Bitfury to launch open-source music platform on the Bitcoin blockchain
Bitfury, the London-based blockchain firm recently valued at $1 billion, announced last week that they were launching Bitfury Surround, its entertainment division focused on providing an open-source music platform. The platform, called SurroundTM, will allow users to share the copyright of songs and means artists immediately receive payment following each stream, with each level secured by the Bitcoin blockchain.
Other ventures to decentralize music ownership by storing audio-files on a blockchain network include RChain's RSong dApp, but onboarding artists there has been slow. Still, Bitfury - which recently raised $80 million in its Series C - is enthusiastic that they can maximise participation on the new platform, create an "open ecosystem," and "foster fresh applications and promote innovation within the industry", Reuters reported.
“There is very strong momentum for an open entertainment-related blockchain where market participants themselves would be participating in the market venue, not only from a transactional value point of view,” Stefan Schulz, CEO of Bitfury Surround and former executive vice president of Universal Music Digital, told Reuters. He added that the platform is currently under development and will take "some time" to arrive on the market.
Bitfury counts Galaxy among its investors. They were founded in 2011 as a blockchain developer and crypto mining-tech vendor. They now count the Ukranian government among their clients, according to Reuters, and have 197 employees on their LinkedIn records.
