Blockchain Music Companies Are Not Created Equally

This article was written by and published with permission from Erik Mendelson who can be found on various social media as @erikanswerman.

January 6, 2019– I couldn’t find a comprehensive comparison chart of blockchain related music platforms. So, to kick off 2019, I decided to create one using various information sources that include reading over 45 whitepapers and extracting data from the the following credible industry sites: Musically, Digital Music News, Billboard, Music Business Worldwide, Hypebot and each of the platform’s websites.

The inspiration behind this comparison chart came from Ari Herstand’s “Ari’s Take blog” which publishes a very detailed chart for analyzing Digital Music Distribution Companies.

Disclaimer: I am the CEO of Cre8tor.app (formerly RecordGram) andTuneToken. Tune is in the process of doing a token generation event. I do not currently own any tokens listed in the chart. None of the information should be construed as legal or financial advice. I know some of the CEO’s and upper management of the platforms listed, however I didn’t reach out to anyone for this research. The order of platforms listed are random, except Tune which is my company.

I hope this serves as an open flow of communication between the platforms listed and myself so the chart can serve as an accurate representation of this dynamic industry. Please let me know either directly or in the comment section of wherever this chart gets posted if there’s incorrect information or if there’s anything I should add. Nothing about this comparison chart was done to purposefully misinform. I hope the chart and highlights below evoke conversation and most importantly adoption.

Here are some takeaways:

• There are 46 music-focused blockchain platforms
• The biggest focus area for the platforms are:

1. direct 2 fan/ streaming
2. music rights & metadata
3. ticketing

• 28 platforms are live/beta while 18 are not developed/unsure
• 13 projects have completed an ICO
• $39.2m (the total aggregate minimum raised from equity investment)
• $134m (the total aggregate minimum raised from ICO’s -This includes outlier TRON’s $70m)
• $19m (the total aggregate market cap of projects that have issued tokens according to Coinmarketcap.com 12/22/17). Note: This number doesn’t include outlier TRON’s $1.3b market cap

Note: Funding information for some of the platforms is unknown. I’ve used information that has been publicly disclosed. I will update any accurate information as I receive. Hence, please help fill in the unknowns if your company is listed and information is missing.

Chart Terms Defined:

Focus Area: the problem/area that the company is mainly addressing

Blockchain: this is the blockchain the platform/software is building on

Mobile/Web/Both: this is where the platform provides user access

Token/Infrastructure/Both: this is the charts most subjective term. Token means the platform is ran via a token mechanism and is primarily focused on application users. Infrastructure means the platform/software is focused on B2B solutions for the music industry and doesn’t rely on a token to function. Both means the platform has a token mechanism but the underlying technology can be structured for B2B purposes also. I realize this isn’t a perfect definition.

A larger chart than the one below can be found here.