Blockchain Is Here To Revolutionize The Music Industry

Technology has brought us to a new era of streaming, where music streaming apps such as Spotify and Apple Music have made us experience a paradigm shift, to the way we listen to music. But this is not going to stop here, as Blockchain technology has fueled a new innovative approach, bringing a transparent revenue-sharing model for artists. Further, there is likely to be a musical world filled with increased trust and accountability between artists and large media corporations.

Blockchain holds great opportunities to re-imagine many industries, and it has tremendous potential to reshape the future of the music industry.

Blockchain is grooving on the beats of music sector

We all know that the music industry has experienced a massive transformation over the last two decades, offering an incredible digital presence with a labyrinth of new players. Despite embracing modern tech trends, still, the music industry is facing the brunt of rights ownership and payments.

These challenges are real and painful, and mitigating the risks involved, can only be possible with the integration of the Blockchain technology. It will help in creating a scalable network, where strong steps can be taken against such negligence in this industry.

Well, there is much more beyond this, that will be benefitted through this integration, and we have brought you a quick look at it, within this blog post…just scroll it further

Stronger royalty system

Within the music industry, the existing royalty distribution system is archaic and unreliable, which does not prefer to prioritize any artist.

As per an estimation, an artist on average earns USD 250 million of royalty money, but it does get distributed to its rightful payees. And sadly, this mismanagement of fund allocation is largely caused by contract discrepancies, improper registration, or fumbled data.

With the absence of accuracy in the record of contributors to a song, royalties get mismanaged, and can even take years to receive payment. This issue is hard to be swept under the rug, as it gives another level of issues to upcoming artists who are not pro at resolving these issues in a timely manner. Here, Blockchain can facilitate fast and frictionless royalty payments, by including smart contracts; where contractual agreements get executed automatically on the blockchain, letting music royalties to be administered instantly. 

Database network

Ever thought of a networked database for music copyright? Well, this is the need of the hour, as there is no single database available that documents ownership of all song and recording copyrights, but many databases. This leaves confusion and no clarity of the information shared. With Blockchain technology, this issue is resolved, as it lets information be available to all users rather than stored in hidden databases. Further, the implementation of metadata within every single music piece will make it easier to check the terms of use and contact details for the copyright holders. And this would certainly lead to the gradual placement of copyright data on the blockchain and build a single and comprehensive copyright database for artists.

Monetization opportunity for new artists

Yeah, it sounds exciting…right? and it actually is!

New artists can create a new earning model, by creating a cryptocurrency. This currency can be associated with specific song or album (popular of course), and further artists can create a virtual “stock market”. Here fans will get the opportunity to buy pieces of the song’s rights while receiving money collected from the streams. This revenue model is backed up by the smart contracts to prevailing transparency at large.

Removing the clutter of intermediaries

For new artists, it is very hard to handle the third party intermediaries, who take control of their earnings and even influence what music gets to be heard by the general public. Blockchain technology is addressing this issue smartly, as it is a decentralized system, leveraging peer-to-peer networks to remove middlemen completely and provide a fully transparent platform.

Further, the integration of smart contracts, lets artists to be paid directly upon the purchase or stream of a song. It helps in even distribution of content and royalties effortlessly.

Future of blockchain in the music sector

TBH, Blockchain has the potential to save the music industry by revamping the processes of rights and royalties. And it will also ensure artists, writers, publishers, and everyone in the music industry value chain gets paid appropriately.

The music industry needs to embrace Blockchain as an integral part of their business. And this would certainly save the industry billions in lost revenues, delayed payments, and legal costs. 

However, to make this dream turned into a reality, the music industry needs to come together and determine a standard practice to make this tech trend a part of their functioning.

Final thoughts

Blockchain will continue demonstrating a new league of opportunities for independent artists and while resolving the old-age challenges. Further, it will re-establish the way music is produced, bought, sold, listened to, and managed in a transparent manner.

Are you ready to be a part of this tech-revolution?

If you are yet to experience technology on your musical dreams, then you must not delay it anymore. At Techugo, we are glad to be a technology partner of the world’s best-selling music artists and brands.

Give us a call to understand how we can help you build the next music app unicorn.