It is rumored that Tencent Music is going to take control of Kugou and Kuwo Music. So how can blockchain promote the music revolution?

Recently, there is news that Tencent will acquire a controlling stake in Kugou and Kuwo Music by injecting cash and assets, and will use them together with its subsidiary QQ Music to build Tencent's music territory. Rumor has it that Ocean Music, the controlling shareholder of Kugou and Kuwo Music, has signed an agreement with Tencent, and Tencent will acquire a controlling stake in Ocean Music by injecting cash and assets.

So the question is, as blockchain technology can be applied to almost all walks of life, it can naturally be applied to the music industry. So how can blockchain technology lead the music revolution?

Musicians are turning their attention to the development of blockchain technology as a way to generate more revenue from the music industry.

According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), music sales grew 3.7% in 2015, driven by a massive 82% increase in streaming; however, despite this, revenue growth was only 0.6%.

Unsurprisingly, the music industry is keen to use musicians as cash cows and ensure they receive the payments they are entitled to from music sales.

What could help revolutionize the music industry? Blockchain.

Since blockchain first came to the fore, the technology has been primarily associated with the cryptocurrency space. Now, it’s being used by the banking industry, and the music industry is watching and looking for ways to take advantage of distributed ledger technology.

One of them is Imogen Heap, a Grammy Award-winning British singer, songwriter and producer, who said: "Blockchain allows us to rethink the foundation and core structure of the monetary distribution principles of the music industry. This technology can be used to build a unified platform and create an ecosystem, but most importantly it can create innovation at a standard that makes sense for artists."

A study on blockchain for the creative industries by Middlesex University and the Featured Artists Consortium (FAC) identified four main areas where distributed ledger technology could be of particular significance: ensuring fast royalty payments , creating an online database of copyright information , better transparency and access to different revenue streams .

Last October, Heap released her new song Tiny Human via a smart contract on Ujo Music, which runs on the Ethereum blockchain.

Heap sees blockchain as an ideal platform where she can store important information about her songs. “I can publish information about when the song was written, where it was written, what device it was written on, who else contributed to the song.”

Of course, while interest in using blockchain is growing in the music industry, it will take some time for the technology to be fully implemented in the music industry.