Introduction
Welcome back to The Bluffer's Guide to Cryptocurrency - a layman's approach to understanding Bitcoin and Blockchain Technology!
In the previous blog, I introduced you to one of the many "New Music Industry" platforms that are popping up - Musicoin. If you missed that, check it out here.
Now we'll introduce an upcoming platform in the crypto music world called "Inmusik". They don't have a live site at time of writing but I've included it in the Bluffer's Guide as "one to watch" after reading their white paper. So use your imagination with this one but it looks like it will be a lot different than those we've already covered so far.
But hold (or should that be hodl) your horses, it's disclaimer time!
Before I begin, I want to emphasise that this is a highly simplified version of what I have learnt from my own research and I'm sharing my learning with you. If you do know this topic inside out, be nice to those who are still learning about this (myself included) and we can grow together.
Furthermore, this is not financial advice and I am not a financial advisor. I am a crypto-enthusiast and wanted to create a guide to help total beginners understand what this is all about. Please seek financial advice from a qualified professional if you have any doubt about how to spend your money.
So with that said, brace yourselves, you might learn something! Shall we begin?
What is "Inmusik"?
In short, Inmusik is a community based music platform which looks to operate in a completely different way to SoundCloud and some of the other crypto music sites we've talked about already. They are aiming to fuse social media and music streaming so that listeners, active members of the community and the musicians are all rewarded for contributing to the discovery and creation of good quality music.
So how will that work?
Well, for musicians, tracks that you upload to the platform will be heard, voted on (thumbed up or down) by the community and you will get a payout depending on how well that post does. There will also be a comments section for any interaction or feedback you may receive to help develop your skills (if you aren't a phenom already!)
Ok, and what's in it for listeners?
As for listeners and fans, there's something in it for you too! If you spot talent early enough and contribute to the initial discovery of the musician, you will also get rewarded by a process known as curation. In other words, you will be rewarded for being among the first to support and contribute to the growth of the musician. Of course, you will also have a whole library of musicians to sink your teeth in to so there'll be loads to discover.
But I'm a label owner, another site that I can't use.
Not true actually as, due to the blockchain, you will have increased rights management whenever you release music to the platform - remember, all transactions are tracked on the blockchain - which means you will have reduced admin expenses and instant access to stats related to your tracks, rather than having to wait weeks, months, maybe a year for a statement to come. But when you hear about the 4 mantras of Inmusik, it will become clear.
The 4 mantras of Inmusik?
That's right, there's 4 underlying principles behind the development of Inmusik, which will shape the platform. I'm not going to copy and paste from the white paper but effectively, they involve rewarding active contributors to the growth, artistic content and curation of high quality content on the platform (in proportion to their contribution), with a cryptocurrency built around a viable and "scalable" business model.
What do you mean by scalable?
"Scalable" just means how easy and realistic it is for a platform to cope with the growth in the user base of the platform. If something is scalable, it means that it should be able to cope with the growth in the number of users of the platform.
So what is the cryptocurrency of Inmusik?
Now this is where it gets interesting as Inmusik will use what they call a "Dual Token" system. The first is a token called $OUND (Sound) coin, which is what the Inmusik blockchain is based around - i.e. this is what will dash across the ecosystem when transactions (listens, curation, votes etc.) start adding up. The more of these you have, the more influence you have in the community.
The other token is called Inmusik Cash (IC).
Why have two tokens?
Well, IC exists to stabilise the inevitable fluctuation in price from the $OUND token as it will be pegged to the US Dollar, thus making 1 IC equal to $0.01. The IC token is what will be paid out to users of the platform, which, I guess, can then be used for exchanges to convert to fiat should you so wish.
How to get these tokens?
There'll be two ways to get your hands on these tokens, either buy them (the ICO is currently running at time of writing) or earn them through good content. To earn them, there's going to be a voting system in place.
There will be a fixed amount of currency distributed to users (400,000,000 $OUND), which will be divided up among those using the platform and providing positive value. Everyone has the ability to vote on whoever they think has provided the most valuable content. Now you may be thinking...
This can be rigged right?
Well, the votes would be validated based on the trend of the votes for a given song or musician. This means that if a song gets a high number of votes but not a corresponding amount of streams, the rewards paid to voters are low. The opposite is also true. So if a user with a lot of influence ($OUND token) votes on a track, there must also be a relative percentage of votes from those with less influence for that track to be validated as high quality. This is one of the "counter-measures" Inmusik will use to prevent rigging.
We'll go more in to the whole dynamics of the ecosystem in the next blog.
What other developments are coming up in the roadmap?
Currently, 2018 is looking very much like it's the $OUND coin sale with the phase 1 development and Beta platform coming at some point this quarter. I'm hoping to get myself involved with that and I know a few of you will be interested to see it! I'm looking forward to the "minimal" product launch of course at the beginning of 2019 as that's when we'll begin to see what Inmusik is really about.
Who's behind the platform?
A gentleman called Stephen Brett, who's had 17 years of experience in the music industry, co-founded Inmusik with a lady called Vivienne Piong, who founded another company called 500 Designs (for user interfaces). Other experienced members of their team include people who have worked in big companies or franchises such as Call of Duty, Microsoft, Marvel and Cisco to name a few!
One of the reasons Inmusik caught my eye is the very personal adventure that Stephen shared with the world. I found it quite inspiring actually. It's about how Inmusik was conceived and if you ever have setbacks and start thinking "I can't do this anymore", or you wanted to take a leap of faith, read what Stephen went through and you will start thinking a little differently!
How do I get involved?
At the moment, the best bet is to join their Telegram as the team is most responsive on there. Register your e-mail on their website and you will get the newsletters about developments . However, if you're itching to get involved with the beta, speak to them in Telegram, they are a friendly bunch.
Ok, time for a time out!
So a brief overview of a platform coming our way in the future - Inmusik. In part 2, I'll go through a little more detail about the workings of the platform. Next up, we'll be scratching the surface of Steemit. To say it's scratching the surface will be an understatement!
If you are enjoying the series so far, I'd love to hear from you!
Now though, it's your turn.
Did you enjoy the article or find it useful?
I'd love to hear from you and if you learnt something new, feel inspired to do some of your own research or felt I didn't cover something well enough, let me know and when I finalise the pdf, I'll make it right!
For now though, take it easy and catch you soon!
Nicky
Contents
The history and technology of Bitcoin
2.1 How and why did Bitcoin come in to existence?
2.2 How does Bitcoin & blockchain actually work (Part 1)?
2.3 How does Bitcoin & Blockchain actually work (Part 2)?Buying Bitcoin
3.1 Being secure with cryptocurrency & wallets
3.2 How to Buy Bitcoin & How Exchanges WorkBlockchain Platforms for Musicians & Music Fans
7.1 Atom Collector Records Part 1
7.2 Choon
7.3 Musicoin Part 1
7.4 Inmusik Part 1 (you are here)
7.5 Steemit
7.6 Channels
7.7 Sola
7.8 MindsConcluding thoughts
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://www.atomcollectorrecords.com/blog/2018/08/09/7-4-bluffers-guide-to-cryptocurrency-blockchain-platforms-for-musicians-music-fans-inmusik/