MusiSign - Future of Music Licensing

Inspiration

The rate at which licensing agreements are negotiated between the copyright owners (music publishers, labels, performing artists, performers, etc.) and anyone wishing to license their content (music, lyrics, video, etc.) such as YouTube channels, independent movies, documentaries, etc. continue to limit the revenue potential for music artists and hampers the consumer experience. Parties interested in licensing content do not have the information to reach all the copyright owners. This archaic experience has created a lot of confusion for YouTube channels: they either choose to use a music track without licensing it or use a low quality copyright-free audio sample. We are confident that addressing this inefficiency will allow artists to quickly license their content and earn more money in the process ("commerce"). Including quality music tracks in more YouTube (and other similar channels) will improve the "consumer" experience.

Additionally we are being proactive in our approach and looking to the next wave of media. One example of this is the introduction of VR headsets in the market and how VR content creators will be seeking to license audio tracks from their rightful owners. This example and others show how it is in the industry's best interest to streamline this inefficient process to help everyone in this ecosystem.

What it does

MusiSign allows artists to offer "blanket" licensing agreements for their content on various platforms such as Youtube, Vimeo, VR gears, movies, etc. Entities wishing to license content can search for licenses on our website, read about licensing agreements, and figure out which tracks they want to use. Performance Rights Organizations (PROs) can access this licensing database (via our API) to figure out how revenue should be split between various entities. Artists can also choose to receive real-time payments using the blockchain technology, which we implemented using Ujo's platform.

How we built it

Our team used three API sponsors: 1) Ujo - to show the feasibility of royalty payouts via blockchain entry 2) Quantone - to pull in artist's and track information 3) Musikki - another source of database for artists to quickly enter their information into our "contracts" system 4) React.js & Redux 5) Node.js with Express

What's next for Future Forward Licensing

Generate an electronic agreements that both parties can “electronically” sign
Allow parties to digitally negotiate agreements.
Offer more complex customization options to tailor licensing agreements. This includes customizing licensing agreement for separate track, defining time range for the agreements, requiring licensees to pay advances prior to using the content, etc.