Hot on the heels of the Keep Music Alive/‘Broken Record’ campaign – which is calling for a review of the streaming market with the aim of getting songwriters and artists more money – digital music service eMusic have unveiled what they believe could prove to be a “revolutionary distribution alternative for artists”
Today (May 26), eMusic has launched a new digital token – christened eMU – with the objective of building “a sustainable music ecosystem to the benefit of artists, fans, and music services.”
From today, music fans can now purchase eMU tokens on digital asset exchange Bibox enabling them to buy their favorite songs and interact with their favorite artists directly on the eMusic service. Available at a base price of $0.39 per token, users are guaranteed that each token will always buy at least one song on the eMusic store.
Based on blockchain technology, an official press release stated that the eMU is a “secure, decentralized digital currency that makes payments to artists more efficient and transparent. It allows music artists to keep more of the royalties they earn for purchases and plays as well as real-time visibility into how their music is being consumed and by whom.”
Speaking about the launch, Tamir Koch, president of eMusic, said: “Streaming has dramatically increased revenues and adoption, but the model has proven itself to be fundamentally flawed. Hard-up artists receive a fraction of the royalties, while intermediaries take an ever-growing slice of the pie and leading services remain loss-making. The eMU token is now here to reinvent music distribution. It creates a brand-new commercial model built on fair compensation and transparent flow of funds between fans, artists and music services”.
Hard-up artists receive a fraction of the royalties, while intermediaries take an ever-growing slice of the pie and leading services remain loss-making. The eMU token is now here to reinvent music distribution
Tamir Koch, president of eMusic
Additionally, fans will also be able to earn instant rewards from their favorite artists for normal fan behaviour, such as sharing music and reviews, and crowdfunding tours.
An official press release stated: “In the longer-term, the eMU token and blockchain platform will provide a revolutionary distribution alternative for artists. It will enable them to independently upload their own content to the eMusic store and elsewhere, giving them the control to build sustainable careers.”
The eMU tokens listed on Bibox can be purchased and traded in exchange for USDT. The eMU token is an ERC-20 standard token and is only available for purchase and use by non-US residents.
Commenting on the listing, Guojie Liu, managing director at Bibox, said: “eMusic pioneered the concept of digital music and was among the very first music subscription services. When they say that blockchain is the future, the music industry should take note. We are delighted to be listing eMU on our exchange and anticipate strong demand for using the token on the eMusic platform and beyond.”
You can read Music Week's take on what the 'broken record' streaming debate means for the music business here.
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