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Blockchain Technology

9.9  THE MUSIC INDUSTRY SUPPLY CHAIN

Players involved in the music industry are the artists, publishers, retailers, labels or

record companies, streaming digital service providers, and performance rights orga­

nizations (PROs), as shown in Figure 9.4 (De León and Gupta, 2017).

The authors and the performers are the starting point of the supply chain of

the music industry. These two parties are responsible for creating and performing

the music. Each of these stakeholders is given different treatment when it comes

to the copyright laws. In the music industry value chain, the authors and the per­

formers are the ultimate holders of the rights. The income received by them based

on their licence agreements is not very high, as their negotiating skills are highly

variable.

Labels are the next in the supply chain industry and are responsible for managing

the recording, finance, promoting the music in the market and so on. Distributors

are responsible for shipping music to retailers and digital streaming partners like

Amazon Music, Spotify and Gaana, to name only a few. The retailers are the last in

the supply chain, who keep the CDs and USBs on their shelves. The money from the

user goes to the retailer, and then the amount is distributed to all in the supply chain

based on their agreements.

The intermediaries involved in the supply chain are the labels (T-series, Raaga,

Tips, Sa Re Ga Ma and so on) and the PROs. The task of these two entities is to

provide the recording instruments, operational support and marketing, managing

and monitoring the intellectual property (IP) and monetizing the IP by managing the

royalties involved.

FIGURE 9.4  Music industry supply chain.