Here we go, party people.

The eMusic Token (EMU) is a completely new way to pay for music, using the eMusic blockchain platform. Using EMU provides membership benefits to music fans — including access to exclusive content, special discounts, musical sneak peeks, and more. Once we release the tokens (soon!), you will be able to convert it to purchase music from our retail store with an added bonus.

Better for Fans, Better for Artists

Starting with the token sale, buyers will be able to use EMU to acquire music from the eMusic Store. By the middle of 2019, EMU will allow you to purchase music or merchandise directly from artists, earning loyalty rewards for referrals and reviews, and even using EMU tokens toward crowdfunding your favorite artist’s next great masterpiece. And the best part? This platform will provide more revenue for the artists. Built on Blockchain technology, it drastically reduces overhead costs required in distributing music and getting royalties for purchases and plays. Using EMU, artists will be able to receive instant payments with a better split of profits.

Artists can also use EMU to provide incentives to fans for supporting them on social media or putting them on a playlist. Playlists can be featured on eMusic and receive payment for plays or purchases. Other ideas we’re considering are stream-to-own programs for consumers who like owning their music. You could see EMU as a way to bridge the gap between
physical music (CDs, cassettes, vinyl) and digital music consumption (MP3s, WAVs, FLAC, streaming). If you like the convenience of digital music, but you like to support the artists you love, and keeping all of your music in one place, the eMusic Blockchain Platform can provide all of these utilities and more.

Rethinking Currency as Utility

Our vision is for EMU to fuel an economy that benefits both eMusic artists and fans, where artists get more money for their music and management of their rights, while fans get access to exclusive content, rewards for loyalty and promotion, and even crowdfunding opportunities to build up the careers of emerging artists. With this ambitious vision, a normal currency can only get us part of the way.

By rethinking currency as utility, we broaden the scope of what is possible. Our online store has always provided music fans with access to the best independent music at the best prices, meanwhile supporting the artists who create it. At the same time, we’ve seen the problems with music industry grow — mismanaged rights and royalties payments, unbalanced sharing of profits, exploitation of artists — and a handful of companies have come forward with Blockchain solutions to solve them. The eMusic Blockchain Project is the first solution to present a completely different marketplace. For an artist who wants one place to manage the sale of all of their digital music on Spotify, Apple, Pandora, and the eMusic Store, and get paid a fair wage for their downloads and streams, EMU can provide that utility. For music fans, it provides a rare opportunity to get involved in the process of making music.

Fan Owners and Community Labels

At eMusic, we use phrases like fan owner and community label when explaining different parts of our vision. When a fan holds a tokenized share of their favorite artist’s rights to the work, after a crowdfunding project by said artist or other incentives they want to incorporate for their supporters, the fan will share in the profits of the artist’s work. Over time, our ecosystem will allow for the emergence of a community label, where EMU holders can make democratic decisions about the music they want to support and how it will be distributed.

Along with the release of our Content Acquisition and Publishing Platforms, non-affiliated businesses will be able to create APIs for the Platform in order to allow even more diverse utilities of our marketplace, such as the purchase of concert tickets, obtaining (or providing) music news, and sales of artist-oriented merchandise, among others. We believe in peer-to-peer interaction. It is one of the ingredients that makes eMusic work.

For more information, please visit the complete FAQs page.