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Blockchain in the Music Industry

9.10  DIGITAL STREAMING OF MUSIC AND ITS

IMPACT ON THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

With the emergence of the Internet era, the supply chain of the music industry has

been rearranged. This new plan has accelerated the access to fresh songs reach­

ing the market with the help of streaming services such as Spotify, Saavan, Gaana,

Wynk and so on (Arcos, 2018). The focus has drifted from owning the music to

accessing the music, which in turn has drastically affected the monetization proce­

dure involved in the industry.

Before moving on to the losses that have been encountered due to the elimination of

some creators and consumers from the supply chain, let us understand the areas in the

music industry and also in what ways people can make an earning from these areas.

Considering a single or an album being created, the following are the types of

rights that are available with the album (Horus Music, 2020).

• Song rights: Every song before reaching the target market must be written,

composed, published and also performed. Each of these tasks has rights

associated with it. All these rights fall under the parent category of song

rights. These are generally owned by the artist or the band and can be split

among the members of the band if needed.

• Recording rights: Once the song is written and composed, it must be

recorded before moving to the next stages of publishing and performing.

These rights include music video rights and mastering rights. The owners

of recording rights are the recording labels who pay for the recording of

the songs.

• Artistic rights: Some songs in the album are depicted in beautiful locations

with mesmerizing properties to enhance the creativity in the song. The pho­

tographers or the artists who contribute to the making of these music videos

are the owners of the artistic rights.

9.11  MAKING MONEY FROM THE ALBUM

Suppose a person has all the rights of the song except the one reserved for the artist.

He or she can make money from the album by:

• Re-recording the song. A song is divided into two segments, the composition

and the sound recording. When re-recording or re-creation of an existing song

is done, either of the two aspects can be modified to create a new version.

• Distributing the song to a wider audience through online streaming part­

ners. Some of the distributors available in the market are Landr, TuneCore

and Amuse. Allowing the songs to be played in public, either in public con­

certs or in public events such as corporate events or functions.

• Synchronizing: The recorded songs are used in television series as back­

ground songs or in films or advertisements or any form of visual media.

These songs can also be broadcast via the radio.