Are Bitcoin-based “micropayments” the natural enemy of piracy?

Adam Ant and Billy Bragg are among those who have expressed support for the "Free At What Cost?" project.

The project, launched by British composer Hélène Muddiman, aims to ensure that artists and content creators receive fair revenue for online visits and listening.

The basic idea is to protect content creators from "free viewing" beyond simple DRM (digital rights protection).

As for the charging method, it has yet to be disclosed in detail. However, there is a payment tool that seems to be very suitable, which is "Bitcoin". Through a similar payment system, it will open the door for individuals to pay artists directly.

Muddiman is eager to help content creators find ways to fairly charge for their work, saying that "stealing is stealing" - "whether it's stealing digital content or stealing something directly from a store - the former is much easier to do."

She told The Guardian that she had begun work on the necessary technology development and that it was expected to “transform the economics of the internet.” Although the concept has been hyped for a long time, it now appears to be seeing significant progress in both development and support.

There has always been a lot of controversy over the "scale of the Internet". Online content is easy to access, the popularity of BT sites has never subsided, and an entire generation of people has become accustomed to getting everything in a "free" way.

This change in mindset is important, and it’s what Muddiman is looking forward to with new payment methods for the “sharing economy.” However, it also points out:

YouTube only gives a 55% ad commission to content that has more than 700,000 views in a quarter, so from the site's perspective, it is happy for more people to upload content, which will further dilute the spending on content creators.