Ujo Music Founder Says Blockchain Can Fix the Music Industry
*By Jacqueline Corba*
The music industry is broken because artists are not getting paid what they should, said Ujo Music's co-founder Jesse Grushack, and he can fix it with blockchain technology.
Ujo Music is part of the Consensys studio, led by Joe Lubin, the co-founder of the blockchain-based computing platform Ethereum.
More than 80 artists, including Imogen Heap, RAC, and Giraffage, are on Ujo Music's platform. No money can be exchanged yet, but Grushack said eventually artists will be paid with Ethereum.
"What matters is the artist is getting a fair value for use of their song," Grushack said Thursday on Cheddar's The Crypto Craze.
Through Ujo Music, creators can maintain control of their licensing agreement and set their own price and rules for how their own content can be used. Grushack said the goal is to create an ecosystem in which no matter where content lives on the web, artists get paid.
"A lot of people have grand ideas in blockchain, but the pipes to build all that stuff aren't quite there yet," said Grushack. "Consensys allows us to play with ideas, play with tech, and provides us with services such as marketing and diligence."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/how-ujo-music-is-leveraging-blockchain-to-pay-artists-fairly).
Jill and Carlo cover the latest with the infrastructure bill, the growing state rebellion over boosters, Trump's dereliction of duty on the pandemic, Taylor Swift's reign of cultural domination and more.
2021 has been the year of many things, and one of them is the NFT or non-fungible token. We've seen NFTs come about for so many different things.
Digital artists have used them to sell their artwork in a more traditional art transaction than the internet had previously allowed. We've seen specific NFT campaigns like the pudgy penguins amass large followings. And now we're seeing them expand into horror films just in time for spooky season.
The iconic horror movie franchise "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" has launched its debut NFT line entitled "Leatherfaces." the illustrations are designed by Skinner in partnership with Ultra Rare to reveal a total of over 10,000 Leatherface avatars. The collection gives fans, NFT fiends and blockchain fanatics access to a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre metaverse unlike any that has been seen before.
Richie Hobson, co-founder of Ultra Rare, joins None of the Above to discuss.
The USO is hosting a 72 hour streamathon on Twitch called #OperationPlayItForward, and is tapping into Gen Z superstars and gamers to raise money for the organization through the power of the esports community. The goal here is to help support both the new generation of troops and their families. Director of Global Gaming Operations at USO Callum Fletcher and Former UFC Lightweight Champ and Twitch Partner Jens Pulver, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Rich Rosenblum, Co-Founder and President of crypto trading firm GSR, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why investors are rushing to Ethereum and breaks down the advantages it holds over other digital assets.
One NFL team says it is using data to help it win off the field. The Seattle Seahawks say they want to be a source of inspiration for other organizations that want to reap the rewards of a data-driven culture and aim to show the unlikely role data can play in professional sports operations. Seattle Seahawks Director of Business Strategy and Analytics Paimon Jaberi joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
