Suppose one of the big tech companies does end up running some kind of rights database – with Google/YouTube being well-placed as they implement Content ID. As they are not the right holders, what important questions will be raised over authority, accuracy and inclusion?

1. Music 4.5 Blockchain Technology and Data –
saviours of the music industry?
WIN observations:
International initiatives, authority and inclusion
issues
Charlie Phillips
London, 12 October 2015

2. Who are WIN’s members?
• All main independent music associations in approx
35 countries
• Including: AIM (UK), A2IM (US), VUT (Germany),
ABMI (Brazil), AIR (Australia), PPNZ (New Zealand),
FMPJ (Japan), AMAEI (Portugal) and many others
• Impala

3. Background
• Flow of rights and data (1):
1. Creation
2. Deal/commercials
3. Registration/data management
4. Usage
5. Reporting
• Payment flow is the reverse of this
• Very complex across various right holders and institutions.
• Need to improve access and simplicity across industry, but
at institutional, international level this is very hard to
achieve.

4. Authority and Accuracy
• Only right holders know what the rights picture is at any
given time. Authority reduces the further away from (1)
and (2) you get.
• Complications through matrix of right holders, and
crossovers within this matrix (producer, performer,
author)
• Hard to see how institutional change can be brought
about by any single technology, given issues today.
• Blockchain could still be useful in specific contexts, where
authority and accuracy of data is more reliable.

5. Inclusion
• Provider of technical infrastructure would need to be very
well resourced.
• Questions of trust and alignment of commercial objectives
with right holders.
• Questions over whether any single reference resource
could be truly inclusive enough to replace the current
institutions and services.

6. Other observations (1)
• Blockchain could work well in specific situations – artist
investment, music services etc – mostly digital though,
which may not be areas most in need of change.
• What about outside digital environment?
• Hard to see transition away from current processes for
things like public performance, sync licensing etc.
• Do non-experts trust non-traditional currencies?
• Are they set up to use them?

7. Other observations (2)
• Technology can’t save you from a bad deal.
• Technology can shed light on bad practices, but can’t
implement change on its own – eg unfair distribution rules
in collecting societies
• Existing data standards are not well implemented in
music. Premature for any system which depends on yet
higher standards to bring about real change.

8. Conclusions?
• Blockchain technology and data – saviours of the music
industry?
• Probably not yet!

9. Thank you!