. Utilizing blockchain technology, rights holders are also ensured complete financial transparency.

Thereby, White Rabbit liberates creators and fans from closed server based subscription platforms. In its place, White Rabbit delivers unlimited choice in content for fans, incentives for an innovative streaming industry, a sustainable business model for digital distribution and a fair and transparent future for artists, producers and investors."

White Rabbit believes 60% of those currently pirating content, don't even want to be pirates - and this isn't a crazy theory - we learned from the past, when music pirates were first to master digital music distribution. When iTunes launched, people were skeptical - would users pay for what they're getting for free? Overwhelmingly - yes!

Then, take things up and notch with the power of blockchain and smart contracts - and you can then make sure the income goes exactly where it's supposed to.

The team consist of people from both the movie, and software industry. CEO Alan R. Milligan is a film producer with awards from Cannes, Venice, Gothenburg and more than 50 other awards and nominations since 2014. Artistic Director Hengameh Panahi was part of Mubi, a company that started streaming even before Netflix - just to name a couple.