Ava Labs, the company responsible for the Avalanche blockchain, is using its platform to offer intellectual property management solutions to K-pop artists in South Korea.
According to a report by Allied Research, the K-pop industry is predicted to reach a valuation of $20 billion by 2031, encompassing ticket sales, sponsorship deals, and merchandise.
Justin Kim, the head of Ava Labs in South Korea, emphasized the necessity for artist protections and highlighted the potential of blockchain technology to provide unprecedented transparency and efficiency for artists who often receive inadequate compensation from recording companies. This issue also extends to live music and events, where venues and ticket processing companies can shortchange artists by underreporting ticket sales.
In the 21st century, safeguarding intellectual property rights has become increasingly crucial for artists, who must now protect their work from traditional copyright violations, unauthorized use, and AI programs that search the internet for content for training purposes.
Platforms like Overlai address this issue for visual artists by embedding image and video metadata with an invisible watermark, which is then recorded on the blockchain to establish an immutable record of ownership. The software also allows visual content creators to opt out of AI scraping.
Cointelegraph interviewed Audius founders Roneil Rumburg and Forrest Browning to explore how blockchain could transform IP management for musicians. Audius, a decentralized music streaming and intellectual property management platform, empowers recording artists to take control of their intellectual property using Audius’ Web3 tools, without requiring them to understand the technical aspects of blockchain technology. Similar to Overlai, Audius also offers tags for opting in or out of AI scraping.
Earlier this year, Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan released original music featuring a Bitcoin Ordinals inscription, which included a Creative Commons license allowing holders to sample or alter the music. Additionally, legendary heavy metal group Megadeth minted and distributed non-fungible tokens to provide holders with exclusive experiences, such as one-on-one meet and greets with the band members, demonstrating the impactful use of blockchain technology in the music industry.