A Study on Blockchain-based Music Distribution Framework: Focusing on Copyright Protection

Abstract

Blockchain, which started as a cryptocurrency bitcoin, has recently been applied to various fields such as finance, distribution, and public services beyond the category of cryptocurrency. In this paper, we propose a music distribution model to protect music copyrights and rights holders' rights based on blockchain and smart contract technology. By designing and implementing a blockchain-based music distribution model, it organizes music assets into blocks and distributes them among blockchain participating nodes, providing integrity, confidentiality and non-repudiation of assets, and a single point of blockchain advantage. Single Point of Failure (SPOF) problem can be minimized. Blockchain allows musicians to easily approve and manage their music copyright with distributed ledger technology. Rights holders can automatically and immediately receive royalties from the music industry, even if no broker is involved in the distribution process. By distributing and managing music using the proposed model, we can provide all transaction information and related tasks in the music market safely and transparently.