NEWM - Music Streaming 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)

12

[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.

WHAT IS NEWM – The Holistic Vision

Founded on the driving values of transparency, innovation and fairness, NEWM has been taking on the predatory financial structures that govern the music industry by building an all-in-one, Cardano-based product suite for musicians to directly monetize their digital content, and listeners to interact and connect with music like never before. 

Our full product offering includes, but is not limited to:

In this proposal, we’re specifically requesting funds to build out the in-app music streaming service, which is arguably one of the most important pieces of the puzzle that can drive mass adoption of the Cardano blockchain through music.  

WHY SHOULD I CARE?

The global value of recorded music revenues clocked in at a whopping $26.2 BILLION USD in 2022, in which 67% was attributed to the overall streaming share of the market (source: IFPI). This is the 8th consecutive year of growth for the industry, and by 2027, the amount of users in the music streaming market is projected to rise to 1.12 Billion (source: Statista). 

There is an exponential amount of “value leakage” in the current music industry financial models, which date back decades before the digital revolution. With several entities standing between artists and listeners, only a small percentage of the revenue (10-12% according to Rolling Stone) goes to the people who make the industry possible in the first place – the artists. We envision decentralization having a massive impact on this disparity in the next 5-10 years, and Cardano should lead the way.   

THE SOLUTION AND BENEFITS

In order to tap into these revenue and user markets and drive mass adoption of the Cardano ecosystem, we need to develop a familiar (in UX/UI) and easy-to-use music streaming mobile app that seamlessly onboards users to a fairer and more transparent music industry.

We’re building a pioneering music streaming service that integrates tokenization for a more enhanced, fair, and immersive user experience.

The music streaming service will use a blend of Music Rights Tokens (currently only related to streaming royalties – i.e., Stream Tokens – but will expand to other rights in the future), $NEWM tokens, and token-gating technology. Users can purchase stream tokens, which allows them to create personalized playlists with songs they have tokens for, forging a unique connection between their music consumption and support for artists, plus they are able to receive their share of the streaming royalties. The goal is to have everything in the NEWM ecosystem be transacted with $NEWM tokens, which will also serve as a key to unlock exclusive content, including live performances, behind-the-scenes interviews, and collaborations between artists.

Our extensive music library encompasses tracks from all genres and eras, catering to the diverse tastes of our users. Beyond this, our intelligent algorithm curates personalized recommendations and crafts smart playlists tailored to each user's music preferences.

We don't compromise on quality, offering high-fidelity audio streaming for a crisp, immersive sound, enhancing every moment of your listening experience.

Artists' welfare is central to our mission. The NEWM app shuns the typical ‘pooled funds’ model, ensuring that all streaming revenue goes directly to the artists. This fair and transparent income model allows listeners to know their chosen artist is being directly supported by their consumption of the music.

Finally, NEWM offers seamless integration across different devices and customizable features, providing a holistic and convenient music streaming experience.

In essence, the NEWM app offers an innovative, personalized, and fair music streaming solution, bridging the gap between listeners and their favorite artists like never before.

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

We understand that our target audience is the general populous who expect a polished user experience for any application. This project will seamlessly integrate with our web applications – e.g., The Artist Portal – and our prior proof-of-concept Stream Token sales, improving the overall music ecosystem experience. By marrying a high-caliber music streaming platform with an intuitive interface, connecting tokenized real-world assets (like Intellectual Property Rights) and other features, we posit that this proposal will significantly improve the multimedia experience for everyday music listeners and artists alike. 

In short, a mobile-first experience will be a blend of simplicity and sophistication, offering a seamless, intuitive, and interactive way to handle the complex matter of music streaming and other feature sets.

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

Measuring the success of a mobile-first music stream IP rights platform built on Cardano will be multi-faceted, focusing on a few Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

1. User Adoption and Engagement: One of the most direct measures of success would be the rate of user adoption, including the number of subscriptions, active users and frequency of usage. Higher adoption and regular engagement would indicate that the platform is meeting user needs.
2. User Satisfaction: Feedback and reviews from the users about their experience with the platform will be another crucial measure. This can be gauged through surveys, user feedback sessions, and app store reviews.
3. Blockchain Adoption: A rise in the number of transactions and interactions 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.
4. Market Share: Long term, capturing a significant share of the streaming market would be a definitive measure of the project's success.

In conclusion, the success of this platform would be determined by its ability to provide a user-friendly, efficient, and reliable solution, and its impact on the wider Cardano ecosystem.

[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 for the music streaming service of the NEWM app are:

1. To create an immersive and personalized music streaming experience: By leveraging high-fidelity streaming, personalized recommendations, and customizable playlists, we aim to offer an unparalleled listening experience. We will validate this through user engagement metrics, customer satisfaction surveys, and churn-rate analysis.
2. To implement a fair compensation model for artists: Through direct payments via Stream Tokens, we aim to ensure that artists receive adequate compensation for their work. We will validate this approach by monitoring the revenue generated by artists on our platform and by obtaining feedback from artists about their satisfaction with our payment model.
3. To establish a meaningful connection between listeners and artists: By offering exclusive content access through $NEWM tokens, we aim to deepen the bond between music lovers and artists. The success of this approach can be gauged by the number of $NEWM tokens used, the consumption rate of exclusive content, and feedback from both artists and listeners.
4. To scale and grow our user base: Through a combination of strategic marketing and partnerships, we aim to attract a large and diverse user base. The feasibility of this will be validated by tracking new user signups, retention rates, and overall platform activity.
5. To support a diverse range of music genres and artists: We aim to offer a vast library of music, catering to all tastes. The success of this can be validated by analyzing the diversity of streams and the range of artists getting supported via our token model.

We believe that achieving these goals will make the NEWM app a resounding success in the music streaming market. To ensure the feasibility of our approach, we will continue to perform rigorous testing, seek user and artist feedback, analyze market trends, and remain open to iterations and improvements based on these inputs.

[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 (18h): This stage involves further in-depth research to ensure that the proposed technology (tokenization, high-fidelity streaming, smart recommendations) is viable, secure, and scalable. 
2. UX/UI Design Draft (27h): The UX/UI (User Experience/User Interface) design draft will provide initial design concepts for the app, demonstrating the proposed layout, navigation, and overall visual aesthetic. 
3. UX/UI Research (45h): Here, we conduct research into best practices for UX/UI design, particularly for music streaming apps. 
4. UX/UI Design Finalized (72h): After incorporating feedback and insights from the research, the final design of the app's UX/UI will be completed.
5. Back-End Implementation (351h): This phase involves coding and setting up the server-side technology that powers the app, including the database, server, applications, and APIs. 
6. Front-End Implementation (540h): This is where the user-facing aspects of the app are developed, including the user interface and experience. Front-end developers will code the app to match the finalized UX/UI designs. 
7. Quality-Control Stage (216h): This stage involves rigorous testing of all aspects of the app, from functionality and performance to security and user experience. 
8. User Product Testing (108h): Here, a select group of users will be asked to use the app under various real-world conditions and provide feedback on its functionality, usability, and overall experience. 
9. Implement Improvements Front/Back (293h): Based on the results from the Quality-Control Stage and User Product Testing, improvements will be implemented on both the front and back ends. 
10. Bug fixing (158h): This is the final stage of development, where any remaining bugs or issues are fixed to ensure the app runs smoothly and reliably.

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

1. Technology Feasibility Research (Report): The report would include a thorough evaluation of the current state of these technologies, potential obstacles, and how we plan to overcome them.
2. UX/UI Design Draft (Mock-ups): These mock-ups provide a visual representation of the app's functionality and appearance.
3. UX/UI Research (Report): The report will include data on what works best to engage users, improve their experience, and increase app usage.
4. UX/UI Design Finalized (Prototype): A prototype will be created to provide a tangible, interactive model of the app for testing and feedback.
5. Back-End Implementation (Github): The code will be stored and versioned on Github.
6. Front-End Implementation (Github): The code will be stored on Github.
7. Quality-Control Stage (Report): Any issues found will be documented in a report, providing a basis for improvements.
8. User Product Testing (Report): The results of these tests will be compiled into a report.
9. Implement Improvements Front/Back (Github): All changes will be documented on Github.
10. Bug fixing (Github): Bug tracking and resolution will be documented on 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 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?

By leveraging Cardano's robust blockchain technology, the NEWM app stands poised to open the floodgates to an influx of new users within the Cardano ecosystem. This adoption doesn't just boost the user count, but also significantly escalates transaction volumes on the Cardano network, as these users engage with the platform and purchase tokens.

But the NEWM app's contribution extends beyond driving adoption. It serves as a tangible embodiment of Cardano's real-world utility, particularly in the music industry. By implementing blockchain and smart contracts for music streaming and artist compensation, the app underscores Cardano's versatility, applicability, and its unique aptitude for addressing industry-specific challenges.

Moreover, the app enriches the Cardano ecosystem by fostering a supportive environment for artists. By ensuring fair compensation for creators, it resonates with the broader creative community who may potentially become vocal advocates for Cardano. This endorsement from the creative industry could amplify the growth and visibility of Cardano's ecosystem.

The funds channeled into the project also facilitate research, development, and innovation specific to the Cardano ecosystem. This financial commitment not only powers the immediate needs of the NEWM app project but also contributes to the discovery of new blockchain use-cases, technological breakthroughs, and scalability solutions. This continual innovation is what ensures the long-term relevance and success of Cardano.

Lastly, the adoption of the tokenization model and the capital inflow from the purchase of stream tokens and NEWM tokens, contribute to the overall liquidity within the Cardano ecosystem. This increased liquidity brings about financial robustness and stability, underpinning the economic health of the blockchain.

[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