In short, the entire nature of how information is published and monetized.<p>There are numerous problems with the current ad-sponsored publishing systems with web content, but some of the more interesting ideas we&#x27;re looking at deal more with the professional publishing industries around photography, music and books.<p>We were very excited to read this report from the Berklee School of Music that outlined a system very similar to what we&#x27;ve been building!<p><i>In addition to the aforementioned benefits, a compre- hensive, accurate database of music rights ownership information would provide a platform for new technol- ogies to be applied in potentially game-changing ways. We encourage the investigation of the use of emerging crypto-currencies, such as Bitcoin, and their underlying technology, Blockchain, as new royalty-distribution mechanisms for the music industry.<p>...<p>A database of accurate rights ownership information, like the one we have proposed, could form the founda- tion of a similar cryptocurrency log. In addition to rights ownership information, the royalty split for each work, as determined by a mixture of statute and contracts, could be added to the database. Each time a payment is generated for a given work, the money would be auto- matically split according to the set terms, and each par- ty’s account would instantly reflect the additional reve- nue. For example, suppose a song is purchased from a digital music store, such as iTunes. After the store takes its cut, for ease of demonstration, we will hypothetically assume the revenue generated by the purchase comes to US$1.00. This money would be split between the two different works contained in the song, with a 9.1 cent mechanical royalty going to the musical work, and the remaining 90.9 cents going to the sound recording.<p>Next, if the contract between the publisher and songwriter specifies a 75&#x2F;25 split of revenue from downloads, the publisher would receive 6.825 cents and the songwriter would receive 2.275 cents. With an identical split at the record label, The label would receive 68.175 cents, and the recording artist would get 22.725 cents. The block- chain network could also further divide this 22.725 cents between the members of a band, if applicable.
This entire process would take place in less than one second, allowing all parties to access their money immediately after it is generated. Further, this payment system is fully trackable and would ensure that royalties are not held by third parties, such as labels and publish- ers, before being passed to the artist and songwriter. This would eliminate concerns about accidental or intentional underpayment of royalties.</i> - Fair Music: Transparency and Money Flows in the Music Industry, p.27-28<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.berklee.edu&#x2F;news&#x2F;fair_music_report" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.berklee.edu&#x2F;news&#x2F;fair_music_report</a>