OPUS: World's First Decentralized Music Streaming Platform Built On Ethereum & IPFS
How do you usually listen to music ?
Do you actually buy and download the tracks, do you listen to the radio, to youtube videos, or do you stream?
Streaming platforms are by far the most popular option nowadays - you pay a small monthly fee, usually around $10, and can listen to as much music as you like.
But when you think about it, this can't be profitable for the artists - especially smaller artists that hardly gain any profit from users streaming their music.
The solution: OPUS - world's first decentralized music streaming platform!
The system is powered by Ethereum and IPFS , and gives 100% of the revenue back to the artist.
There is actually a Demo Version available already, with which you can test the service!
Opus offers some key benefits compared to traditional music streaming platforms. These include:
- Transparency:
Due to the nature of blockchain technology, all transactions are visible on the Ethereum blockchain and IPFS swarm. So every artist can see the revenue their music has created, and no label can hide any profits from them.
- Democracy:
At Opus, everyone voice is heard. People can vote on monthly proposals that develop and change the Opus platform.
- Fairness:
The OPUS Foundation doesn't take a cut from the revenue - 97% of the profits are received by the artists (and the rest is for maintenance etc.)
- Censorship Resistance:
Opus is a platform that can't be censored, since it is fully decentralized. This applies even to the IPFS storage layer.
- Cross-platform availability:
Within the OPUS blockchain there's a 3rd-party API based layer which allows anyone to build a local player and program it to access all the available songs on the Opus platform.
How does it work?
Users can purchase the decryption keys to their favorite Opus tracks with the native OPT token.
This way, the music is permanently yours on the decentralized IPFS, no matter what happens.
Artists can also use their OPT's to promote their music indirectly with the artist bounty system. This means that the artist can offer a certain amount of tokens to people who share their work, therefore spreading awareness about them and their music. And the sharer also earns a certain cut of the profits whenever someone else buys a song through his affiliate address.
How does the technology behind it work?
Application layer: This is the top layer where the Opus API interacts with various 3rd party players to decode and deliver music tracks.
Logic layer: This layer, is a system of smart contracts running on the Ethereum blockchain. On this layer, resides the user contract which stores each user’s decryption keys, reference file hashes to the IPFS storage, and the business logic that handles transactions.
Directory layer: While each track has it's permanent IPFS hash, the directory layer is a JSON database that stores all the Hashes of tracks available on the Opus network.
Storage layer: Due to gas constraints, we store all the tracks on the IPFS network. This ensures that songs are available permanently, decentrally and with low latency.
How can you invest in OPUS?
The Opus crowdsale is happening right now - if you want to invest, you can do so right away!
It's running from 24.07.2017 - 21.08.2017, so you have about 2 and a half more weeks to go.
To make your contribution, you simply send ETH tokens to the address displayed - now you're already a part of the Opus system!
© Sirwinchester
I hadn't seen this one! Unfortunately, I'll have to wait to buy it off an exchange..
Awesome post. I own opt tokens myself :)
Looks solid however are there any artists at the moment that current are backing this? If so who are they?
Musicoin, another music blockchain, actually does have a working system and recently had some solid EDM artists make accounts. Opus is also working with Musicoin as well. Here's the article: https://steemit.com/music/@theharddata/musicoin-snags-top-hard-edm-artists
Good point, I haven't read about that yet but the real application isn't out yet either (only a beta version)
Awsome idea and I really like the design. Hopefully it gets some adoption. Good luck :)
Yes I also think it has a lot of potential, and it's a great opportunity for upcoming artists!
This really shows the power of cryptocurrency, slowly making its way to real world uses.
Exactly! Providing transparency and fairness in many different aspects of the world.
Yes absolutely right, that is what I love about cryptocurrency it is decentralized.
Resteemed and Upvoted :)
i would like to see the concept of this further. i'm currently using spotify but i hope to see nice moves towards blockchain
Yes I'm using spotify too, but imagine how awesome it would be if the majority of these applications we use regularly could benefit from blockchain technology!
The idea is potentially good for us musicians but, we need the audience to use that app. If only the musicians are registered, it could become an endogamic ecosystem, as I have seen in Musicoin.
The success of Spotify or Apple Music is based on being able to find most of the music published. How do we attract the audience? Sharing earnings by promo? Maybe, but it could eventually get people tired if the earnings are not enough, as it starts to happen here in Steemit, which many users no longer publish, simply comment on the trendding posts.
There was some news with Musicoin recently, as some top EDM artists started using the system.
https://steemit.com/music/@theharddata/musicoin-snags-top-hard-edm-artists
Yeah! Great news! Thanks for sharing @deadlybuda!
Hmm, yes good point I know what you mean! I guess there is still room to improve the system and make it more available for mainstream users!
I hope so. Musicians/composers really need a new way to monetize our work.
I have heard alot about it and have bought some of the ico's, I am planning on getting more. I hope it does well because I would like to use this to my advantage
Yes I'm also excited to see how this project will turn out - but I think it has a lot of potential since so many people could use it in their everyday lives.
I love the music aspect of it, this will work well for my audio's I will do, Once it hit the market I had bought some more today, But i have it in hit btc
Have you heard of it, Because though the transfers of coins is good I don't know if my dividends would be transfer there or do I have to move it to the original site from hit btc to the opus wallet.
Interesting idea for music artists. There's going to be local coins and they can be used to buy music. Everything decentralized. That's great.