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Library/Papers/Blockchain-based digital rights management systems: Design principles for the music industry

Research paper

Blockchain-based digital rights management systems: Design principles for the music industry

Analyzing the music industry, the paper proposes design principles for blockchain-based DRM that deliver transparent licensing, consistent and complete rights metadata, and efficient transparent royalty payout - by storing metadata on a public ledger, validating it via consensus on a permissioned chain, and enforcing payouts via stablecoin smart contracts.

Paper
OverviewDSR gridPaper design mapDesign knowledgePublication metadata

01

Overview

Publication metadata and narrative from the current library record.

Authors
Raffaele Fabio Ciriello, Alexandra Cecilie Gjol Torbensen, Magnus Rotvit Perlt Hansen, Christoph Mueller-Bloch
Year
2023
Venue
Electronic Markets 33:5 (2023)
Methodology
Design science research; ten expert interviews; scenario-based design; expert evaluation of principles.
DOI
10.1007/s12525-023-00628-5
Design knowledge
View design knowledge on GitHub
blockchaindesign-science-researchdrm-musicdrm-music-industryintellectual-propertymarketplaceroyalties

Summary

Analyzing the music industry, the paper proposes design principles for blockchain-based DRM that deliver transparent licensing, consistent and complete rights metadata, and efficient transparent royalty payout - by storing metadata on a public ledger, validating it via consensus on a permissioned chain, and enforcing payouts via stablecoin smart contracts.

Artifact

Design principles for a blockchain-based digital rights management (DRM) system for the music industry.

Methodology

Design science research; ten expert interviews; scenario-based design; expert evaluation of principles.

02

DSR grid

Six dimensions represented in the current paper record.

01

Problem description

Centralized DRM systems mostly serve major publishers and exclude creators and consumers, and existing blockchain DRM systems mirror counterproductive IP restrictions.

02

Input knowledge

DRM/intellectual-property literature; the design-theory notion of requirements and principles (Walls et al., Gregor & Jones); scenario-based design (Rosson & Carroll); music-industry domain knowledge.

03

Research process

Design science research: ten music-industry expert interviews, scenario-based design, and expert evaluation of the principles via solution scenarios.

04

Key concepts

Digital rights management, music industry, decentralization, blockchain, design principles, scenario-based design.

05

Solution description

A blockchain DRM design that stores rights metadata on a public ledger, validates it via consensus on a permissioned chain, and enforces stablecoin royalty payouts through smart contracts. Solution-space representation: Design theory (requirements, principles and features) evaluated through solution scenarios.

06

Output knowledge

Three design requirements, three design principles and four design features for DRM in the music industry.

03

Paper design map

The default semantic design map canonicalizes stored design relationships; Raw links retains the complete technical Markdown-link view.

Design-knowledge map

10 stored concepts / 13 canonical semantic relationships

Concept types
Design Requirements
Design Principles
Design Features
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04

Design knowledge

Directly linked concepts, grouped by their represented design-knowledge category.

4 Design Features

design-knowledge/drm-music-industry-df1

DF1 - Public-permissioned blockchain

A decentralized DRM system can be implemented with a public-permissioned blockchain.

design-featuredrm-musicdrm-music-industryintellectual-property+2
design-knowledge/drm-music-industry-df2

DF2 - pBFT consensus

A decentralized DRM system can validate metadata with a practical Byzantine fault tolerant consensus mechanism.

design-featuredrm-musicdrm-music-industryintellectual-property+2
design-knowledge/drm-music-industry-df3

DF3 - Fiat-pegged stablecoin payout

A decentralized DRM system can pay out royalties with a fiat-pegged collateralized stablecoin.

design-featuredrm-musicdrm-music-industryintellectual-property+2
design-knowledge/drm-music-industry-df4

DF4 - Collectively designed smart contract

A decentralized DRM system can pay out royalties with a collectively designed, evidence-based smart contract.

design-featuredrm-musicdrm-music-industryintellectual-property+2

3 Design Principles

design-knowledge/drm-music-industry-dp1

DP1 - Public-ledger metadata storage

The system should store music rights metadata on a distributed ledger using a public blockchain to make licensing structures transparently visible to everyone, so that rights owners can claim royalties.

design-principledrm-musicdrm-music-industryintellectual-property+2
design-knowledge/drm-music-industry-dp2

DP2 - Consensus-validated metadata on a permissioned chain

The system should validate music metadata with a consensus mechanism on a permissioned blockchain and assign a unique identifier to rights owners, so that labels and publishers can ensure consistency and completeness.

design-principledrm-musicdrm-music-industryintellectual-property+2
design-knowledge/drm-music-industry-dp3

DP3 - Smart-contract stablecoin royalty enforcement

The system should algorithmically enforce royalty payout via stablecoin through a smart contract, enabling efficient and transparent payouts.

design-principledrm-musicdrm-music-industryintellectual-property+2

3 Design Requirements

design-knowledge/drm-music-industry-dr1

DR1 - Transparent music licensing structures

A decentralized DRM system for the music industry must provide transparent music licensing structures, replacing pre-Internet structures with many intermediaries.

design-requirementdrm-musicdrm-music-industryintellectual-property+2
design-knowledge/drm-music-industry-dr2

DR2 - Consistent and complete rights metadata

A decentralized DRM system for the music industry must ensure consistent and complete music rights metadata, currently dispersed across many intermediaries in inconsistent and incomplete formats.

design-requirementdrm-musicdrm-music-industryintellectual-property+2
design-knowledge/drm-music-industry-dr3

DR3 - Efficient and transparent royalty payout

A decentralized DRM system for the music industry must enable efficient and transparent royalty payout, addressing massive delays and unallocated royalties.

design-requirementdrm-musicdrm-music-industryintellectual-property+2

05

Publication metadata

Additional metadata represented in the current library record.

Show additional metadata+
{
  "type": "paper",
  "title": "Blockchain-based digital rights management systems: Design principles for the music industry",
  "description": "Analyzing the music industry, the paper proposes design principles for blockchain-based DRM that deliver transparent licensing, consistent and complete rights metadata, and efficient transparent royalty payout - by storing metadata on a public ledger, validating it via consensus on a permissioned chain, and enforcing payouts via stablecoin smart contracts.",
  "resource": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-023-00628-5",
  "authors": "Raffaele Fabio Ciriello, Alexandra Cecilie Gjol Torbensen, Magnus Rotvit Perlt Hansen, Christoph Mueller-Bloch",
  "year": 2023,
  "venue": "Electronic Markets 33:5 (2023)",
  "methodology": "Design science research; ten expert interviews; scenario-based design; expert evaluation of principles.",
  "dsr_grid": true,
  "dsr_solution_space": "Design theory (requirements, principles and features) evaluated through solution scenarios.",
  "tags": [
    "drm-music-industry",
    "drm-music",
    "intellectual-property",
    "royalties",
    "marketplace",
    "design-science-research",
    "blockchain"
  ]
}