Music Business/Law Tips - Blockchain for Music

There has been a lot of recent discussion of how the use of the emerging "blockchain" technology - currently being applied to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin - can be implemented in the music business to help ensure that artists, songwriters, producers, record labels and music publishers can better be paid on the billions of "micro transactions" taking place online each year with relation to the digital performance and sale of music. Although complex, the key to this working comes down to the metadata embedded in the music via digital watermarking or fingerprinting. Each musical track is a "block" which contains the relevant information such as the artist, songwriter, producer, record label, music publisher, performance rights organization, splits, etc. (the more comprehensive and specific the better). A block pops up anytime there is a use (i.e., stream, sale or remix). Hence, this will help ensure that the proper parties get paid their share of royalties as platforms like Spotify and YouTube will have this information to properly account (and pay quickly without having to wait for old school twice a year accounting schedules). Bottom line, this should increase the volume of music transactions and consequently make more money for the rights holders - a very good thing! Ben McLane Esq benmclane.com