October, 2018

So much of our society is shaped by the content we read, the videos we watch and the music we listen to, yet wherever we look, there is information bias. Two blockchain startups are creating media applications that are democratizing our online information and content experience.

Source: Democratizing Media In The Era Of Blockchain

Facebook is rolling out more music features today, bringing more ways to integrate its licensing partnership with all three major labels into Stories, user profiles, and its Lip Sync Live feature. Starting today, users will be able to add music stickers to their Facebook Stories. You can search for songs, pick out the part you want to share, and add the sticker with the artist and song name.

Source: Facebook adds music features to profiles and Stories, expands Lip Sync Live to Pages

The news industry faces two “buckets of crises” today—declining public trust and financial sustainability—, and blockchain can help address both of them, said Vivian Schiller. Many of blockchain’s properties—openness, decentralization, and the difficulty of modifying existing data—are foundational to a healthy media environment.

Source: What can blockchain actually do for journalism?

Can artificial intelligence create music that humans actually like? These days, the music industry conspiracy theory is that AI is already working behind-the-scenes on certain songs — though good luck finding hard evidence. But there are plenty of AI efforts happening out in the open.  That includes an AI-focused startup called WaveAI, whose music creation app is called Alysia.

Source: Here’s a 3-Song EP with the Lyrics and Melody Entirely Created by AI

Blockchain startup, Xfinite says they are launching a next-generation on-demand digital platform for movies, TV shows, sports, games and other entertainment. The companies’ decentralised, blockchain-enhanced system is, they claim, designed to better meet the viewing trends of today’s digital content consumers while addressing limitations in current media production and distribution models.

Source: Xfinite to release new Blockchain content platform

Soundcloud is the latest audio streaming platform to partner with Instagram, the companies announced Tuesday (Oct. 23), allowing users to share songs in Instagram Stories. The news follows a similar announcement from Spotify and Instagram over the summer where users may press the “share” button in Soundcloud and then tap “Share to Instagram Stories.”

Source: Soundcloud & Instagram Announce New Integration

The cryptocurrency being launched by the estate of the late Wu-Tang Clan member Ol’ Dirty Bastard (ODB) is soon to see a public pre-sale. Unlike other cryptocurrencies with celebrity backing those behind ODBCoin say they moved carefully toward launch. Bryce Weiner, AltMarket’s CEO, described ODBCoin as “merchandise, like a T-shirt, which makes it a commodity” in the eyes of U.S. regulators.

Source: Yes, This Wu-Tang Clan-Themed Cryptocurrency Is Actually Happening – CoinDesk

The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) has launched a new services arm called Dataclef, proclaiming it “the most authoritative global music services platform ever built.” Performance rights organizations in India and the Dutch Caribbean are the first clients.

Source: SOCAN Launches Dataclef Services Platform to Support Global Rights Management

CD Baby has partnered with Cosynd to offer an affordable legal services platform to document ownership of content. Launching next month, the partnership will enable members to create basic copyright ownership agreements and split sheets, and then to register with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Source: CD Baby, Cosynd Partner For Affordable Copyright Services