Tag Archives: Deadly Buda

The Hard Data Update January 2019

Dear Readers of The Hard Data,

You have probably noticed a lack of any new print issues after our Winter 2018 edition. Yes, we have had some great web articles since then and some nice updates here and there in our various social media. But let’s face it, the most fun part of The Hard Data is our print issues.

Basically, it is my fault, so I want to -upfront- apologize for the lack of issues in 2018. My personal life impeded my focus on the operation. Though there are many contributors to THD, finding a second-in-command to replace me hadn’t happened before life-issues monopolized my time. Having said that, our last issue (but hopefully not the last) was arguably our best with the biggest distribution and impact. Now that my life is somewhat stabilizing, I vow this new year to finalize the first era of The Hard Data, and hopefully, set up its next by explaining much of what happened so far. After which interested readers may or may not find themselves inspired to get involved. If so, the original idea of The Hard Data will be fulfilled. If not, well… hey folks, it was fun while it lasted.

Immediate First Aid:

Before I tell the story, I must directly address our paying subscribers: You will be refunded your last subscription payment. Your current subscription will be cancelled. However, I hope to edit and publish one more issue of “The Hard Data Volume One” with a tentative publishing date of April 18, 2019. This will most likely be an oversized issue. It will be sent to you for free. If The Hard Data continues after this issue, your subscription will be re-instated should you desire, and the promise of a $6 or $12 yearly subscription forevermore will be a honored and explicitly non-negotiable term when and if I hand control of the magazine and The Hard Data brand over.

For those on our industry mailing list, I will send out an email detailing how much postage will be if you would like the new issue sent to you.

The last issue will be free and distributed to our usual spots in Los Angeles and elsewhere, but it will be a much lower circulation.

Ok, now that’s out of the way, here’s what happened…

How it Started.

A transformer blew up and subsequently destroyed everything I owned in 2014. New readers and hard dance fans might not know that I had a fair amount of history in the “hardcore” techno and rave scene going back to its earliest days. The physical evidence of that past was now gone in my life, and I guess psychologically I figured I was going to have to remake the history I lost. Rebooting my rave career, I looked around and noticed a lack of fanzines dedicated to the culture and remembered how important they were. I wrote for many, published one previously, and those odd mags were some of my prized possessions that got incinerated. So I thought, “Hey, I’ll start a new ‘zine.”

The Hard Data reached many of its goals: It became well known in the hard electronic/dance community, it got advertising from some of the top clients in its field, and it published some truly great articles.

But I had other ambitions for The Hard Data. I wanted it to help the hardcore/hardstyle scene in Los Angeles operate as a fully “sustainable” self-supporting economic sub-culture. The people who read it, who had businesses or such, would have ads in it. People in the scene could buy and trade and be informed about their peers. Local artists would be profiled and encouraged. Shows in LA would be promoted to a bigger and larger degree.

Please read the above paragraph again at some point, because that was the original idea. it hasn’t been fulfilled. Why? And why would that be important anyway?

The Reason it Exists

Since being involved with the rave scene since its earliest days, one thing became abundantly clear: The American mainstream music industry hates hardcore techno. The mainstream American rave industry hates hardcore techno. They hate the sound. They hate the noise. They hate the speed. They hate the attitude. They often hate the people involved.

Even though hardcore techno has shaped aspects of the commercial EDM scene we know today, no one wants to admit it. Why? Because in my opinion, it really, truly is a scene that ultimately cares about new sounds, new music, and as such, really does appeal to non-conforming people from all walks of life. The simple fact of the matter is that since day one, there has never been an ongoing, reliable social profile for hardcore techno in America other than the actual music being listened to. As such, the music truly, strangely, subconsciously delivers the goods that so many Utopian visionaries advertise but chump out on when they realize they can’t control such a situation. “They” hate it because they don’t feel they can control it.

This attitude translates to most large corporate advertisers. If you are reading this, I suspect the average marketing person feels you aren’t worth the trouble (at least in this niche). Yeah, you’ll buy the beer, the vapes, the games, the energy drink, whatever… but the very fact you will listen to the type of music covered in The Hard Data is a red-flashing warning sign you have a freaking brain that you still have some control over. It hasn’t been completely overtaken by media and peer brainwashing. You are a bad risk not worth banking on. What’s more, you’re potentially contagious. Sure, you were listening to Metallica or Ariana Grande a few years ago, and now look where you are at. You didn’t stick with the plan. What if you convince others of the same?

Time and again I had beaten my head against this brick wall I describe above, vainly hoping that some needed commercial cash would grease the wheels of my and others endeavors in the scene. But it always turned out the same way. Sometimes the answer was immediate, sometimes we got teased for a while before the invariable let-down.

So this is why The Hard Data as a communication instrument between like-minded individuals is so needed. Listening to the type of music we do is part of a bigger overall picture of leading a good life where creativity, honesty and individual freedom is honored and supported. Even though we moan about our peers in this scene, worldwide, I have yet to meet anyone in it that comes close to the psycho and sociopaths I’ve met in other corners of the post-rave world. No self-respecting sociopath would go near a scene whose numbers can’t be quantified like ours.

Hindsight 2017?

Looking back, I wish I would have made a better effort to insert smaller, lower costing ads in the magazine garnered from small businesses. Instead, I took the bigger ad money from the event companies. Don’t get me wrong, I, and The Hard Data are eternally grateful to Insomniac/Basscon and Trauma, but more effort should have been spent patiently explaining to the readers the importance of advertising their own scene and their own initiatives. Fast forward to today and I might have had a second-in-command to take over more readily, and more advertisers with my back.

But, for convenience, mostly because I was doing so many jobs on the magazine myself, once I got the money from the big ads I relaxed and concentrated on the coming issue’s content. I could only spread myself so thin and it was a choice of making the new issue or interfacing with people trying to coordinate their voice and payments.

If I could do it again, I would basically start out giving free ads to everyone in the scene that wanted one until they got their business feet firmly grounded and could comfortably pay for their ads.

Also, I believe that if we had a full-time ad salesman, even those big corporations I complain about would have thrown money our way as well. But, I never found anyone that wanted to risk doing that full time. Which is a shame, because I never had a very hard time selling ads when I put my mind to it. Unfortunately, a lot of sales-type people want to sell the tried and true and not take a chance on something new. The magazine needs a “true-believer” salesman besides me.

I’m Not Really a Businessman

Another problem is that when it gets right down to it, I’m not really a businessman. Sometimes I can give the appearance of one… but I’m really an artist that occasionally sees a need and rushes to fill it, mostly from some creative urgency. Many of you only know me from The Hard Data, but honestly, I’ve had a habit over my life of instigating and catalyzing various underground movements. Rave promoter, producer, DJ, record label, graffiti artist, publisher, just to name a few. Yep. I’ve done a lot of this stuff in the early days of many a scene. But it’s only a side-product of a creative life. After getting my hands dirty building the foundation, another type of personality really is needed to take over.

In fact, traditionally I step off just as the money comes in. So, maybe for everyone’s sake that pattern will continue here. Looking back, my only constant is pursuing my artwork however it manifests, such as with graffiti art or music production, and when I go too long ignoring that I get frustrated and frankly ignore the reasons why anyone ever paid attention to what I had to say in the first place. So, The Hard Data is made because it was needed, now it needs new hands to continue.

What the heck happened with Musicoin?

Some of you will understand this next part… If you read my desires for the magazine above, the attraction to a music-based cryptocurrency might seem pretty obvious. Basically, by tapping into a new economic stream of activity, The Hard Data and its contributors and readers could fashion their own economy. Anyone who was involved in that time will remember The Hard Data’s Musicoin initiative was firing on all cylinders.

Unfortunately, I had a major falling out with the main developer of Musicoin. Why? I don’t 100% know. I can only speculate. Despite what may be said from that individual, most people involved know that The Hard Data and myself promoted the project vigorously with much belief, effort and positive effect. And, I truly think that may be why we were shown the door.

What I didn’t know at the time was how easy it is for large investors to sway the price of smaller cryptocurrencies, and for some, that fact is very important. The Hard Data and I were becoming influential enough that casual investors started to pay attention to us. The fact that we had a positive effect on the project’s utility might ultimately have been what let to our ouster!

To explain a little better: A small cryptocurrency can be manipulated by an investor or investors initiating fake buys and sells. With automatic trading, this process becomes somewhat predictable. By attracting the hopeful investor and then selling off at a time the initial investors only know, fortunes can be made. So, when an actual real-world use case influences the price, it takes some of their control away. Like I said though, this is only my speculation on what happened.

It should be pointed out: After Musicoin severed its relationship with The Hard Data it has taken a precipitous none-dive in value. Mainly this was because of Bitcoin’s price plunge, but its worth considering that The Hard Data continuing to stress and demonstrate the project’s utility might have lessened or even reversed its precipitous recent decline.

Despite the Musicoin experience, I would still like to see The Hard Data involved with a robust cryptocurrency project. There are truly good merits to blockchain technology that can make life better for those involved. If I find another good project, I’ll let you know.

Why Print?

In this age of social media and declining print ad budgets, many ask, “Why Print?”. The easy answer: It’s cooler. No one cares about your Facebook post a week later. People save their magazines their whole life sometimes. Ultimately, the printed word carries more weight to its readers and is more trusted. It’s as simple as that. Yeah, you can’t quantify it easily with Google Analytics, but maybe relying on data driven statistics just leads to crappy imitative products. Have you ever thought that if you like something, someone else will? All the data in the world can’t really replace something made from the heart. That sounds corny I know, but ten years from now maybe check out what old issues of The Hard Data are selling for on eBay. The web is great for ephemeral data. The printed page is great for long term memory.

Social Media Meltdowns

Looking back, I wish I had spent less time on Facebook.

The hardcore/hardstyle scene in America revolves quite a bit around Facebook and Instagram and ultimately, I think both are dead ends. Yes, the eyeballs seem to be there. But through the last couple years I noticed how Facebook would throttle posts, overcharge for ads, not allow sharing, banning people for things they say, and generally becoming a dead end of energy. Most alarming to me is that many of my friends and peers in the scene started to buy the corporate line and promote that there is a such thing as “hate” speech.

The promotion and acceptance of the “hate speech” concept is one of the possibly biggest obstacles to our scene, and perhaps our overall society’s unity. I know people mean well when they think they are defending some maligned person or group, calling for what-for-all-intents-and-purposes amounts to censorship. But the number one thing that made our society more accepting, more tolerant, more open… was letting people say whatever they wanted no matter how horrible it sounded! That’s why we have many of the liberties today: because unpopular ideas, opinions and facts were given voice and consideration. Now, sadly, those that claimed they were abused, maligned, and bullied, after finally being accepted… want to viciously shut down the avenues that led to their acceptance. Friends, this will only end in heartbreak. The weapon you think you are wielding in defense, you are actually only helping to  construct, and there is a high probability it will be turned on you once it is complete.

This concept of “hate” speech (almost always spelled in all caps by its adherents for some reason) would practically ban over half the catalog of hardcore techno available since the early nineties, made by every freaking screwball and weirdo the globe had to offer! Have we not been accused of being “offensive” in some way all along? I’m exaggerating for comedic effect, but the general idea I’m sure many of you would know to be valid!

People! Please, please, please, the real fight is against the international corporations that wish to subdivide and control us. They are the ones who gain by us bickering over mere words that they tell us are bad one day, fine the next, and bad then again. When we follow the agenda they set for us, through all their fake alternative media, we become easier to identify, influence and control. If you break down the monied influences on the various media outlets many think are “diverse”, you will find many of them are all funded from the same basic sources. People think they are reading opposing voices. Most of the time, they aren’t.

Please, let people vent their crazy, angry junk and get it out of their system, bottling it up just makes it worse. You can argue with them, you can ignore them, you can debate them, but don’t try to censor them. Everyone has a perspective and a reason for their beliefs. We all grow in capacity when we better understand and debate unpopular opinions, and it is the synthesis of perspectives wherein we better understand the truth. Is that not why you are here in the first place? The mainstream’s push to make everyone think in pre-packaged boxes and compartmentalized social groups at odds with one another sucks energy from our scene, our music, and our relationships with one another. Don’t fall for it!

Should the next version of The Hard Data manifest, there will be at least two paths it will be faced with that are inexorably tied to the mainstream corporate pressures mentioned above and the fake alternative worlds of the social media giants:

  1. Despite its “wild” nature, just like Rock and Roll and Rap… Hardcore/Hardstyle, etc. can be commodified by outside sources and further reduced to a recognizable marketable genre of pre-packaged adolescent rebellion. In this scenario, it interfaces as expected with the corporate world.
  2. It follows its own path and eschews the data-driven world of statistics. It comes from the publishers’ guts and builds its own self-reliant system.

Honestly, I tried to blend both these approaches, but based on my experiences the last couple years I have come to champion option 2. However, we never know what will happen with our creations once we let them loose, so…

The Future Unknown

So The Hard Data exists, people like it, but I have to move on. Trust me, more and more capable hands are needed now. So, over the next few months, I will be doing my best to tie up loose ends and package the existing brand and assets of The Hard Data so that others may take it further. It needs full time sales people, web developers, print editors as well as the continuing stable of contributors. It needs a person in charge of distribution, as well as many other jobs many of you have gone to college or trade school for. So, if you are interested in becoming involved or investing in the brand, contact me as I am trying to coordinate the end of this era and beginning of the next.

I want to thank all of you for reading and contributing to version one of The Hard Data. And just remember,

The rhythm is life and death!

DJ Deadly Buda

The Hard Data: What’s Next?

Gabberfest Conference 1

After 3 years The Hard Data has established itself as a media outlet for hard electronic music, but numerous challenges have accompanied its growth. Specifically, the demands of the readers have outgrown the staff, and the current and future needs and manifestations of the hard electronic scene need to be identified and addressed.

Joel Bevacqua, aka DJ Deadly Buda, the magazine’s present editor and founder, will host a round-table conversation with the goal of addressing and solving the challenges facing the hard electronic scene and The Hard Data. By soliciting input, perspectives and action from Gabberfest attendees, this round-table will play a major (perhaps the major) role in shaping The Hard Data’s subject matter, editorial, media staff, distribution and financial structure for the years going forward.

The conference meets at 2:30-3:30pm (and perhaps longer if necessary) at Gabberfest’s indoor meeting area. Attendees will be participating in Gabberfest’s first conference panel.  

The Hard Data: What's Next? Gabberfest Conference 1 will address current issues in the hard electronic scene and how The Hard Data can address them.
The Hard Data: What’s Next? Gabberfest Conference 1 will address current issues in the hard electronic scene and how The Hard Data can address them.

Deadly Buda’s Musicoin address to VI St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum

Musicon Ambassador Joel “DJ Deadly Buda” Bevacqua addressed the Intellectual Property and Blockchain discussion panel: “Creating Globally Applicable Best Practices in Blockchain Technology in Russia for IP Management: from Patents and Inventions to Books, Paintings, Photos, Music and Films” held at the VI St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. Below is the video of the address, the text of the speech, displayed slides, and the hand-out text mentioned in the address.

Here is the text from the speech:

“Hello, my name is Joel Bevacqua. Some know me as DJ Deadly Buda. I am the Musician Ambassador for Musicoin. We are honored to be invited to the Cultural Forum and especially by IPChain, which we believe could not only benefit Russia, but might shine as an example worldwide about the possibilities of blockchain and its utilization to aid human creativity.

We sincerely hope that one day, younger people in the audience will look back to this panel as a day that the world took a step in a good direction.

So, what is Musicoin?

Musicoin is a digital currency for the listening and compensation of music. On February 11, 2017, artists could upload their songs to Musicoin.org . When listeners played a song, they paid the artist 1 Musicoin. This payment happened in seconds. 1 Musicoin was worth at the time between 1 and 4 cents in US dollars. The artist could save that Musicoin in hopes it would rise in value, or sell it on and exchange for the currency of his or her choice. This was all achieved with the Musicoin blockchain.

Musicoin Presentation Slide 1
Musicoin Presentation Slide 1

This was a success, but we noticed a problem. As Musicoins rose in value, people played less music. So, we made a change to the Musicoin blockchain which we code-named “U.B.I.” for “Universal Basic Income.”

In this change, the artist still receives 100% of the income, but now 1 play is equivalent to an amount of Musicoin equal to about 2 cents in US dollars.

Musicoin Presentation Slide 2
Musicoin Presentation Slide 2

Also, listening for the public is now free. It is paid for by Musicoin miners. Miners are people with computers that process Musicoin transactions and mint the coins. A part of their mining reward creates the fund for free listening. The miners hope this leads to greater adoption and the Musicoins they retain becoming more valuable.

Through UBI, free listening become the human intelligence of the system and makes many traditional concerns about music piracy irrelevant.

Some might call what we’ve done, “disruptive”, but we feel it is constructive and ultimately an aid to the human imagination. In that spirit, a forthcoming update will allow consent-based location data to be entered in the Musicoin blockchain. This way, an artist might indicate where their payments may go.

Musicoin Presentation Slide 3
Musicoin Presentation Slide 3

If their song is played in Russia, RAO may process some funds, if played in Canada, SOCAN could process certain payments. Theoretically, public domain works could pay its citizen in near real-time.

The possibilities are many and are being realized now. Mobile and software players are expected soon, and even dedicated hardware players are expected within the next year.

I am having a fact sheet about Musicoin passed out. Please contact me after the panel if you are interested in interfacing with the Musicoin blockchain and I will help facilitate it.”

Below is the text from the hand-out mentioned in the speech.


Musicoin Logo With Tagline

Important Facts:

February 11, 2017, Musicoin becomes the first blockchain-enabled streaming music system in which artists can upload music, the global public can listen, and when they do, the artists are paid in seconds.

You can listen to streaming music at http://musicoin.org . The rights-holder is rewarded with Musicoin.

Musicoin has over 19,000 registered users. 1,500+ are musicians who have uploaded over 7000 tracks.

The price of a Musicoin has gone as high as 4.6 cents USD each. Musicoin’s exchange symbol is: MUSIC.

How it Works:

Every time a song is played the copyright holder is paid an amount of Musicoin equivalent to about $0.02 USD. This amount can fluctuate based on market demand and can be raised or lowered to compete with other online streaming services. The copyright holder receives Musicoin seconds after a listener presses “play” anywhere in the Musicoin system. Once the copyright holder receives the Musicoin, he, she, or it can elect to split the payment with others if needed.

Musicoins are created by people all over the world with personal computers. The process is called “mining.” The computers validate and process Musicoin transactions and are rewarded with Musicoins. 15% of Musicoins mined are allocated to fund the playing of music by the public. Musicians, miners and the public can sell their Musicoin on exchanges for the currency of their choice or use them to transact with one another.

Future Plans:

Easy purchase of Musicoins for the public (a cryptocurrency exchange will no longer be necessary).

Consent-based location data will be available from the Musicoin blockchain.

Mobile apps will be available soon. Embedded hardware platform expected late 2018.

FAQ

What kind of blockchain is Musicoin? Musicoin is its own blockchain, based on Ethereum code. By using its own blockchain, Musicoin can better scale with the increasing demands of music consumption.

How would my blockchain system communicate with Musicoin? Like Ethereum, ERC-20 tokens can be utilized to easily communicate with other blockchains.

Российская платформа IPChain начнёт сотрудничество с Musicoin?

Прошедший недавно в Санкт-Петербурге VI Международный Культурный Форум может удивить объединением национального рынка и блокчейн-платформы Musicoin в сфере интеллектуальной собственности. Такая возможность была объявлена в ходе панельной дискуссии «Создание в России мировой практики применения блокчейн-технологий для управления правами интеллектуальной собственности: от патентов и изобретений до книг, картин, фотографий, музыки и фильмов».

После часового обсуждения соглашение было объявлено платформой IPChain («Национальный координационный центр обработки транзакций с правами и объектами интеллектуальной собственности»), чьи амбициозные цели заключаются в формировании основанной на блокчейн-технологии национальной сети Российских объектов интеллектуальной собственности, их прав, записи сделок с ними и облегчении проведения подобных сделок.

“Создание децентрализованной сети IPChain является необходимым и обязательным этапом разработок в сфере интеллектуальной собственности,” – сказал президент IPChain Андрей Кричевский (здесь и далее цитата не точная, прим. пер.). “Тем не менее, говоря о конкретных этапах важно помнить, что, несмотря на плодотворные шаги предпринимаемые сегодня, мы не должны останавливаться. В конце концов, сегодняшний тренд на блокчейн вероятно рано или поздно будет заменяться всё новыми и новыми технологиями и решениями. Наша задача в том, чтобы следить за направлением глобальных разработок и предвидеть будущие технологические перемены.”

 

Посол Musicoin Джоэль Беваква выступает на Международном Культурном Форуме в Санкт-Перербурге.

Cвои решения и точки зрения предложили следующие участники: Единая Государственная система учета научных исследований, разработок и технологических работ гражданского назначения (эта служба уже является ключевым компонентом инфраструктуры IPChain), Национальный координационный центр обработки транзакций с правами и объектами интеллектуальной собственности, участвующий в проекте Министерства образования и науки Российской Федерации по созданию системы хранения и сопоставления трёхмерных моделей, и FormMax, бизнес-решение по доставке фоновой музыки.

В число участников также вошли несколько сервисов, которые потенциально могут использовать инфраструктуру IPChain, такие, как IP EXCHANGE (IPEX), онлайн платформа регулирующая функционирование рынка объектов интеллектуальной собственности и объединяющая мировые сообщества художников, и первый в мире основанный на блокчейн-технологии стриминговый музыкальный сервис Musicoin.

 

Выступающие слева-направо: Эрик Батист (SOCAN), Андрей Кричевский (IPChain), Сергей Матвеев (Директор Департамента науки и технологий, Министерство образования и науки Российской Федерации)

И хотя форумы об интеллектуальной собственности обычно проходят спокойно, этот был похож на пороховую бочку. Иван Засурский, Заведующий кафедрой новых медиа и теории коммуникации МГУ, назвал адвокатов в этой области паразитами, юрист Павел Катков был сильно заинтересован блокчейн смарт-контрактами, которые могут оставить адвокатов на вторых ролях в деле управления правами на объекты интеллектуальной собственности, а Джоэль Беваква, посол Musicoin, отметил для всей аудитории то, что этот форум, свидетелями которого они стали, однажды может оказаться переломным моментом в их жизни.

Российская платформа IPChain завершила обсуждение ещё одним знаковым моментом того, что Российская Федерация намерена стать лидером в области технологии блокчейн – подписанием стратегических соглашений о сотрудничестве. IPChain заключила договор о сотрудничестве и взаимодействии с крупнейшим на рынке издательством электронных книг – «ЛитРес», а следом – договор с сервисом BankPrav.ru компании «АйПиБи» о партнёрстве и долгосрочной совместной разработке в сфере регистрации и монетизации интеллектуальной собственности и увеличении прозрачности сделок для всех участников рынка.

 

Джоэль Беваква, посол Musicoin (и главный редактор The Hard Data), на деловой площаадке “IP и Блокчейн” VI Международного Культурного Форума

В завершении, глава IPChain, Андрей Кричевский, преподнёс сюрприз, озвучив возможность сотрудничества платформы IPChain с SOCAN и Musicoin. Чем это обернётся, мы ещё увидим, но такое заявление может означать для музыкантов и их фанатов ещё один важный шаг вперёд, не только в России, но и во всём мире.

Russia’s IPChain to work with Musicoin?

November 18, 2017, St. Petersburg, Russia,

This year’s VI Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum might hold a surprise for the future, an intellectual property blockchain, Musicoin, operating with a national market. This possibility was raised at the culmination of the business panel, “Creating Globally Applicable Best Practices in Blockchain Technology in Russia for IP Management: From Patents and Inventions to Books, Paintings, Photos, Music and Films.”

The hour-long panel was held by IPChain (the National Coordination Center for Processing Transactions with Rights and Objects of Intellectual Property), whose ambitious task is the formation of a national blockchain-based network of Russian intellectual property objects, their associated rights, transaction records, and the facilitation of such transactions.

“The creation of a decentralized IPChain network is a necessary and indispensable stage in the development of the national intellectual property sphere,” said Andrey Krichevsky, president of IPChain. “However, when speaking about practical steps, it is important to remember that, despite the seminal nature of today’s steps to reform the sphere, we must constantly be on the move. After all, the trend of the current day – blockchain – will be replaced by newer and newer technologies and solutions. Our task is to monitor the strategic vector of global development, to foresee and anticipate technological shifts. ”

Musicoin Ambassador Joel Bevacqua addresses the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum
Musicoin Ambassador Joel Bevacqua addresses the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum

In that context, panelists who contributed their solutions and viewpoints were: The Unified State System for Accounting for Research, Development and Technological Works of Civil Purpose (the state service is already one of the key components of the IPChain infrastructure), The National Register of Intellectual Property, which participates in a project initiated by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation to create a system for storing and comparing three-dimensional models, and FormMax, a business to business solution for delivering background music,

The participants also included a number of services that could potentially use the IPChain infrastructure such as IP EXCHANGE (IPEX), an online platform that ensures the regular functioning of the organized market of intellectual property, artists societies worldwide, and the world’s first music streaming blockchain service, Musicoin.

Panelists from left, Eric Baptiste (SOCAN), Andrey Krichevsky (IPChain), Sergey Matveyev (Director of the Department of Science and Technologies of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation)
Panelists from left, Eric Baptiste (SOCAN), Andrey Krichevsky (IPChain), Sergey Matveyev (Director of the Department of Science and Technologies of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation)

Though intellectual property forums tend to be sedate, this panel had its share of barely suppressed fireworks. Ivan Zasurskiy, Head of the Department of New Media and Communication Theory, Journalism Faculty of Moscow State University, referred to lawyers in the field as leeches, attorney Pavel Katkov wondered aloud if blockchain smart contracts might relegate lawyers to a secondary role in intellectual property management, and Joel Bevacqua, the ambassador for the Musicoin blockchain pointed out to the younger members of the audience that the panel they were witnessing might one day be a watershed moment in their lives.

The Russian Federation’s IPChain ended the panel with another sign that Russia intends to be a world leader in blockchain technology, as official signing agreements on strategic cooperation took place. IPChain and the largest company in the market of licensed electronic books in Russia, LitRes, signed an agreement on cooperation and interaction, and then IPChain and BankPrav.ru service – “AyBi” LLC, signed an agreement on establishing partnership relations and developing long-term mutually beneficial cooperation for the registration and monetization of intellectual property and increasing the transparency of intellectual property transactions for all market participants.

Joel Bevacqua, Musicoin Ambassador (and The Hard Data Editor) arrives at the VI St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum's IP & Blockchain Panel
Joel Bevacqua, Musicoin Ambassador (and The Hard Data Editor) arrives at the VI St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum’s IP & Blockchain Panel

At the very end came the surprise, as IPChain’s head Andrey Krichevsky, announced IPChain’s intention to open discussions with SOCAN and Musicoin on possible cooperation pacts. Musicoin’s ambassador, Joel Bevacqua, was seen giving a “thumbs up” to the audience. How this plays out, the world will have to see, but the announcement could signify another significant step for music fans and artists not just in Russia, but the world.