Music can be streamed and downloaded at the click of a button but payments to the people who make the music can be slow and not transparent. On the blockchain, smart contracts can be created such that for every listen of a song, the artist is paid royalties and this is visible to everyone. This way, artists know how their payments are calculated and there is no middle man taking commissions from their paychecks.

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

- Transparency 
- Efficiency
- Listener Support
- Equitability for Artists
- Community Building 
- More Reliable Royalty Payments

Benefits of Blockchain on the Music Industry

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3326823

The Blockchain Technology on the Music Industry

With a public ledger of ownership, it is easy to see who has rights to music and therefore becomes easy to pay them accordingly. Currently, many artists have no idea how their royalties are calculated and have no way of knowing but this makes it easy to find out, and because each listener pays for each listen, royalties are paid instantaneously. Smart contracts also make it possible to divide payments between artist, producer, etc. in a way that is reliable and, again, instantaneous.

Blockchain and Royalty Payments

Technologies such as DAOs pose an incredible opportunity for building and sharing music. Artists can form DAOs around their bands, creating tighter-knit communities of hardcore followers that they can call upon for help. The distance between the supporters and the artists becomes significantly smaller and artists are able, on one distinct platform, to interact with their most committed and excited fans.

Community Building on Blockchain in the Music Industry

There is currently no global registry of music creators and their works. Blockchain has the potential to provide a seamless, fast experience for anyone creating or interacting with music. It could work as a complete, immutable directory of who owns certain music. This public line of ownership makes ties in very closely to the ability to easily calculate and transfer royalties to the necessary parties.

Blockchain Improvements on Copyright Safety

All transactions occurring on the same platform as the listening occurs make it possible for listeners to 'tip' artists and show support in greater ways than listening to the music. This could foster a stronger support system around artists and generally enrich the culture of the music industry.  

Blockchain Allowing for Listener Support and Interaction for Musicians

Blockchain has the potential to greatly lower the barrier to entry and success at a higher level. It is already easy enough to upload music to Spotify but it is far more difficult to ensure you have the rights to your own work and are getting paid accordingly. This is something the blockchain would keep track of for youmaking it unnecessary to hire any third party to do this for you.

Equitability for Artists Through Blockchain

This largely comes down to the removal of unnecessary third parties in the record industry. Blockchain allows for any two willing parties to transact directly with one another.  This way, the job of music publishers, for instance, would spend more time on data verification and resolution of disputes rather than the administrative functions they did before. The blockchain will complete these tasks and keep track of rights and royalties far faster and easier than any publisher or producer ever could.

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