Tokenize the Musician

23 Pages Posted: 30 May 2018 Last revised: 20 Jun 2019

See all articles by Stan Sater

Stan Sater

Tulane University, Law School, Students

Date Written: April 11, 2018

Abstract

The layers of abstraction between the musician and the fan, where the value is actually created, have undercut the democratizing promise of the Internet. The Internet was an opportunity for artists to directly connect to fans and generate new revenue streams through digital downloads and streaming of both audio and video content without intermediaries extracting exorbitant fees from content they did not create. However, these new revenue streams and platforms were leveraged by record labels through one-sided contracts to further cement their dominant role in the music ecosystem. With each new intermediary, musicians lose more revenue and more control. The economics and incentives need to be and can be recalibrated. Blockchain tokens enable the established musician to raise capital and remain independent for longer until they can negotiate better record deals that truly align the economic incentives to grow the musician's career.

Keywords: blockchain, intellectual property, music, cryptocurrency, bonds, securities, economics, debt, equity, record label, tokens, asset backed securities

Suggested Citation

Sater, Stan, Tokenize the Musician (April 11, 2018). Tulane Journal of Technology & Intellectual Property, Vol. 21, 2019, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3160798

Stan Sater (Contact Author)

Tulane University, Law School, Students ( email )

New Orleans, LA
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
248
Abstract Views
1,094
Rank
224,294
PlumX Metrics