Month: August 2020

As per the experts in modern technology, the Blockchain technology is the future technology for technology lovers in various fields. The Blockchain technology is making its presence felt in the music industry as well. The intermediaries have always dominated the music industry, and artists often have to compromise on this factor. However, the streaming platforms are booming in the current scenario, and blockchain technology helps creators come in direct contact with the audience.

How is Blockchain affecting the music industry?

It has the potential to eliminate the intermediaries from the system, and creators can get direct benefits from the sales of music and live streaming of music channels. In this way, artists are able to get a royalty for their work, and this is also becoming a good alternative to piracy. The current situation favors artists who have a good following, and they will continue to earn a major share of revenues from the industry.

On the other hand, the conditions of emerging artists are not so good, and they will hugely benefit from a decentralized system. In this regard, the P2P network for sharing and storing music will help such artists to avoid intermediaries and make good money.

Opus is using IPFS for this purpose, and it has the potential to change the industry in a big way, especially for many emerging artists. Ethereum network is used as a payment layer, and this uses smart contracts to provide royalty to artists. In this way, content distribution becomes easy even for small artists, and they need not have to depend on intermediaries to promote their work.

Artists get up to 90% payment

In this situation, artists are likely to get up to 90% of the earnings, and only a small percentage will go towards the distribution and storage network. This is huge, considering the fact that the conventional system provides very little for the original artists.

Mediachain, eMusic and Musiclife platform

These platforms are trying to change the game by providing independent artists a good share for the money earned from the sale of music. New York based Ujo is providing a decentralized database of ownership for artists, and this can help them earn direct money from the sales of their work.

The US-based Open Music Initiative project is also using Blockchain technology to identify creators’ rights, and they have partnered with Netflix, YouTube, and Soundcloud for the distribution of music.

The paper or metal currency is being replaced by virtual currencies, and more users have started accepting them as per the latest information from the market. However, the trend is yet started and will last for some more years, according to experts in virtual currencies. In a short span the same will be on peak in the market.

Coinbase is zooming in recent months as its user base hits 35 million. It has users in more than 100 countries, and the cryptocurrency exchange is seeing tremendous growth in this year. It is now the third-largest crypto exchange in the world, and the average daily trading volumes exceed $500 million on most days.

Coinbase and its regulatory approach

Unlike other cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase is known for its stringent regulatory norms, and some users have even criticized the company for this strategy. However, this strategy has worked in favor of Coinbase over the years as new users feel confident about investing in such exchanges. This year alone, it has added over 5 million new users, and this is good growth considering the fact that the global economy is not in good shape due to the pandemic.

Demand coming from institutional investors

The advantage of Coinbase is that it has a good blend of retail as well as institutional investors. The demand from institutional investors in recent years has been very encouraging for the company. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to haunt the global economy, more and more institutional investors are looking at alternate options, and the crypto industry is gaining a lot in this situation.

Acquisitions of Coinbase

Coinbase is also going aggressive with its approach, and it has recently acquired Tagomi, which is one of the leading brokerage institutions in the crypto industry. It was earlier rumored that Coinbase had offered $150 million to acquire Tagomi. However, company officials discarded such rumors even though they did not disclose the exact figure of purchase.

Considering the growth of Coinbase, it is not surprising to see that more and more investors are getting attracted towards this exchange. There are rumors that the company is planning an IPO issue this year. If this happens, it can further stabilize the base of the exchange in the industry. This will be the first big company to enter into the public market in recent years, and it can set the trend for many such IPOs in the near future.

Anyone who’s into cryptocurrency, stock market, banking, and investing has probably heard of the term ‘blockchain’. So, what’s this technology that is called blockchain? Why is it used for storing various kinds of digital information?

If you go by its literary meaning, the word ‘blockchain’ is made of two words, ‘block’ and ‘chain’. So its meaning could be derived as a chain of blocks. But, there’s more to the blockchain network. It is a technology that serves as a database used to store several types of digital information. Each ‘block’ contains information and has specifically three parts-

1. It stores details such as date, amount, and time of the transaction. For example, your recent transaction from eBay also gets recorded in such a ledger.
2. Blocks also store details about the participants in a transaction. So the block that records your transactions on eBay will also record your name and the name of the website, i.e., eBay. But instead of using your name, the block uses a distinctive ‘digital signature,’. It is kind of like a ‘digital ID.’
3. Now, each block is different from any other block. And, what differentiates a block from another is a unique code known as ‘hash’. These are cryptographic instructions or codes, developed by complex, specialized algorithms. So, even if you make a similar transaction with the same details, each block can be differentiated since each transaction’s hash is different.

While it might look like, in the above points that a block can only store one transaction, but in reality, a block can store digital information up to 1 Mb. It means that the details of thousands of transactions can be stored in one block. 

Hash

When we talk about a block storing information, it must also be known that the block has a certain hash assigned to it. A hash is a unique code consisting of numbers and letters that are generated by the block. The basic functioning of a hash involves taking a variable number of characters and converting it into a set of constant characters. So, even a change that might appear to be negligible creates a new hash. 

Also, every hash in a blockchain is similar to the hash of the previous block. So, to tamper with the hash of a block, the hashes of all the previous blocks have to be changed. After the block has been hashed, it gets added to the blockchain. Now, every block that is added to the blockchain is in the public domain, and anyone can choose to view it.

Nonce

‘Nonce’ or ‘a number only used once’ is a number that is used after the hash of a block. Its function, primarily, is to secure a block. If a blockchain miner wishes to solve a hash, this is the number they must discover. It is not easy to find and identify nonce, and this is why they get added to each encrypted hash, to eliminate the competition of less-talented blockchain miners.

Nodes

Nodes or master nodes are computers that ensure the privacy and validity of any transaction. So, whenever a transaction takes place, it has to be approved by all nodes involved. After each of the nodes has verified the transaction’s validity, there’s a virtual ‘electronic vote’ between the nodes. The validity of the transaction is decided in such a vote.

Every node contains a copy of the blockchain. If the majority of the nodes that are checking the validity of a transaction approve it as original and valid, it gets added to the ledger or blockchain. It ensures a blockchain’s safety, security, and privacy as the nodes would not let any fraud or fake code enter the blockchain network.

Summarizing Blockchain

• A block is a spreadsheet that contains digital information regarding transactions. A Blockchain is a family of such ‘blocks’. 
• Each block can store a fixed number of approved transactions. Once this number is attained, no more transactions can be stored in the block, and a new block is developed. 
• The blockchain technology is in-built with a sophisticated algorithm that updates the system every ten minutes. 
• Once the blockchain or the distributed ledger has been updated, you cannot tamper with the data stored in it. You can only new blocks with new data.
• The ledger or spreadsheet gets updated on every network and computer.
• Each block in a blockchain generates a hash that is a code unique to the block. 
• Hash contains a fixed number of symbols and characters. 
• Transactions are added in chronological order in a blockchain. 
• The hash depends on the hash of the previous block.
• Nodes are computers that verify and validate each transaction. It secures each block and ensures privacy. 
• A blockchain network updates itself on every system in the 10-minute period. 

Pulsating Web Series of South Korea

South Korea plans to air its first-ever crypto-related TV series in October 2020. This crypto themed series will be broadcasted in the drama genre and aspires to gain immense popularity because of the thrill and excitement embedded script and storyboarding, direction, and acting.

A K-Drama Series with Romantic Flavour

A Korean Drama or K-Drama series titled “Romantic Hacker” is all ready to stir the South Korea media space in October, this year. It will be a web-based series, based on crypto and blockchain-centric subjects, linked to a sweet romantic story. Infused with love and drama, this thriller TV series will entice and attract an audience of all kinds and is expected to be an epic blockbuster of the K-Drama series. The story will showcase the drudge of a crypto trading portal known as the Jeju International Crypto Exchange. The lead actor will combat a group of highly expert hackers that effort to snip the cash from the exchange.

Cast and Crew

A well-known talent agency is responsible for bringing actors and actresses on board for the series. The superbly talented and popular K-pop star Kwon Hyun-bin will be seen in the series as the male lead character, ‘Jaemin.’ He will contest the gang of fraudsters and expose the chain of fraudulent transactions of cryptocurrencies. This is an action-packed drama, with romantic and comedy elements in bits and pieces. As a whole, the web series will make up for a fascinating recreation and entertainment stuff for all. Kwon has a tremendous fan following, and the agency has hired Kwon very intelligently to assure the admiration and adoration of a sprawling young fan base. Kwon Hyun-bin is also well known for being a supermodel and a talented actor. His filmographic trajectory specifies that Kwon had acted in three leading TV series, such as JTBC’s ‘Don’t Let Go of Your Mind’ and Netflix’s ‘Part-Time Idol’. Before signing as a lead actor in “Romantic Hacker”. Those who had already seen these series are well aware of his acting skills, dialogue delivery, and confidence. Other important actors are Viini. Jae Min, Jo Hyun Young. Hye Soo and I are Na Young. Joo Hee.

Romantic Hacker is designated as the first-ever crypto-themed web series, to be aired in South Korea. People have gathered a lot of expectations towards this action-romantic comedy and can’t wait to enjoy this in October.

Music enthusiasts and passionate patrons back up and support all kinds of music genres and support and back up the budding and vintage artists and musicians to keep up their talent and expertise. They act as lifelong patrons and help a lot to keep up the music genre alive and flourishing universally. However, a realistic and constructive survey has displayed that many music patrons and buffs use cryptocurrency to support music and musicians.

The Survey by eMusic Store

eMusic was launched in 1998 and is globally known for being one of the pioneer websites to sell DRM-free MP3 music recordings. A survey executed by the pioneering digital music store eMusic displayed that most of their patrons and customers were in agreement paying with crypto if it permitted artists, performers, and musicians to earn more. The survey results also showcased that 65% of eMusic clienteles would use cryptocurrency if it was for the betterment and motivation of the musicians. It is important to note that a meagre 8% of the target audience had used Bitcoin or any other crypto in previous times. The Survey also displayed that about 65% of eMusic patrons would use cryptocurrency if those permit musicians to receive a promising music revenue portion.

Survey data analysed by eMusic revealed that approximately 40% of music enthusiasts overrate the number of royalties that musicians receive when their music is bought or telecasted. Nearly 87% assumed that a “decent and impartial share for the performers would be a higher value, with the most popular reply being a perfectly half divide between the marketing company and the artists.

The survey report published in May by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry exhibited that music streaming enhanced music profits to over $20 billion in 2019. Still, an analytical breakdown by Soundcharts, the popular music news website, evaluates that artists are paid only $0.00318 per streaming session. 

The Role of eMusic in Providing a Fair Platform

The pioneering eMusic is raising a devolved music distribution arrangement to lessen the cost of ineptitudes and link the performer’s pay with their music purchase. Which means, more their fans and patrons purchase and stream their music; higher is their royalty. This gives them a fair and unbiased podium to showcase their talent and earn unswervingly from it.

The idea of offering an impartial and fair-minded platform to all musicians have helped eMusic to earn a lot of accolades, respect, and acclamation from the various music niches. It is indeed a great platform to motivate musicians and rejoice their exceptional talents.