Shibuya.xyz – GoDaddy customer – (United States)
Web3-focused developers are using .xyz domains to disrupt industries with innovative platforms that harness the power of blockchain technology. Crypto music publishing platform Sound.xyz aims to disrupt the music industry by helping recording artists gain more of their music’s value by turning songs into collectible NFTs. Forbes-featured artist Brandon Tory’s Formless.xyz leverages blockchain technology to change the way music and other digital content is valued and distributed. Venture fund CoopRecords.xyz strives to invest in artists and startup founders who are uniting web3 and music. In this week’s #BlockchainThursday, we’ll introduce you to a web3 video platform backed by Paris Hilton that aims to disrupt the Hollywood studio system of film distribution: Shibuya.xyz.
Shibuya.xyz is the online home of Shibuya, a blockchain-based film platform from notable NFT artist Emily Yang, more commonly known as Pplpleasr. The platform is designed to help creators crowdfund the production of long-form visual content, including short films, movies, and television series, by selling Producer Pass NFTs inspired by movie ticket stubs. Pplpleasr first gained mainstream notoriety after her NFT artwork helped Fortune magazine raise nearly $1.3 million in its first-ever NFT auction.1 On December 8, 2022, Shibuya.xyz shared in a tweet the news of a $6.9M fundraising round led by the a16z Crypto division of technology venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and celebrity investors such as Paris Hilton and NBA athlete Kevin Durant.2
The innovative platform’s first project is an anime short film titled “White Rabbit,” which Pplpleasr co-directed with fellow visual artist Maciej Kuciara, depicts the adventures of Mirai, a young heroine navigating a world set in a future where computing advances have compromised the blockchain. Mirai’s mission is to protect the blockchain. The film is being released in installments of three to five minutes. As of December 13 2022, Shibuya.xyz has shared the first 2 chapters of the film. Viewers who purchased Producer Pass NFTs were able to vote on one of two alternate endings to the first episode. The winning option determined the main character’s plot line in the following episode.3
Shibuya.xyz is designed to be a disruptive option for creators to avoid the necessity of relying on film industry power brokers. Films like “White Rabbit” are intended as a proof of concept. Shibuya.xyz hopes to eventually invite other filmmakers and other types of artists onto the platform to finance and distribute their projects with the support of fans rather than the Hollywood studio system. As Pplpleasr explained in the press, “If I was to go about this traditionally, I’d need to get Hollywood contacts. Now, I don’t need to wait for anyone to say yes.”4
The .xyz community is home to a growing number of developers interested in using blockchain technology to build disruptive innovations. We are excited to see the creative projects that develop from Shibuya.xyz. You can learn more by following the platform on Twitter @shibuyxyz, joining the Discord, and by visiting Shibuya.xyz.
1. https://fortune.com/2021/08/12/nft-pplpleasr-cover-raised-429-ether-million-opensea-sale-auction/
2. https://twitter.com/shibuyaxyz/status/1600865910231011329
3. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/03/01/nft-artist-pplpleasrs-new-project-shibuya-brings-long-form-animation-to-web-3/
4. https://fortune.com/crypto/2022/12/08/paris-hilton-and-a16z-back-nft-artist-pplpleasr-in-7m-fundrraising-round-for-web3-video-platform-Shibuya/
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