Metaboundless: Enabling the changing entertainment landscape

There is likely one person in your immediate family or friends who is a gamer, social media influencer, cord-cutter or NFT enthusiast. Add to this virtual reality, augmented reality, the metaverse, activation through participation and other terms from pop culture, and it becomes clear that the entertainment landscape is evolving at a breakneck pace. The world is moving towards unlocking a new dimension in interactive entertainment with a focus on immersive experiences and fan-led ownership. Companies such as Metaboundless, working with music legends like Ragheb Alama, Saad Lamjarred and Michel Fadel are pioneers in this process.

The last decade has seen a significant shift in the entertainment landscape enabled by the likes of Netflix, Instagram, Youtube, Tik-Tok, Snapchat and others. These platforms have enabled an entirely new content creator economy, currently valued at over $100 billion. The world has seen the rise of new careers in gaming, content creation just as two verticals in entertainment. Brands created by Huda Kattan, Kim Kardashian, Mr Beast, Logan Paul driven by content led strategies on these social platforms have had unquestionable success. This is an incredible time in history which has leveled the playing field and created opportunities for anyone with a smart phone, stable internet connection and a creative mind to become popular. One does not need to look far to validate the reality of this genre as a career, but to the amazing story of Khaby Lame who went from being a construction worker, window cleaner and mechanic to become the biggest influencer on Tik Tok, without saying a word on Tik Tok!

There is no doubt that these platforms will unlock significant value as more content creators come online from countries like India with a large consumer base and increasing internet penetration. However, the existing platforms are becoming increasingly saturated with content and decision fatigue for fans. It is relatively easy to garner likes and comments on these platforms, but very hard to distinguish true fans who would pay for a creator to sustain their careers. From a fan or follower perspective, they are left to just consume content or purchase items from their favourite creators which will largely get commoditised over time.

The next wave of these social platforms need to enable and empower fans in key decision making processes and reward them with not just content, but monetary upside. These platforms need to bridge the gap between celebrities, content creators, athletes, artists, and their true fans. Some open-ended questions these platforms should address — can the next-gen platforms enable fans to own a piece of the music being produced? Make key decisions in a sports team not just as a fan of the best football team, but also a governance rights owner? Decentralise the creation of the next American Idol to identify global talent? Sponsor the next creative genius or gamer for locking in future revenue streams? These might sound complicated, and they largely have been, until the applications of the blockchain have made it possible to enable these use cases at scale.

Metaboundless is a next generation platform to empower fans and enable creators with real engagement. The Metaboundless management team has been in blockchain and gaming for the best part of the last 10 years. The team understands that these concepts are new and fast evolving. NFTs, smart contracts, web3.0, DAOs and Metaverse are not intuitive concepts for much of the population. Metaboundless wanted to solve this by partnering with musical legends and pioneers Ragheb Alama, Saad Lamjarred and Michel Fadel to deliver a unique immersive experience with futuristic avatars. 'The Concerts of the Future' is a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience history in the making. The stars will be present at the virtual concert as avatars and live via video to answer fan questions to truly bridge the gap between them and their fans.

Concert goers will experience a familiar ticketing or subscription experience; however, each concert attendee will be rewarded with a NFT of their favourite stars. The NFTs give the fans a chance to meet their beloved celebrities in person and make their dreams come true. The concert presents a familiar process, but it is the first step towards empowering fans to be able to be more involved in the future of their favourite celebrities and upcoming content creators.

The celebrities are true pioneers in this quest to find uncharted territory in this new age of entertainment. Alama said: We partnered with Metaboundless as they were the first to initiate such a futuristic project. The team’s long-term vision is incredible, and the approach makes the process intuitive to users. Throughout the 40 years of my career, I have always been open to new ideas, and I am excited to step into the metaverse with the concerts of the future."

Lamjarred added: "I witnessed similar experiences for futuristic concerts from global artists, and I was directly involved with the creation of my avatar starting from green screen motion capture to every pixel on my avatar’s representation. The end result is very realistic and at the same time the process gave me room for significant creativity as the metaverse presents a blank canvas. I am looking forward to the fans seeing me and my unique digital avatar in the Concerts of the Future."

The first Concerts of the Future will be streamed live on www.metaboundless.io on October 20 at 11 pm GST. Users will not need any special device or VR goggles to watch the concert. The NFTs are issued on the Algorand Blockchain, founded by Turing Award Winner, Silvio Micali. Future forward brands like the Apparel Group and 6th street are sponsors with an eye of future trends in digital fashion. Crypto Arabs NFT, in partnership with Shaabiat Al Cartoon with the objective of educating the Arab world on these concepts is a community partner for Metaboundless.