Media rights management has lagged behind the pace of content creation. While audiences expect instant access and creators experiment with AI-driven production, the contracts, licensing, and distribution systems that underpin the industry still rely on outdated processes. Rights often remain scattered across regions, tied up in legal files, and delayed by intermediaries. The gap between how content is made and how it is managed is widening.
This is where Hendrik Hey, founder of MILC (Media Industry Licensing Content), believes change must begin. His company has built a Web3-powered infrastructure designed to close this gap. The centerpiece is the MILC Rights Marketplace, a live platform where intellectual property is tokenized, licensed, and monetized with speed and transparency. More than a tool for creators, the marketplace positions itself as a digital backbone for the media economy of tomorrow.
From Fragmented Rights to One Unified System
For decades, a single video or track could hold multiple ownership claims depending on territory or distribution channel. That fragmentation wasted time, cut into margins, and left independent creators unable to compete with larger studios. MILC’s Rights Marketplace takes a different approach. By tokenizing media assets like film, music, or gaming, ownership becomes both traceable and tradable in one system.
Unlike speculative digital assets, MILC’s tokens are grounded in legal frameworks that make them enforceable. Rights holders can fractionalize ownership, bring in investors, and license content directly without unnecessary bureaucracy. Smart contracts replace months of negotiations, executing cross-border deals in hours. Transactions clear in fiat or crypto, while metadata stored on-chain removes common errors.
The system is already operational. According to MILC’s investor memorandum, the Rights Marketplace already manages an IP library valued at €30 million, with €15 million from its Series B allocated to expansion. That infrastructure allows not just faster transactions but a more level playing field for creators who need global access without global budgets.
Redefining Ownership and Monetization
Where traditional systems placed control in the hands of intermediaries, MILC is structured to put creators first. Tokens minted on the platform represent real rights and can be licensed, sold, or traded directly. A filmmaker can raise funding by offering partial ownership of their work. A music label can license tracks to global partners with built-in royalty payments that execute automatically.
The secondary market is equally transformative. Once rights are tokenized, they can be resold or re-licensed with clarity. Smart contracts guarantee accuracy in royalty distribution, eliminating the disputes and delays that have long defined entertainment law. Transparency, once a rarity in licensing, becomes standard.
This shift reshapes the economics of content. Instead of relying on a handful of studios to finance and distribute projects, creators can build audiences and monetize directly. For investors, tokenized rights open new revenue streams tied to real intellectual property rather than speculation. According to industry forecasts, the global intellectual property licensing market is projected to grow from USD 340 billion in 2024 to USD 580 billion by 2030. Even modest adoption of MILC’s model would translate into meaningful impact.
As Hendrik Hey puts it, “MILC is the infrastructure layer where immersive content lives, evolves, and, crucially, earns. We are not just building a platform; we are architecting the protocol that will power the immersive content economies of the next decade.”
Building Beyond Media
The Rights Marketplace is only one part of MILC’s infrastructure. It integrates with a broader suite of tools that includes AI-assisted production, immersive metaverse distribution, and compliance-ready token frameworks. Unlike platforms that focus narrowly on collectibles or speculative trading, MILC’s model was built with professional licensing in mind.
That makes it relevant far beyond film and television. Early pilots have already extended into adjacent sectors, including live events, education, and even sustainable energy systems. These projects show how the same infrastructure that tracks and trades media rights can be applied to other industries where ownership and transparency matter.
Europe provides the right backdrop for this approach. Regulatory frameworks like MiCA, GDPR, and the AI Act ensure that innovation comes with accountability. Rather than slowing development, Hey views this as an advantage. Clear rules attract larger partners and create the trust needed for cross-border collaboration. In his view, regulation is not a barrier but a foundation.
The company is preparing to announce new partnerships that push these ideas further. With the Series B raise strengthening its infrastructure and a growing roster of partners across industries, MILC is positioning itself not just as a media solution but as a cross-industry standard.
Media may have been the starting point, but MILC’s infrastructure now points toward a much broader future. With tokenized rights already live, compliance frameworks in place, and a clear vision for cross-industry applications, the company is building momentum.
What comes next, Hey hints, will move beyond theory into practice at scale. New partnerships, expanded use cases, and cross-border deals are already in motion. The infrastructure is here. The announcements are coming.
About MILC
Hendrik Hey is the Founder of MILC (Media Industry Licensing Content), a pioneering company in the blockchain and metaverse space, with a strong background in media and content. MILC operates a real live metaverse platform that serves not only the media industry but also various industrial use cases. The company also focuses on Web3 consulting, aiming to support complex real-world industries on their way into Web3. MILC is a sister company of European media giant Welt der Wunder, which Hey founded over 25 years ago. For more information, please visit https://www.milc.global
