# MARKET

The global culture and arts industry is growing rapidly and its significance is increasing. The industry encompasses a wide range of arts and culture, including art, music, film, festival and digital media, holding substantial economic and social value. Despite experiencing a downturn due to COVID-19, the market has not only recovered to its pre-pandemic levels, but has also grown beyond the previous market size.

Moreover, advancements in technology have enabled people to experience new forms of culture and arts performances. The digital transformation of culture and art industry, accelerated by COVID-19, is progressing rapidly to target younger consumers, with streaming services on online platforms becoming more active. Also, the use of blockchain technology to issue creator NFTs based on intellectual property(IP) rights and the application of virtual reality(VR) technology to conduct art and performances mark the beginning of the rapid adoption of digital technology in the global cultural and arts scene.

This digitalization of the culture and arts industry has given birth to a new industry, which is the creator economy. The creator economy enabled everyone to become a creator from micro-influencers to mega influencers. Also, their fans became strong supporter for the creators by actively participating in fan activity, which resulted in growth of fan community. As a result, the fan communities have become an important gateway for fans to communicate and engage with the creators.

While the global culture and art industry is growing rapidly and integrating digital technology, there are challenges exist. First, the fragmentation of information leads to an information asymmetry for both consumers and event organizers. Moreover, despite the digitalization has been started in the industry, a lot of organizers still use physical tickets or only sell offline merchandises, making global fans hard to purchase those products. Artists and creators also experience difficulties creating digital goods and products using their intellectual properties or finding right distribution channels. Lastly, fan communities still exists in one-way communication from creators to fans, makes it difficult for fans to engage with their artists.

HIPPOP aims to resolve the information asymmetry in the cultural and arts industry, prevailing offline business, and the one-way community between fans and creators by utilizing blockchain technology to build a global Web3 cultural platform. HIPPOP aspires to provide global cultural information, smart ticket services, support for the creation and sale of digital goods by artists, and communities that enable two-way communication between creators and fans. Furthermore, by leveraging blockchain technology, HIPPOP aims to support local artists to enter global markets and reward users for community activities by creating a transparent and open community. These will ultimately result in building a global Web3 cultural and arts  platform for creators, fans, and event organizers.
