NEWM - Music Rights Marketplace App - Mobile Integration

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

NEWM (Florian Pittini / Ryan Jones)

[GENERAL] Email address of main applicant

catalyst@newm.io

Additional applicants

Andrew Westberg (CTO), Tiziana Pittini (CPO)

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

11

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

No

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.” .

No dependencies

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] If NO, please describe which outputs are not going to be open source. If YES, please write “Project will be fully open source.”

Project will be fully open source

[METADATA] Category of Proposal

dApp

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

Our proposed solution is to develop a robust mobile-first platform for managing music streaming IP rights. This platform should be designed keeping in mind the intuitive user experience and simplicity of mobile applications, while maintaining the complexity required for the handling of music streaming IP rights.

At its core, the platform would need a straightforward and familiar interface. This would allow users to manage, transfer, and/or trade their music streaming IP rights directly from their mobile devices. Having a detailed overview of all songs, plus a sample player to listen to the music before purchasing is also important to the end user experience. 

The app will also integrate with other music apps, platforms, or databases. For instance, it will pull in data from music streaming services to display potential royalty revenues, or work with digital distribution platforms to make sure rights management aligns with music releases. This will be ensured through our own (already built) distribution service as well as a Stream Token (i.e., tokenized music streaming IP rights) analytics platform.

To ensure that artists and rights owners have an easy time managing their music streaming IP rights, the platform should provide real-time updates and notifications on the status of their rights. It could also incorporate features like direct messaging or in-app calls for communication between parties involved in a transaction - highly likely not in v1.

As much as possible, the platform will automate processes to simplify the tasks for the users. For example, it will use smart contracts to automate the process of transferring or selling rights, reducing the need for manual paperwork.

In short, a mobile-first, music streaming IP rights platform will be a blend of simplicity and sophistication, offering a seamless, intuitive, and interactive way to handle the complex matter of music streaming IP rights.

Later down the road, we will expand to different verticals like collectibles, tickets etc. due to the similar technical approach.

[IMPACT] How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

Music, due to its universal appeal and accessibility, holds immense potential to drive mass adoption of various platforms and technologies. Its transcultural and transgenerational qualities make it a medium that can resonate with a wide demographic. It's not just about engaging existing users, but also drawing in those who might not have ventured into these domains before. 

We specifically address the challenges of the Products & Integrations category by proposing a solution that will improve the value of the current music rights marketplace web app we’re building by optimizing the same experience in a mobile format. This will enable the Cardano Community and wider ecosystem to have user-friendly desktop and mobile options when it comes to interacting with music IP rights. Due to the fact that everything we’re building is open source, there is a high overlap with several other industries that operate in IP rights – our system and infrastructure can be copied and utilized in other big industries – e.g., film, publishing, patents, legal etc.

By catering to the needs of the vast music industry, we can tap into a large user base of artists, producers, rights’ holders, fans and listeners, which could significantly expand the usage and visibility of Cardano.

[IMPACT] How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

Measuring the success of a mobile-first music streaming IP rights platform built on Cardano will be multi-faceted, focusing on a few key performance indicators.

1. User Adoption and Engagement: One of the most direct measures of success would be the rate of user adoption, including number of active users, number of music streaming IP rights transactions processed, and the frequency of usage. Higher adoption and regular engagement would indicate that the platform is meeting user needs. 
2. In 1-4 years, we aim to bring 500K-1M musicians into the Cardano ecosystem
3. User Satisfaction: Feedback and reviews from the users about their experience with the platform will be another crucial metric. This can be gauged through surveys, user feedback sessions, and app store reviews.
4. Blockchain Adoption: A rise in the number of transactions and smart contracts on the Cardano network due to the platform would be a clear indicator of success. This would show the platform's contribution to the growth of the Cardano ecosystem. 
5. If we achieve the aforementioned goal of bringing in 500K-1M musicians on chain, averaging around 10-50+ songs each. This would result in 5-50M+ assets on the Cardano blockchain, which will directly impact the transaction volume.
6. Market Share: Long term – capturing a significant share of the music IP rights market would be a definitive measure of the project's success. 
7. NEWM estimates the overall music IP rights market for streaming royalties between 600B-1T USD. According to IFPI’s Global Music Report, global revenues from streaming continue to grow year-over-year by double-digit percentages. In 2022, overall streaming share accounted for 67% of the global music market.

[IMPACT] Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

Everything we are building is open source, and with transparency as one of our driving values, we consistently share our successes, failures, strengths and shortcomings publicly. We will continue to share output and results on overall product development, future funded proposals and previously funded Project Catalyst proposals (Fund9) the way we are sharing them now:

• Public reporting of milestone statuses – Discord, Twitter, Telegram, Newsletter, Youtube 
• Conferences and events – Public speaking events or recorded interviews
• Community lives and AMAs during the development process – Weekly Twitter Spaces and sporadic AMA events on specific topics in Discord
• Survey and poll reports from user feedback – Public community votes and UX research
• Catalyst landing page – We have a dedicated Project Catalyst landing page on the newm.io website where users can review our funded proposals and track progress – newm.io/catalyst
• Youtube Founders’ Outlook – Casual chat between our Founders about previous year and year to come
• Nerd Out Youtube Channel – Andrew Westberg’s personal Youtube channel where he discusses Cardano development in-depth

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

Our team has consistently demonstrated a strong capacity to deliver complex projects with high levels of adaptability, transparency and accountability, as evidenced by our track record of successfully managed and executed Catalyst proposals, as well as quarterly NEWM Community governance votes that directly affect $NEWM token holders and strategic partnerships driven by community needs. Our commitment to meeting project goals within defined timelines and budgets sets a precedent of dependability.

Adaptability in Delivering Community Needs

A noteworthy accomplishment amongst our latest initiatives was the successful launch of The Record Store project – recordstore.newm.io – the first marketplace dedicated to digital music collectibles on Cardano. Although a collectible music marketplace was always a part of our roadmap, we envisioned it further down in our development journey. However, we listened and saw an immediate need in the Cardano music community and delivered. Through strategic partnerships with NMKR and Sick City, we managed to create an effective and user-friendly platform that has since earned the trust and endorsement of numerous artists. 

Transparency and Accountability

Our commitment to transparency has strengthened our standing as an accountable team. We maintain and nurture open lines of communication through all of our community channels, and support a culture of mindful listening where community members feel heard. 

We also consistently share our code and development progress with the wider ecosystem, underscoring our dedication to open source principles and community engagement. This level of openness encourages community feedback and critique, enabling continuous improvement and bolstering the reliability of our software. We invite you to review our work through our Github repository: https://github.com/projectNEWM

Proof-of-Concept (POC) – Stream Tokens

We’ve already completed several one-off, POC sample sales where we showcased the following features:

• Music distribution to all the major streaming platforms
• Fractionalization of streaming IP rights via Stream Tokens
• Stream Token sales to the public

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

The main goals of the project are:

1. Develop a Mobile-First Music Streaming IP Rights Platform: create a user-friendly, mobile-first platform that allows artists, producers, and rights’ holders to efficiently manage their music streaming IP rights on-the-go.
2. Integrate with Existing Music Services: seamless integration with various music streaming and digital distribution platforms to provide comprehensive and easy-to-use functionality. We have created our own Distribution Service provider (DSP) to ensure this integration.
3. Drive Adoption of the Platform and Cardano Blockchain: leverage the universal appeal of music to drive mass adoption of the platform, and in turn, the Cardano blockchain.

To validate the feasibility of our approach, we will:

1. Conduct Market Research: Before development begins, we'll conduct additional market research to better understand the needs of potential users and validate our proposed solution.
2. Develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP): We will create an MVP to test the core functionality of the platform. This allows us to get early feedback and adjust our approach if necessary before further development.
3. Pilot Testing: Post-MVP, we will conduct pilot testing with a small group of users. The feedback from this testing phase will be crucial in validating the functionality, usability, and integration of the platform prior to hard launch.
4. User Feedback and Iteration: Post-launch, we will continuously collect user feedback and use it to make improvements. This iterative process ensures the platform stays relevant and effective.
5. Monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Monitor KPIs such as user adoption rate, user engagement, user satisfaction, and the number of transactions on the platform to validate our approach. These metrics will provide a quantitative measure of the platform's success and feasibility.

By following these steps, we can ensure that our approach to creating a mobile-first music streaming IP rights platform within the Cardano ecosystem is not only feasible, but also effective in meeting user needs and driving blockchain adoption.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

1. Technology Feasibility Research - 20h: This is the initial stage where we further assess the technical feasibility of the project. This involves researching the technology stack, the Cardano blockchain's capabilities, and how well it aligns with our project's needs. We'll dive deeper into possible challenges and constraints, and propose solutions.
2. UX/UI Design Draft - 15h: Based on the user needs identified during the feasibility study, we will create initial draft designs of the user interface.
3. UX/UI Research - 30h: This stage involves conducting in-depth research into best practices for user experience and user interface design, especially in the context of mobile applications and the music industry.
4. UX/UI Design Finalized - 45h: Based on the draft designs and research, a finalized version of the app's design will be created.
5. Back-End Implementation - 250h: In this phase, we will develop the back end of the mobile app, which involves setting up servers, databases, APIs, and integrating with the Cardano blockchain. This includes developing smart contracts and implementing secure transaction processes.
6. Front-End Implementation - Github - 530h: The front end of the app, which users interact with, will be developed based on the finalized UI/UX design. This involves coding the visual elements, integrating with the backend services, and ensuring the app works seamlessly on various mobile devices.
7. Quality-Control Stage - 144h: At this stage, we will conduct rigorous testing to ensure the app is working as expected. This includes testing the functionality, performance, security, and usability of the app.
8. User Product Testing - 90h: The app will be tested by a group of end-users. They will provide feedback about their user experience, the app's functionalities, and any potential issues they encounter.
9. Implement Improvements Front/Back - 240h: Based on the feedback from the quality control and user testing stages, we will make necessary improvements to both the front-end and back-end of the app.
10. Bug Fixing - 140h: Lastly, any bugs or technical issues identified during the testing stages will be fixed to ensure the app is stable and ready for release.

These milestones collectively contribute to a smooth and methodical progression of the project, from initial research to final deployment, ensuring a high-quality, user-friendly mobile-first platform.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

1. Technology Feasibility Research - Report: A comprehensive report, documenting the research findings will be produced.
2. UX/UI Design Draft - Mock-ups: Basic mock-ups that visually represent the app's layout and functionalities.
3. UX/UI Research - Report: Findings will be documented in a report that will guide the final UX/UI design.
4. UX/UI Design Finalized - Prototype: Creation of a clickable prototype, which demonstrates the app's user flow and interaction design.
5. Back-End Implementation - Github: All code will be uploaded to Github so that the community can review it and follow our progress.
6. Front-End Implementation - Github: The code will be uploaded to Github so that the community can review it and follow our progress.
7. Quality-Control Stage - Report: Any bugs or issues found will be documented in a report.
8. User Product Testing - Report: User feedback will be compiled in a report.
9. Implement Improvements Front/Back - Github: These changes will be reflected in the code on Github.
10. Bug Fixing - Github: All code will be uploaded to Github

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Please note that each line item includes overhead operational, product management & project management costs to coordinate the product development and for filling out forms and reporting milestones to the Project Catalyst F10 teams – due to the friction we experienced the last time we received funding. We used a conversion rate of 0.165 ADA per USD due to the high volatility, plus a detailed analysis of historical price movements show that the low might be in at around 0.20 cents, but there is no support line after that until around 0.13 cents, so we used the average of both.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

We project the ROI of this proposal at 1.3 ADA per onboarded Artist if we reach our goal of onboarding 1M artists in the next 4 years. This does not include the ROI from onboarding all of their fans, which currently has too many variables to make solid estimation, but has the potential to augment the overall ROI drastically. 

Focusing on mass adoption is highly beneficial for the Cardano ecosystem; the more users/participants we have, the more stability we gain as a collective. Imagine having a killer mobile music app that’s so sleek that users don’t even know it’s built using blockchain technology. This has the potential to truly bridge the gap between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0, driving musicians, fans and listeners to Cardano without even knowing it. Additionally, everything will be open source, and we believe the community might use our code and audited smart contracts to build other tools to increase the adoption of Cardano and decrease the time-to-market for other big industries – e.g., film, publishing, patents, legal etc.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agreed to Fund10 rules and also that data in the Submission Form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.

I Accept