Merging music with blockchain, as explained by Alexander Shulgin

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Alexander Shulgin has been in the entertainment industry for decades now, getting into the industry before the internet revolution. Having seen it all, he believes that blockchain technology will finally give the power to the artists and allow them to reap from their hard work. On the sidelines of the CoinGeek Seoul Conference, he talked to CoinGeek’s Stephanie Tower on how blockchain is transforming entertainment and why BSV is the only choice.

The music industry is not new to the peer-to-peer economy, Shulgin stated. Torrents, which are shared over the internet today, started with people sharing music files and videos. Before torrents, music was one of the key drivers of the internet in its early days, as more people turned to the internet to watch and listen to music. However, the game changer was the MP3 file format. This allowed easier sharing of music files and P2P music sharing thrived as a result, he explained.

For music to thrive on the blockchain, we’ll have to come up with a new file format, one that takes smart contracts into account, Shulgin believes.

Currently, most major entertainment companies are experimenting with blockchain technology, he revealed. “All major companies, like Warner Music, BMG, Sony; they are very active now in the research of this decentralized technology. This will be very helpful for the creators.”

Shulgin, who is the Bitcoin Association ambassador for Russia, believes that it’s only a matter of time before blockchain use in the entertainment industry goes mainstream. When the next generation is hitting 15-20 years old, blockchain will be fundamental in the music industry, he predicted.

The developers must build new tools that can enable the artists to take advantage of decentralized technologies. As the world moves towards adopting 5G and in the future 6G, these tools will come in handy for the artists in the competitive digital era, Shulgin stated.

While there are a number of blockchain platforms in the market, all vying for the pole position, the music veteran believes Bitcoin SV is the clear frontrunner. For one, entertainment files are usually quite large. The industry also produces massive content and only a blockchain that can massively scale to fit users’ needs could suit this industry. With 2GB block size cap, and soon to implement unlimited block sizes, BSV has all the tools required to decentralize the multi-billion dollar entertainment industry.