One of the blockchain based offerings being developed is LBRY. This is a protocol that is intended to enable a decentralized means for content creators to share, control, and monetize their fruits of their creative labor. Mainly focused in the media space.
A few snippets from the LBRY site about what they are shooting for:
This is an example of the power of blockchain. It enable a vast reduction in the "friction" of doing transactions, does so in a way that allows all parties to a transaction to know with confidence that what they agreed to has occurred before value changes hands, and does not require the parties know and "trust" each other as the technology addresses that aspect. It removes many of the middle men in a transaction. If I want to get content from YouTube today it would typically require I have a relationship with a bank (pay), the bank issues me a credit card (pay), I use the credit card to set up an account on YouTube (pay for premium service monthly), advertisers on YouTube pay to show me ads, the content creator posts their content to YouTube and pays by only getting a portion of the revenue generated by the view. And on top of that big advertisers influence YouTube to take actions to "demonitize" those creators who may be undermining the offerings proffered by the big guys. Control by those in power trying to protect their current business...at the expense of both the creator and the consumer.
If you want to learn more about LBRY you can check them out, including their FAQ, at: https://lbry.io/
A few snippets from the LBRY site about what they are shooting for:
Content Freedom
LBRY is a free, open, and community-run digital marketplace.
You own your data. You control the network. Indeed, you arethe network.
Hollywood films, college lessons, amazing streamers and more are on the first media network ruled by you.
How does LBRY benefit content consumers? Why should I bother caring?
Do you watch YouTube? Imagine paying a few cents to eliminate all ads. 100% of the payment will go directly to the content creator – and they’ll still be earning more than YouTube offers, so they’ll want to make even more of the content you love.
Do you use BitTorrent? Imagine getting paid to seed files into the network. Because there is a marketplace for these files, you can finally find rare songs and films that can’t support a torrent swarm based on popularity alone.
Do you shop on the iTunes Store? Imagine paying less for songs, TV episodes, and music videos and having 100% of the price go directly to the creators.
LBRY is a digital media library at your fingertips. It can store any kind of content and make it available at low cost on demand. In a few years time, LBRY may become your one-stop-shop for everything digital, from ebooks to video games to movies. One app to rule them all – but still leaving more power in your hands because it is decentralized by design.
How is LBRY different from YouTube / Netflix / Apple TV?
YouTube, Netflix, Apple TV, and other similar services are centralized platforms controlled by a single corporate entity. These companies can change the rules unilaterally, as well as censor content to appease authoritarian governments or corporate partners.
LBRY is a decentralized, open-source protocol that is controlled by its users. LBRY facilitates a similar experience to the aforementioned services, but does it in a way that is entirely decentralized. LBRY can never unilaterally change the rules on publishers or consumers, making it dramatically trustworthy.
How does the company behind LBRY make money?
The LBRY protocol has a built-in digital currency that allows it to function, called LBRY credits. These credits are very similar to bitcoins. Having a built-in digital currency creates an opportunity for a new kind of business that has never existed: the protocol-first enterprise. LBRY Inc. has reserved 10% of all LBRY credits to fund continued development and provide profit for the founders. Since credits only gain value as the use of the protocol grows, the company has an incentive to continue developing this open-source project. And we can do it all without taking a percentage of anyone’s transactions.
Here’s how LBRY Inc. doesn’t make money:
LBRY is a free, open, and community-run digital marketplace.
You own your data. You control the network. Indeed, you arethe network.
Hollywood films, college lessons, amazing streamers and more are on the first media network ruled by you.
How does LBRY benefit content consumers? Why should I bother caring?
Do you watch YouTube? Imagine paying a few cents to eliminate all ads. 100% of the payment will go directly to the content creator – and they’ll still be earning more than YouTube offers, so they’ll want to make even more of the content you love.
Do you use BitTorrent? Imagine getting paid to seed files into the network. Because there is a marketplace for these files, you can finally find rare songs and films that can’t support a torrent swarm based on popularity alone.
Do you shop on the iTunes Store? Imagine paying less for songs, TV episodes, and music videos and having 100% of the price go directly to the creators.
LBRY is a digital media library at your fingertips. It can store any kind of content and make it available at low cost on demand. In a few years time, LBRY may become your one-stop-shop for everything digital, from ebooks to video games to movies. One app to rule them all – but still leaving more power in your hands because it is decentralized by design.
How is LBRY different from YouTube / Netflix / Apple TV?
YouTube, Netflix, Apple TV, and other similar services are centralized platforms controlled by a single corporate entity. These companies can change the rules unilaterally, as well as censor content to appease authoritarian governments or corporate partners.
LBRY is a decentralized, open-source protocol that is controlled by its users. LBRY facilitates a similar experience to the aforementioned services, but does it in a way that is entirely decentralized. LBRY can never unilaterally change the rules on publishers or consumers, making it dramatically trustworthy.
How does the company behind LBRY make money?
The LBRY protocol has a built-in digital currency that allows it to function, called LBRY credits. These credits are very similar to bitcoins. Having a built-in digital currency creates an opportunity for a new kind of business that has never existed: the protocol-first enterprise. LBRY Inc. has reserved 10% of all LBRY credits to fund continued development and provide profit for the founders. Since credits only gain value as the use of the protocol grows, the company has an incentive to continue developing this open-source project. And we can do it all without taking a percentage of anyone’s transactions.
Here’s how LBRY Inc. doesn’t make money:
- We do not take a cut of any transactions. When you buy content on LBRY, 100% of the listed price goes to the publisher. There is also a fee paid to the decentralized network of hosts that store and deliver the content to you. LBRY Inc. doesn’t take any of that unless the company is publishing or hosting content itself. The same rules apply to everyone.
- We do not earn profits from auctioning of names, nor do we benefit from bidding wars over names. Our goal with the naming system is simply to allocate names most efficiently to benefit users.
- This is not a “pump and dump” scheme or vaporware. See my essay $1.2B Valuation and We Don’t Care. LBRY credits have already experienced a bubble and we paid it no mind. LBRY is real software with a live blockchain and thousands of active users. Our goal is to increase the long-term value of the protocol, which if adopted globally will make our reserve many times more valuable than any short-term bubble. We’ve already invested 10,000 man hours into this project and it will take many more, but we’re patient and focused on the future.
If you want to learn more about LBRY you can check them out, including their FAQ, at: https://lbry.io/
