🎥 Metaproof Media, Entertainment, IP 

Hey friends, this is Sophia from 🎥 Metaproof Media, Entertainment, IP, the weekly newsletter where we keep you informed on how the metaverse and web3 are changing the media, entertainment, and IP industry. 

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse media, entertainment, IP news every Friday.

💌 A quick thanks to our friends…

Shout out to this week’s sponsor CyberBrokers. A project with futuristic, cyberpunk art and immersive storytelling, CyberBrokers tells an exciting story that takes users through the world of the Paradigm Lost. Create, collect, game, and experience in this journey that brings the metaverse to life. Expand your reality today and go explore the Paradigm Lost. Check them out here!

📲 By the numbers

• The global market for metaverse in entertainment generated a revenue of $13.8B in 2021 and is expected to reach $221.7B by 2031, with a CAGR of 32.3% from 2022 to 2031. (Source)

• A survey in December 2022 among 200K+ people in 42 countries dives deep into which places and how kids are spending their time in the metaverse (Source):

  • 78% of US teens are aware of metaverse, but adoption may be slow.

  • 84% of China's tweens have already experienced the metaverse and 39% are looking forward to using it even more in the future.

  • 18% of participants ages 10 to 14 reported utilizing the metaverse for educational purposes. 

  • 45% stated that they used it for gaming, while 30% said for watching movies.

  • 20% of participants explore virtual environments and 19% connect with friends.

📫 News & trends

🔄 Tencent reshuffles metaverse department amid rumors of disbandment

Amid rumors of the group’s potential disbandment, Tencent has confirmed that it will be carrying out a personnel reshuffle in its metaverse unit. The Chinese social and gaming giant has been competing with other Big Tech firms such as Facebook, Microsoft, Alibaba, and Bytedance for dominance in the metaverse space, but the prolonged bear market and other unfavorable conditions have caused some setbacks in the race to the top. A few details:

• All the departments in Tencent’s virtual worlds unit received a notice to seek employment in other departments within the company or other firms within two months

• 300 individuals will be affected by the “personnel reshuffle” decision.

Despite this, Tencent recently held its first global web3 summit in Singapore to explore the potential of blockchain technology, a move reflecting China's increasing support for blockchain and following Hong Kong's announcement that retail investors can trade Ether and Bitcoin in June. Tencent is partnering with blockchain API providers, web3 infrastructure builders, and cloud providers to attract web3 developers, which will benefit Chinese web3 developers who want to work closer to home.

🔥 Marilyn Monroe launches groundbreaking NFT project with Zeblocks

The Marilyn Monroe Estate has partnered with renowned artist duo Zeblocks to launch the Modern Muse NFT project, available now on OpenSea. This project is a unique combination of Marilyn Monroe's timeless charm and Zeblocks' cutting-edge innovation, and promises to be a real hit with the NFT community.

What to expect: The project will onboard new members to the NFT community by allowing NFTs to be purchased with a credit card, a novel way to experience and interact with digital art. The mint pass will be available for purchase on February 23, with a collection size of 3333 and will guarantee one mint for the on-chain generative art drop to follow.

🎉Jewel is co-founder of a new mental health platform in the metaverse: ‘We cannot let happiness be elitist’

Singer-songwriter Jewel is taking her commitment to mental health to the next level with her latest venture: Innerworld, a virtual reality-based wellness center that provides a safe space for anyone to access free mental health tools. Combining evidence-based mental health support with the immersive power of social virtual worlds (with 24/7 access to peer-to-peer support), Innerworld offers an alternative to traditional talk therapy, where people can attend live mental health support groups in VR on the Meta Quest or via flat screen on Mac, PC, iPad, and iPhone. Costs start at $8/month for extra features such as unlimited group sessions. 

As co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Jewel said: "If you're acutely triggered, you can log into Innerworld. Everyone has an avatar, and there's a live guide, and there's constant peer-to-peer programming based on established cognitive behavioral methods." 

❗Child abuse material found on VR headsets, police data shows

Virtual reality (VR) headsets are becoming increasingly popular, including their insidious use by pedophiles to view and store child abuse imagery, according to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). 

The UK charity has found that eight VR-related offenses were recorded by police forces and called on parents to be aware of the risks associated with VR headsets, encouraging them to monitor their children's online activity. The charity has also launched the #WildWestWeb campaign to raise awareness of the issue and accompanying risks.

You might ask: What is the UK government doing? The Online Safety Bill, currently passing through the Lords, will cover VR headsets and the metaverse, with companies facing huge fines and criminal sanctions if they fail to protect children.

💸 Sony eyes investment in web3 projects from around the world

Sony Group is diving deeper into the web3 space, partnering with multi-chain decentralized app hub Astar Network to launch a three-month incubation program that will run from mid-March to mid-June and will accept applications from February 17 to March 6. The lowdown: 

• Ten to 15 web3 projects from around the world will be selected to gain access to business and technology strategy sessions with global VC firms and web3 companies, including Web3 Foundation and Alchemy. Sony will also consider projects that show promise for investment opportunities.

• Sony is already exploring the potential integration of NFTs into its video game consoles, PlayStation, a huge game-changer in the making.

Other gaming companies like Square Enix, Ubisoft, Konami, and Sega have also launched NFT projects and dabbled in web3 initiatives.

🤩 Dream Idols deploys cutting-edge web3 VR tech with metaverse concert premiere

Dream Idols, the first ever metaverse K-pop group built on Binance’s distributed blockchain network BNB Chain, aims to bring something truly revolutionary to the table via integrating VR technology and “FanFi” community economics. With cutting-edge technologies such as cloud-rendered metaverse environments and advanced motion capture equipment, Dream Idols seeks to create a unique and immersive web3 VR experience never seen before. 

The project, however, promises to go beyond just incredible visuals and sound. Through the integration of a FanFi economy, users can become part-owners of the Dream Idols K-Pop group, and share in the revenue generated from their music and other entertainment products. This governance model is powered by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that allows fans to have a say in the direction of the project, making it truly community-driven.

🎥 Africa’s media and entertainment industry at a crossroads

The future of sub-Saharan Africa is looking brighter than ever, with Meta predicting that its revolutionary VR "metaverse" could generate an incredible $40B by 2032. Some facts so far: 

• Some 16% of South African consumers have already experienced a "virtual world" in the past year. 

• To kickstart this journey, the first metaverse in Africa, Ubuntuland, was launched in 2021 with investments from MTN Group and ad agency M&C Saatchi Abel. 

• 5G technology is set to revolutionize the media and entertainment industry in Africa, delivering cost-effective, high-quality streaming with no lag, cloud gaming, and virtual reality. South Africa is on the brink of adopting 5G, and Nigeria held a successful spectrum auction in 2021.

• Streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Spotify have acknowledged the potential of the African market and are now taking it more seriously.

🏃‍♂️Quick hits 

• The Sandbox has launched its new virtual neighborhood Voxel Madness, where users can buy LAND or ESTATEs and become neighbors with popular entertainment, web3, and video game brands like Cut the Rope and Habbo.

• People are burned out on dating apps. They are turning to AI as an alternative, and some have even developed romantic feelings for their AI chatbot companions.

• Hello Pets is creating a decentralized entertainment ecosystem that allows users to create content with their own pet characters and external NFT characters, aiming to stand out by eliminating the need to pay fees and negotiate with companies for IP use.

• In Saudi Arabia, an interactive hot air balloon experience in the metaverse has debuted, allowing virtual tourists to explore Hegra's Tomb of Lihyan, the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the digital realm. 

• Swiss metaverse developer Sensorium is introducing a public playtest of its VR multiplayer metaverse, Sensorium Galaxy. Its first virtual world, PRISM, is a music-focused space offering AI-powered avatars and the ability to interact with Salvador Dali's AI avatar.

💸 Finance buzz

• AR/XR platform Spheroid secured a $25M investment commitment from digital asset investment firm ABO Digital to develop tools and capabilities within its Spheroid Universe. (Source)

• Meta Media Holdings' stock surged over 201% in the past week following the appointment of Adrian Cheng as co-chairman and the announcement of a partnership with Chinese search giant Baidu's ChatGPT-like bot to develop a metaverse platform that aims to become "an international, fashionable and high-quality spiritual ideal residence." (Source)

• Digital company Younoh Media, with clients across retail to entertainment to other sectors, is expanding its digital marketing services to include metaverse solutions. (Source)

• SkyView Innovations launched as an enterprise metaverse services provider, creating hyper-realistic environments to keep corporate users more engaged than current workforce management tools. (Source)

🗣️ Quote of the week

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All content on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not aim to serve as or replace expert investment advice.

If you are a startup building in the metaverse / web3 ecosystem and are raising capital, please reach out to Sfermion. Sfermion is an investment firm focused on accelerating the emergence of the metaverse.

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse media, entertainment, IP news every Friday.