Music, Rights and Revenue

Abstract

Chapter 3 presents an analysis of music in relation to emergent models of intellectual property rights, revenue management and digital governance. Rights and revenue patterns are evolving as music becomes increasingly entangled with song funds and decentralised computer architectures, such as blockchain-based streaming platforms and NFTs (non-fungible tokens). In this context, the chapter charts how recorded music’s current format as an intangible data asset is catalysing change in music production and consumption habits. By examining how emergent technological and financial services are offering new revenue models for music creators, contextualised within a broader conception of market economics and value systems, the chapter further explores the ecological nature of music by reflecting on how distribution and income generation mechanisms not only support musicians’ creative practice, but also inform, and to an extent shape, the nature of that practice.