Spotify’s Blockchain Acquisition is a Big Deal

Spotify acqui-hired a blockchain team. Is it just about neat new licensing models or challenging the rights ownership industry?

I’m almost sorry to write about the music industry again. But you should keep reading, even if it isn’t your favorite subject. Technology plays a central role in the attention economy’s transformation we are witnessing these days. Thus, Spotify’s acqui-hire of a blockchain developer team isn’t only interesting with regards to the streaming industry. It also shines a light on a topic that has the potential to change the attention landscape’s power dynamic more broadly.

From Billboard:

Spotify has acqui-hired Brooklyn-based Mediachain Labs, a group behind a blockchain open-source protocol to deliver a decentralized network for sharing data critical to getting creators paid. According to Spotify, the Mediachain team will aid their “journey towards a more fair, transparent and rewarding music industry for creators and rights owners.” Mediachain was launched in 2016 with backing from Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. When applied to the music industry, blockchain technology resembles a secure-but-shared ledger that connects data “blocks” containing data about every song and its rights holders. The ledger is ownerless, with multiple participants able to contribute.

Those of you who are familiar with my work outside of attentionecono.me know that I have spent a lot of time thinking about decentralized systems. In that domain, blockchain technology is a very interesting topic. I wrote about it several times last year and did some podcasts as well (in German). Thus, the above is an interesting piece of news to me. But it also matters in the context of attentionecono.me.

If you haven’t researched the blockchain before, here’s a (rather) quick explanation from my piece The Company of the Future:

If you read up to this point I assume you are familiar with the basic concept of the blockchain. In case you’re not, I recommend you read this general introduction to blockchain technology and/or — if you like it even more technical — this explanation of the bitcoin protocol. Alternatively, the video below gives you a general idea in about 2 minutes: