Grant Proposal: SkyMusic

Hi,

If everything is anonymous, are we talking about going back to Limewire days of piracy?

I believe the music tech is covered either in S5’s app, or mine plus there is another video music streaming app grant project.

The big challenge is Warner Bros, Universal and Sony have the industry tied up, allowing the likes of Spotify (who take 30%) etc. to stream only if they get paid their 40%-50%. Further intermediaries take theirs leaving the artists and creators scraps. Which is what my personal stick is, is to use software technology that can help sort out the mess and give people options to move the music and media industry to a fairer system.

Yours lack details. E.g. is it blockchain or centralised payment system, ownership for creators decentralised or not etc. ?). How is the music discovered? How are you dealing with licensing?
No details on how to market and build a creator community either?

Thank you for the feedback, Steve.

Thank you for the comment. This will be a simpler solution. The creators will not receive any financial support. Of course, the creators can upload their own music through a separate page. All this while accepting that they will not receive any financial support for it. After they submit their music, we will review and upload it to our SkyMusic library. Our own library will be public through the app, for which we will request licensing rights continuously to expand it (e.g., with no copyright music), and we would acquire new music for the SkyMusic library from the app’s revenue. This would expand the SkyMusic library. Libraries uploaded by users, whether on S3 or local storage, will be completely private and not shareable. Only the user will have access to their own music. Essentially, the main service would be the personal SkyMusic library, all securely through a music player on the Sia/S5 network. I hope the licensing issue has been clarified. If you have any questions, please feel free to write.

Thank you for your comment. I appreciate the project you sent, but my app is more focused on creating a large music library and database. Only creators would be able to upload music to the SkyMusic library through our platform. Of course, our aim is not censorship, but due to potential abuses, this method is the only way I can ensure long-term compliance with licensing requirements.

Thank you for your input. Yes, it resembles Vup. However, in this case, private music libraries cannot be shared; only those with access to the user’s account can listen to the music. It is not our intention to support misuse of unlicensed music. The app is built on the principles of fair use, and we also alert users to this fact. We do not rely on the data uploaded by other users for personal use. It is the user’s responsibility to have the necessary licenses for the music they upload to their own library. As this is their personal storage space, we are simply a music player with our own SkyMusic library. By sharing private access, others could access the music publicly, but we have considered this from a security standpoint. Only one or two people can be logged into an account at a time.

I may sound dumb, but what would the incentive for the creators be to upload their music when they wouldn’t get any revenue?

Okay, summary is creators upload their music for free.

You decide whether or not it’s good enough for you to keep.
Then you get all the revenue as well.

Or am I missing something?

Thank you for your comment. Yes, motivation is a very important issue. It should be interpreted as a free opportunity for creators to showcase their musical taste and knowledge. Since I do not collect personal data, it is easier for creators to appear in the application. For example, in the case of random playlist, there is a greater chance for the creator’s music to be listened to.

Thank you for writing. The revenue I earn with the SkyMusic application can be divided into two parts.

  1. Users or anyone who likes SkyMusic can support the project.
  2. I will use non-intrusive advertisements within the application.

So these would be my two expected sources of income, part of which I would use to purchase licenses for the SkyMusic’s own music library.

Okay, from what I can gather, you’ve taken some of the worst aspects of Web2 and are trying to shoehorn it into a Web3 environment.

I’m a musician myself and have dealt with the sheer inequality of the current system. You’ve taken it a step further by not even paying the creators.

Private centralised licensing deals, I can only assume to lowball rights holders. This is how it is currently.

Come on, we can do better!

I myself have built a completely decentralised licensing system that’s built on non-transferable NFTs. Which I’m launching shortly. I’ve gone through the struggle to build a better world.

You’re building something that takes creators’ freedom away. I’m very disappointed.

Thank you for your further comment. This is exactly why I love forums because here everything can be openly discussed. I completely agree with you, I don’t want you to be disappointed. The licensing issue is very important to me. At the moment, I can choose between three solutions.

  1. The app works on a basis similar to Spotify (Since it’s an open-source project and free, I’m not sure how I could sustain this model for SkyMusic).
  2. What is currently in place (utilizing both Web3 and Web2 tools, with all their advantages and disadvantages).
  3. There’s your solution (I see great potential for the future with this model, but the question is how feasible it is).

What do you think, is your solution feasible? If yes, then thank you for the advice, and I will update the grant proposal.

Great, you’ve now given me the license to rant!!

Why on earth are you using Spotify as a shining example. They pay at the minimum to artists ($0.003 approx.) per click. And are the same organisation that took songwriters to court who dared to ask for more money* Talk about biting the hands off of the people who literally create their product!

Oh, I see why, because you are not paying creators anything!

*This was a dispute with CRB (Government organisation who in the US who set the minimum royalty rates streaming services should pay songwriters and other music creators). And boy does Spotify have systems in place to pay the minimum.

Until you address creators’ freedom and rights of ownership, and actually pay them, you’ll get no support from me.

Thank you, but I think you might have misunderstood me a bit. I would like to focus on the creators’ freedom and ownership rights. I only used Spotify as an example, but I didn’t want to use that licensing option. There are two options, one that exists in this grant proposal and yours project. If yours works, I would be happy to implement it into my project. I am not against creators; I want it to be good for everyone, but don’t forget that I plan to make the application open source and free to use. If you think it can work this way, then I am open to better solutions. :)

GRANT PROPOSAL UPDATE

Hello, I have updated the grant proposal with additional information. There has been considerable discussion about the license and other matters on the forum, so I thought it might be worth providing more details about the project. I have added the License, Future Plans, and About Me sections.

Hello @mozes

Congratulations, the committee has approved this proposal!

The committee is concerned about potential future issues with licensing and long term project funding, but is excited to see the core tech developed for this grant.

We’ll reach out via email to set up grant program onboarding. Onboarding typically takes a week or two, so free to adjust your internal timelines as appropriate.

Regards,
Kino on behalf of the Sia Foundation and Grants Committee

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Progress Report (December)

What progress was made on your grant this month?

  • Two design plans have been created for the web application, detailing the plans and providing visualizations.
  • The demonstration page of the web application has been updated to reflect the new designs and information.
  • I have successfully purchased and linked the application with three different URL addresses: https://beta.skymusic.app/ (web app), https://skymusic.app/ (web app demonstration page) and https://dev.skymusic.app/ (web app developer mode).
  • I conducted research on how to connect the web application to the Sia network.
  • I have initiated the creation of a private music library, and when it is connected to both the web application and the Sia network, I will provide a description of the content within this private music library.

Links to repos worked on this month:

What will you be working on this month?

  • My goal is to enhance the design, particularly by improving the mobile view and adding new components.
  • I would like to expand my private music library.
  • I aim to connect the web application with the Sia network.

Progress Report (January)

What progress was made on your grant this month?

  • Improved the mobile view and added new components.
  • Implemented Firebase, S5 to the web application.
  • Added my private music library to the web application (now supported S3).
  • Created admin dashboard and [email protected] email address.
  • Extended my private music library.

Links to repos worked on this month:

What will you be working on this month?

  • Aim to develop the design and fix any issues before the beta version release.
  • I would like to expand my private music library.
  • I aim to connect the web application with the Sia network.
  • My goal is to design user management.

Hello @mozes,

Thank you for your progress report!

Regards,
Kino on behalf of the Sia Foundation and Grants Committee

Progress Report (February)

What progress was made on your grant this month?

  • Improved the application to make it smoother and fixed some bugs.
  • Designed the beta launch marketing campaign.
  • Added user management, for example, registration, login, profile.
  • Added middleware API using Express.js.
  • Expanded my private music library.

Links to repos worked on this month:

What will you be working on this month?

  • In a few days, I will want to launch a marketing campaign and then release the beta.

Hello @mozes,

Thank you for your progress report!

Regards,
Kino on behalf of the Sia Foundation and Grants Committee