Seedance 2.0: Hollywood's Copyright Warning, or the End of the Content Industry?

ByteDance released Seedance 2.0 just five days ago, and Hollywood's lawyer's letter arrived.

This is not a simple copyright dispute. This is a power struggle about who controls the narrative.

Data First

According to Reuters reports:

• Disney and MPAA have issued cease-and-desist letters to ByteDance
• The Japanese government has announced an investigation into AI misuse of Conan and Ultraman characters
• Production costs: A 2-minute fight scene in traditional Hollywood costs millions of dollars; Seedance 2.0 users report costs of about $60

This is not an efficiency improvement, this is a complete collapse of the cost structure.

The Essence of Platform Strategy

There is a noteworthy tweet on X:

"The Chinese Government directed their companies, years ago, to use generative AI to replace film making to cut production cost. This is why Seedance 3.0/5.0 will have video generation up to 18 minutes. China has 548M Gen AI users." — @ashiqeLSD

Regardless of whether this information is completely accurate, the core logic is clear: China is building AI video generation as a national infrastructure.

This is very different from the American model:

Seedance 2.0 supports 9 reference images, 3 videos, and 3 audio inputs to generate 15-second multi-shot clips. This multi-modal control makes it not just a "text-to-video" tool, but a video production operating system.

Hollywood's Reaction

Disney's accusation is direct:

"Disney accused ByteDance of a 'virtual smash-and-grab' of Marvel and Star Wars IP through its Seedance AI tool." — @dhoesq

But the question is: When fans can generate an alternate ending to the Avengers sequel on their own laptops, what does "controlling IP" mean?

There is a disturbing voice on X:

"Seedance 2.0 made an Avengers: Doomsday movie ending scene using AI. If fans can generate alternate endings on their own laptops, studios aren't the only ones controlling the narrative anymore. The power dynamic is shifting." — @JovinSKN

This is what Ben Thompson would call the reverse application of Aggregation Theory: content production is no longer concentrated on the platform, but distributed to each user. When content supply becomes infinitely available, the value of distribution approaches zero.

The End of Copyright?

ByteDance has stated that it will strengthen "security measures." But this is just a tactical retreat.

The strategic question cannot be avoided:

1. Technically impossible to prevent: You cannot "delete" the visual characteristics of a character in the model weights
2. Legally unenforceable: With 548 million AI users worldwide generating billions of videos every day, who will enforce the law?
3. Commercially unavoidable: Production costs without using AI will not be able to compete with those using AI

A Japanese user put it bluntly:

"Seedance 2.0 でコナンやウルトラマンの無断AI動画が爆増、日本政府が調査開始。技術的にはすごいけど、これ要するに他人のキャラで再生数稼ぎだよな。著作権の崩壊とAI進化がセットで来てる現実、否定できる人いないだろ" — @ailifehack82270

Translation: The technology is strong, but the essence is to earn traffic using other people's characters. The collapse of copyright and the evolution of AI are happening simultaneously, and no one can deny this reality.

Bottom Line

Seedance 2.0 is not the next TikTok. It is a value chain restructuring tool for the content industry.

For Hollywood:

• Copyright lawsuits can only buy time, not prevent technological diffusion
• The only way out is to become a distributor of AI content platforms themselves

For ByteDance:

• Copyright pressure will continue, but global users have already tasted the sweetness
• China's 548 million AI users are a moat

For creators:

• "Electronic swill" - this is what Chinese users call AI-generated content
• When the cost of content approaches zero, the only thing that is scarce is attention

The real question is not whether Seedance will destroy Hollywood, but: When everyone can make blockbusters, what can still be called a "blockbuster"?