Blockchain is reshaping industries beyond finance. In this Crypto for Advisors newsletter, we shift focus from traditional investments to explore a disruptive blockchain use case in the music industry. Inder Phull, CEO and Co-Founder of Pixelynx and creator of KOR Protocol, explains how on-chain music rights and royalties are transforming ownership and why this matters for artists and investors.
Then, Ronald Elliot Yung from RaveDAO answers questions about these changes and how they impact investments in Ask an Expert.
Remix, Rights & Revenue: Why Onchain Music Infrastructure Is the Future
A fundamental shift, redefining how music is protected, managed, and monetized.
Introduction: A Broken Symphony
The digital revolution has empowered musicians with unprecedented tools to create, collaborate, and reach global audiences. Unfortunately, this rapid evolution has come with its own set of challenges. While the Internet has rewritten the rules of creation, distribution, and consumption, the methods we use to protect and monetize creative content, such as copyright laws, licensing models, and royalty structures, have not kept pace. In this environment, artists struggle to maintain control of their work, with inadequate attribution and a lack of fair compensation.
For advisors, you may have clients in the music industry or investors seeking to invest in these assets. Understanding the evolution of this industry could be a strategic advantage as assets move on-chain.
The systems that governed the industry were originally designed in a pre-Internet era when the concepts of global digital rights and licences were yet to be considered. We now find ourselves in a situation where TikTok hits are often born from unauthorized samples, AI-generated music is flooding streaming platforms, and artists struggle to make a living.
Legal pathways to capitalize on emerging opportunities, such as AI or UGC virality, remain locked behind gatekeepers, legacy contracts, and unclear ownership data. Enter onchain rights infrastructure: a shift that could rewire how we protect, manage, and monetize music.
The Problem: Rights Are Fragmented, and Creators Lose
There is a reason why music on social media has yet to generate a revenue stream for artists, why the “Metaverse” lacks music, and why AI is perceived as a threat. Existing copyright systems do not adequately address the complex web of ownership and usage rights associated with modern applications of music, such as remixing or user-generated content on social media platforms.
The current complexity costs the industry billions, as this system often leaves creators underpaid and legally vulnerable. Creators are shifting to owner-created content, where they can track the usage of their creations and consumption, and get paid regardless of where their assets are consumed.
The Future: Onchain Rights Infrastructure
Onchain rights infrastructure redefines the backend of the music industry. It provides rightsholders with undisputed, verifiable ownership of their work, with rights transparently programmed into the registration. This transparency and programmability enable music to move effortlessly across platforms, applications, and media, automatically tracking attribution, verifying provenance, and eliminating the friction of traditional licensing processes. Artists receive payment instantly, and their rights are enforced in real-time.
Imagine if every track came with a smart contract, one that listed the rights holders, the ownership percentages, and the licensing terms in code. If you wanted to use the song in a remix, a sync, or a sample, the contract would tell you what’s allowed and automatically distribute royalties.
That’s what on-chain rights infrastructure makes possible.
On a blockchain, rights can be:
- Transparent — anyone can see who owns what
- Programmable — remix terms, splits, and conditions are encoded
- Traceable — derivatives and remixes are tracked in real time
- Compositional — rights become building blocks, not walls
If the music industry wants to capitalize on emerging technology and cater to tomorrow’s digital consumers, it will need a more agile and forward-looking approach to music rights management and licensing. Onchain rights infrastructure is the answer.
Understanding the shift to on-chain rights infrastructure is no longer niche; it’s a key part of the future. Whether you’re advising IP holders navigating their royalty flows or helping investors explore music IP as an emerging asset class, being fluent in how rights and revenue can be transparently encoded onchain is vital. Just as streaming reshaped consumption models, on-chain infrastructure is reshaping the ownership system; those who understand it early will be best positioned to grow in the evolving digital economy.
– Inder Phull, CEO and co-founder, Pixelynx
Ask an Expert
Q. In a world of corporate festivals and algorithm-driven playlists, how can decentralized models enable new music scenes, community leadership, and fan ownership?
Music has always thrived in pockets: underground clubs, bedroom producers, DIY scenes. Blockchain now offers a chance to bring these microcultures to the world, placing influence in the hands of those who live the culture, not just those who monetize it.
For investors, the upside is early access to untapped cultural capital and the energy of self-organizing communities. Most users still crave experiences, not just technology. No protocol can manufacture authenticity, and it’s easy for on-chain “ownership” to become performative if it’s disconnected from what’s happening on the ground. The winning models will get the “local-to-global” flywheel right: using technology to empower people, not just platforms, and ensuring new voices and collectives receive the recognition and support they need before being absorbed by the next algorithmic trend.
Q. What persistent problems can blockchain and AI fix in live events, and what’s still unsolved for the music economy?
Blockchain finally addresses ticket fraud, opaque splits, and the lack of fan ownership in events. On-chain tickets are tamper-proof and traceable, making resale and royalty flows transparent. AI is cutting through noise by personalizing experiences, automating support, and making sense of the huge, messy flood of fan data most venues still ignore. However, technology alone won’t solve the music industry’s most profound issues. Scene-building, trust, and curation remain deeply human challenges. No blockchain replaces the hustle of earning credibility, or the magic of a local scene bubbling up in defiance of the mainstream. Even the best AI can’t spot next year’s genre-defining artist without a pulse on culture itself. For investors and advisors, the risk is buying into the illusion that data and automation alone can drive engagement and loyalty. The most compelling opportunities will blend digital tools with real-world understanding, creating systems that empower communities rather than just optimize transactions.
Q. What are the blind spots in the current “Web3 x Music” hype cycle, and where should advisors exercise caution?
There’s no shortage of pitch decks promising to “revolutionize” music with tokens and NFTs. But hype alone can’t replace authentic connection, or build the grassroots energy that makes festivals last. Advisors should look beyond user counts or Discord noise and ask: Are local communities actually thriving? Is community governance a real process or just a buzzword? Can this model attract and retain both serious talent and loyal fans? The winners will be platforms that treat culture as a living ecosystem, not a quick flip, and that balance on-chain innovation with the off-chain work of building trust.
– Ronald Elliot Yung, core contributor at RaveDAO
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