The case for blockchain technology in the music industry

Abstract

The current music industry has many gatekeeping mechanisms that make it difficult for most artists to make a living from their art. The purpose of this study explores how blockchain technology can address this problem creating new sources of income for artists and a more transparent and efficient music business model. To gather data, interviews with experts in the music industry, blockchain industry, and computer science industry were conducted. From the input gathered, the results point to a common theme where blockchain technology is revolutionizing the music industry by democratizing content, removing intermediaries, and creating a new layer that helps artists have better control over their revenue. These themes point to two distributed ledger platforms that could endure the changes and ultimately support the future of the music industry.