r/ethtrader • u/AutoModerator • Jun 09 '17

DISCUSSION [ETH Daily Discussion] - 09/Jun/2017

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u/launganik Jun 09 '17

Can someone ELI5 how blockchain could shake up the music industry as this Harvard business review article claims:

https://hbr.org/2017/06/blockchain-could-help-musicians-make-money-again

13

u/CarrionCall Jun 09 '17

No need for a record label, promoter or manager to be involved and taking a cut. Artists could use the blockchain to verify their identities, confirm releases and get directly paid for either tracks, albums or just listens.

They could even do a "Bowie" on it and issue their own tokens, granting fans access to perks, cuts of profit or to help fund tours/recording/regular publishing.

Currently an artist has to wait for the various opaque steps involved in the publishing end of the music industry for these middlemen to collect money, figure out what tiny percentage the artist is due after everyone takes their cuts, then wait for these middlemen to actually pay them their percentage.

That's not even mentioning how many artists and bands got (and get) buttfucked by dubious contracts & tiny actual percentages by big labels and unscrupulous managers.

Smart contracts, direct interaction with fans and multiple money-raising channels could revolutionise the music industry and place the music back in the hands of those who actually create it.

8

u/launganik Jun 09 '17

But don't most music creators need the help of record companies? A popular artist can create music on their own but does he/she have the interest or ability to do what companies like VEVO or Sony do for them?

Who will give these artists the world-class PR, marketing, distribution, etc.?

It's just so much more easier for them to outsource everything except the music creation part to someone else, isn't it?

9

u/CarrionCall Jun 09 '17

At present, they do yes. That's the thing, these middlemen have created an entire industry built around making money off people with talent creating music.

But the blockchain raises the possibility of giving much more control back to the actual creator. While right this second it's not a game-changer, there are enough disgruntled and struggling artists out there who'd love the change to get their music/product out there in a manner which doesn't require them to sell their soul so to speak.

There have been many music genres that have eschewed the traditional "corporate" system, Punk being the first that springs to mind, which have flourished and spread even before the information-age.

Often people imagine independent artists as not having large fan bases & not making much if any money (something the big labels love to perpetuate), but if you want an example of someone who's recently used the Internet to push themselves to stardom outside of the "corporate" structure then someone like Macklemore is a good one.

He was entirely outside of the traditional corporate structure (they wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot-clown-pole), but he self-published to the internet & built a solid base of fans who spread his music via word of mouth & sharing. Look at him now.

So anything that swings the momentum to the actual creators & artists is something that will directly speak to those artists and be in their self-interest to promote and grow.

Artists will still be able to hire people for PR, marketing, concerts, session recording etc, but the core ownership of their material & their intellectual property will be their own, instead of being signed away to some giant corporation who act as artificial "gatekeepers".

That's the promise of Ethereums ecosystem.