While the music business is still undergoing enormous changes as a result of the development of digital technologies. With the internet, musicians may now reach a larger audience without depending on conventional record labels. The difficulty of music licensing comes along with the ease of distribution, too.
The procedure by which musicians and record companies authorize the use of their music for commercial endeavors, such as in television shows, commercials, and video games, is known as music licensing. The music industry is currently attempting to use blockchain to improve music licensing by making it more safe, transparent, and effective due to the advent of Web3 technology.
Web3 is an expression used to describe the peer-to-peer, decentralized internet that is eventually going to replace the current system. Blockchain, which is a distributed ledger that securely and impenetrably records transactions, is the primary technology that enables Web3. Blockchain technology can be used to construct a secure and transparent record of music rights ownership in the context of music licensing. Web3 is capable of helping in reducing the need for middlemen like record labels and music publishers, who frequently take a significant percentage of the payments paid to artists, but by developing a decentralized database of music rights ownership control is shifted into the hands of the musician, or creator.
To understand how Web3 works in music licensing. Imagine an independent musician named John, who has just released a new album. John wants to license his music to a video game developer who wants to use his songs in their upcoming game. In the traditional music licensing process, John would have to negotiate with the video game developer and agree on the terms of the license. The terms would typically include the duration of the license, the territories where the music can be used, and the royalty rate that John would receive for the use of his music. Once the terms are agreed upon, John would then have to register his music with a music rights organization such as ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) or BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc), who would collect the royalties on his behalf.
The licensing of music becomes considerably more simplified and effective using Web3. John can register his song and set the terms of the license using a blockchain-based platform like Ujo song rather than depending on middlemen. When specific criteria are met, the platform would then generate a smart contract, a self-executing agreement, which would automatically carry out the license's provisions.
When John's music is played in the video game, for instance, the smart contract may immediately transfer the royalties to his account. The license's restrictions on the use of the music in certain regions would also be enforced thanks to the smart contract.
Additionally, the licensing of music is made more secure by the usage of Web3. The ownership of music rights becomes more apparent and challenging to tamper with when using a decentralized database. Long legal fights might result from disagreements regarding ownership of music rights during the traditional music licensing procedure.
With Web3, the ownership of music rights is documented on the immutable and unchangeable blockchain. As a result, the ownership of music rights cannot be contested, and any modifications to the ownership status require blockchain consensus.
As you can see, the use of Web3 to music licensing is a promising advancement for the music business. By utilizing blockchain technology, musicians can now decentralized, transparently, and securely register their music and determine the license terms. As the technology advances, we may anticipate seeing more innovations in the music industry that make music licensing more effective, transparent, and fair. This reduces the need for middlemen, lowers transaction costs, and increases the royalties received by artists.
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