A DEMATEL-Based Framework for Combating Digital Piracy in Media & Entertainment Industry through Blockchain: A Critical Success Factor Analysis

The media and entertainment sector remain under threat from digital piracy, with an estimated annual revenue loss of over USD 30 billion resulting from the illegal distribution and consumption of digital content. Blockchain technology (BT) has recently resolved numerous concerns addressing the protection of digital media rights. It can assist digital content creators and distributors in automating transactions and tracking the dissemination of digital material in the movie and music industries. This article aims to determine the critical success factors (CSFs) for BT adoption in the movie and entertainment industry. An extensive literature review was undertaken to discover success criteria. This resulted in discussions with experts to validate the CSFs needed to adopt BT in the movie and music industries. The ‘Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL)’ method was used to identify cause-effect link between essential success elements. The DEMATEL technique, which is well-suited for revealing the linkages between interdependent components. Based on the investigation, 14 CSFs were found and classified into five dimensions. With the DEMATEL technique, 10 factors were categorized in the causal group, and the remaining 4 in the effect group. The study highlights the essential interdependencies between key elements, including stakeholder preparation, technology infrastructure, digital rights management, and regulatory compliance, based on expert advice. The results provide governments and industry stakeholders with valuable insights to mitigate the risks of piracy and foster healthy digital ecosystems. Immutable Attribution, Decentralized Governance, and Decentralized Audience Insights were rated as the top three factors for BT adoption. Our findings can help legislators, technology integrators, and media and entertainment companies create blockchain-based anti-piracy plans. The DEMATEL analysis's actionable insights offer a prioritized roadmap for successfully integrating blockchain technology to guarantee safe and long-lasting digital content management.