UK blockchain focussed startup JAAK signs up music industry partners for pilot

JAAK, the London-based startup using  blockchain technology to build a new global network for intellectual property rights has announced up the first round of partners.

The pilot of its blockchain network, KORD includes participants BMG, Global Music Rights, Outdustry, Phoenix Music International Ltd, Sentric, Warner Music Group and Warner/Chappell Music.

JAAK addresses how the explosion of digital technology consumption has made the allocation of royalties more complex than before.

The startup is working alongside the music industry to explore how blockchain technology can help address these problems.

It also has to overcome two arguments expressed by sceptics in the music industry.

One is that the biggest barrier to blockchain technology is cultural rather than technical.

Secondly, the very real possibility to create a decentralised database of music rights and apply smart contracts, is sabotaged by industry politics and fear of transparency.

Pilot participants provided product and rights data to JAAK, which was held in a private version of the KORD network.

Built by JAAK, KORD will operate as a permissionless, decentralised network of intellectual property information, allowing rights holders to collaborate on an industry-wide view of rights.

Within KORD, users will be connected to a shared data network where they have the sole authority to insert, update and remove their own information, creating a public record of rights and an immutable audit trail.

KORD will include a framework to detect conflicting information in the network, allowing users to resolve conflicts and converge on a global view of intellectual property rights.

In this pilot JAAK built the first application on top of KORD, which demonstrated how blockchain technology can provide rights management and licensing capabilities on a global scale – when there is industry-wide collaboration on rights.

After the plot, JAAK plans to launch an industry-wide Music Sandbox, allowing JAAK to develop products and the KORD network in collaboration with the music industry.

“The internet solved many of the problems relating to rights issues but compounded others” states JAAK CEO Vaughn McKenzie-Landell.

“We have developed the pilot in collaboration with the music industry to directly address their needs. The goal of KORD is to harness blockchain technology to make the world of IP rights better for everyone, starting with the music industry. “

Sebastian Hentzschel, CTO & EVP of recorded royalty processing, IT & systems at BMG, says, “Metadata is the lifeblood of today’s music business.

“From studios to streaming sites, a clearer picture of recordings and copyrights could yield untapped benefits for artists and writers – and JAAK is pushing an exciting frontier.”

According to Sean O’Malley, COO of Global Music Rights, “Regardless of format, Global Music Rights is committed to clear and concise intellectual property metadata, especially the information surrounding licensing and rights ownership.

“KORD is technology that enables stewards like us to collaborate on the dynamic picture of every song and ensure the correct writers and publishers are accurately and efficiently compensated.”

Steve Clark, EVP of global operations for Warner/Chappell Music, points out that the publisher has already invested heavily in its own systems to ensure its songwriters “are paid as quickly, accurately and transparently as possible.

“But we’ve also worked with pioneering partners, such as JAAK, to help us keep at the cutting edge of technology in this area.

“The pilot is going well and we look forward to continued collaboration to harness blockchain technology to the service of our songwriters.”

JAAK was founded in 2015 by Vaughn McKenzie-Landell, Freddie Tibbles and Viktor Tron – all listed in this year’s Forbes magazine’s 30 Under 30.