🎵 Music Labels Are Going Full Blockchain 🔗

Hi,

In today's edition of Leeds1888, we're covering Saregama's blockchain rollout across their music catalog, what the revenue numbers actually look like, and why this matters for everyone in the music business.

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Saregama implemented blockchain across its music catalog to track usage and royalties in real-time. They're not sharing technical details, but this is the first large-scale blockchain deployment by an Indian music label.

This matters because the current system is expensive and slow.

Streaming platforms pay labels 65-70% of revenue (Spotify allocates about 65–70% of its revenue to rights holders, while Apple Music consistently pays a fixed rate of 52%).

Major labels give artists 13-20% of streaming revenue (major record company, the artist's split can range from 13% to over 20%). Indie labels can go higher.

Producers typically take 15-25% of the artist's share (producers typically get 15-25% of net royalties).

Traditional record deals were that artists earned 10% to 25% of the suggested retail price on physical sales.

So if you're an artist, your money gets split multiple ways, then you wait months to actually see it.

When labels manage thousands of tracks across dozens of platforms, tracking all this manually gets expensive fast.

Payments happen in hours instead of months

Your song streams today → you get paid today. Smart contracts execute payments automatically when usage happens.

Everything is transparent

Every stream, license, and payment gets logged. Artists can see exactly where their money comes from.

No more manual reconciliation

Instead of people manually tracking streams across Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, etc., smart contracts handle it automatically.

Cleaner data

Blockchain platforms force consistent metadata entry, reducing the errors that mess up payments across all platforms.

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Royal lets fans buy shares in song royalties. The artist receives upfront cash, while fans receive ongoing payments when the songs perform well.

Zoniqx focuses on instant royalty payments. Usage detected → payment executed immediately.

BitSong cuts out middlemen entirely. Direct artist-to-listener payments through decentralized streaming.

Open Music Initiative is building a global rights database that could replace the current mess of fragmented national systems.

Sell royalty shares to fans

Instead of just selling merch, artists can sell pieces of future song earnings. Fans become investors.

Micro-payments become viable

Blockchain handles tiny transactions cheaply. Opens up pricing models that traditional payment systems can't support.

Direct fan monetization

Skip the label, skip the distributor. Artists can tokenize their work and sell directly to fans.

Bundle everything

Labels can package blockchain-tracked music with TV spots, radio play, and live events for integrated deals.

Bad data in = bad payments out

Blockchain doesn't magically fix wrong credits or splits. If you enter bad information, you get bad results - just faster.

Legal systems aren't ready

Smart contracts might conflict with existing licensing deals. Courts don't know how to handle automated contract disputes yet.

Integration costs real money

Rebuilding your entire rights management system isn't cheap. Plus training everyone to use new tools.

Network needs scale

Blockchain only works well when lots of platforms use it. Early adopters face compatibility issues.

Transaction costs can spike

When networks get busy, transaction fees increase. Could eat into small royalty payments.

2025: More Indian labels will test blockchain for royalty tracking. Don't expect detailed public announcements about how they're doing it.

2026-27: Tokenization platforms will start attracting bigger artists who want upfront funding. Fan investment in music royalties becomes a real thing with proper regulations.

2027+: Global rights databases might replace the current system of different national organizations that don't talk to each other well.

This isn't about being trendy with crypto tech. Saregama is solving real operational problems.

They manage catalogs across multiple languages, international distribution deals, and dozens of streaming platforms. Manual tracking doesn't scale.

The companies that will win are the ones solving metadata standardization AND regulatory compliance together. Pure tech solutions get commoditized quickly.

You need the full package - legal, operational, and technical.

More Indian labels will announce similar moves through 2025. The cost savings and cash flow improvements are too obvious to ignore.

What I'm watching is how well these systems actually integrate with existing collecting societies, and whether artists stay on blockchain platforms long-term.

The real savings are reduced admin overhead + faster cash conversion = way better margins for everyone.

Regulation could change fast

If governments decide tokenized royalties are securities, platforms might need to shut down or restructure.

Integration isn't smooth

Getting blockchain systems to work with traditional music industry infrastructure takes time and money.

Artists might not stick around

New platforms need to prove they can actually deliver on promises before artists commit their catalogs.

🎵 Saregama rolled out blockchain across their entire music catalog for real-time royalty tracking - first major Indian label to do this

💰 Current music money is broken: Streaming platforms pay labels 65-70%, artists get 13-20%, producers take 15-25% - then everyone waits months for payments

⚡ Blockchain fixes the wait: Payments happen in hours instead of months through automated smart contracts

🪙 New revenue models: Fans can buy royalty shares (Royal.io), artists get upfront funding, micro-transactions become economically viable

⚠️ Real challenges: Needs clean metadata, legal frameworks aren't ready, integration costs are high, scalability issues with millions of daily streams

Watch: Shankar Mahadevan x Zakir Hussain’s Grammy-winning performance (available on YouTube). It’s not just music, it’s a reminder of how Indian IP can travel globally, and why rights management matters more than ever.

Read: Rolling Stone India’s feature on AI in music creation (Feb 2025). A sharp look at how artists are already grappling with AI tools in songwriting, and how rights attribution is about to get messy.

Hear: Saregama’s new blockchain-monitored catalog playlist on Spotify. Not officially branded as “blockchain,” but the behind-the-scenes tech is quietly reshaping how royalties flow. Listening to old Kishore Kumar hits suddenly feels futuristic when you know each stream is tracked in real-time.

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Leeds1888 tracks infrastructure shifts across Indian media and entertainment. Hit reply with what you want analyzed next.