The music industry, along with print journalism, is one of the most obvious examples of the Internet completely flipping something on its head. Previous to Spotify, iTunes and even Napster, we used to buy our music, fifteen, twenty bucks at a time, and get an easily scratched CD with two good songs on it and a lot of fluff.

Today, things are different. Thanks in large part to the efforts of pirates and programmers, the music industry has been forced to give us a better deal: Unlimited streaming music for a low monthly fee or at worst, reasonably priced MP3s.

But can Blockchain technologies take that to the next level? Will Bitcoin 2.0 projects finally eliminate the need for parasitic third parties that suck up profits that should, by all rights, be given almost entirely to the artist?

In New York City today, an event is taking place that seeks to answer this question. “Digital Currency Innovations in Music & Entertainment” is being put on today by ON21 at 723 7th Avenue (@ 48th Street) in Times Square.

The confirmed panelists include Phil Quartararo, a former music executive who, according to his profile,  was instrumental (excuse the horrible pun) in bringing U2 to America, and is famous for saying “The old record business didn’t get killed. It committed suicide. The industry didn’t listen to its consumers.” Despite his roots in the old industry, it is apparent Quartararo understood the internet revolution better than most, and so seems to be an ideal candidate to help facilitate the music industry's

- Phil Quartararo

But the Cryptoworld will be well represented as well, Gregory Simmons of Ribbitcoin, an altcoin that works as Reward points for other cryptocurrencies will be speaking as well as Tatiana Moroz, a singer/song writer who has pioneered how artists can profit from the Bitcoin world.

The panel will be moderated by Rik Willard of Mintcombine “a Global Incubator and Solutions Lab focused on the emerging digital currency space[.]”

The event will take place today from 6:00PM to 9:00PM it costs US $25 and is payable in Bitcoin (on their official site). You can find out more information on their Eventbrite page and their official website.

Did you enjoy this article? You may also be interested in reading these ones: