Cryptocurrency
Blockchain
Bitfury Creating New Music Platform With Blockchain
Bitfury is part of the early batch of Bitcoin miners that made incredible riches and now looks for ways to put their wealth to work. Even in the depths of market decline in late 2018, Bitfury was still valued at more than $1 billion. They were able to bring in investment capital totaling $80 million, for a new music platform venture they’re calling SurroundTM. So, what does Bitfury hope to accomplish, and how much competition do they face within the blockchain space?
Blockchain Music: Finding the Golden Goose
Somebody is going to make a lot of money in the realm of blockchain music, blockchain IP protection, and blockchain media. The question is: who?
Bitfury may have leaders and advisors with experience in the music industry but they’re not first to the table. Platforms like NEO’s imusify already have a working music platform product, harnessing blockchain’s financial incentives for artists, labels, listeners, etc. And while there may be more than enough room in the blockchain space for a European blockchain music platform (Bitfury) and a Chinese one (imusify), these two are far from the only competitors in the space.
Blockchain projects like Po.et and a declining TRON have strong music and media components, and both seek to create new monetization channels for content creators, as well as viewers/listeners. Platforms like KodakOne prove the model works in photo copyright. From our perspective, it seems that this blockchain economic model has been agreed upon by many ambitious players as a good one. It’s now up to one or more industry leaders to create a technology network that makes the economics practicable for human beings (and their money).
Despite the competition, though, Bitfury may well be motivated and financed enough to win in this crowded space. As Bitcoin prices have declined (though BTC prices may rise once again soon), mining profitability has disappeared. This has been catastrophic for global leaders like Bitmain, and Bitfury has surely felt the pinch (though they’ve not been as vocal in the media about their troubles).
It seems like SurroundTM may be as much a pivot for survival as a new potential revenue stream. Forgive us if we sound skeptical but Bitfury has released precious few details about their new platform. They’ve also stated that SurroundTM may still be “years” away. In the meantime, not only will Bitfury be forced to compete with a growing bastion of blockchain music platforms, but they’ll also be competing with conventional music software companies like Spotify and Youtube.
Anyone who has followed the growth saga of these global giants knows that to dominate in the music industry is a work of decades and billions of dollars. Even so, Bitfury may be the blockchain company fit for the job.
Featured image source: Grey82 – Shutterstock
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