NEWM - Cross Chain Music Streaming App - Mobile Integration [Part I]

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

NEWM (Florian Pittini / Ryan Jones)

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Incorporated)

[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] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

User-friendly, mobile-first music streaming app that uses tokenization to facilitate direct artist & fan compensation, transactions, and exclusive access to music content via token-gating technology.

[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] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

Fully outsourced other than IP and Copyright material owned by external parties.

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.

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. 

THE SOLUTION AND BENEFITS

The guiding vision behind the NEWM app is to revolutionize the Music industry by ensuring artists receive just compensation for each stream. While we're still in the process of fine-tuning the intricacies of streaming royalties, NEWM is taking proactive steps to serve its user base.

The primary goal for this initiative is to successfully launch the first version of the NEWM mobile application on both Android and iOS platforms.

In the interim, we're launching a version of the NEWM mobile app that allows users to play songs they've already secured in their digital wallets. This approach not only lays the groundwork for our ultimate streaming platform but also caters to a niche segment of the market. It fits together perfectly with our Record Store offering, enabling users to play music collectible NFTs acquired through our platform.

Currently, the music in the blockchain landscape lacks a streamlined method for users to enjoy the music they own. While it's technically possible to access and play a song by navigating to its respective NFT on the blockchain or some explorers like pool.pm, the process is cumbersome and not user-friendly. Recognizing this gap, NEWM aims to bridge the divide between a user's digital wallet and the blockchain. Our goal is to present an intuitive interface that resonates with users, making their music experience seamless and enjoyable.

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), Music NFTs from Record Stores and Music assets on other blockchains, $NEWM tokens, and token-gating technology.

Users can purchase stream tokens or Music Collectibles, and the app will allow 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.

In its final form, 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 token-gated content, including live performances, behind-the-scenes interviews, and collaborations between artists or just access to concert tickets.

i.e. full web2 Streaming experience with new features added and web3 transparency while monetizing the platform for its users, artists, and various rights holders.

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.   

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] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community.

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 MVP NEWM Studio, 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.

It might be important to highlight that we will be adding support for additional blockchains. Newm will support playing music NFTs from wallets in other ecosystems. Through this, we will onboard more people into Cardano.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

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

Minimum-Viable-Product (MVP) – NEWM Studio

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

and this platform is under the testing phase on the pre-pod network and will be available to the general public from 12th Dec.

Feasibility:

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.

[Project Milestones] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

1. Technology Feasibility Research: This stage involves further in-depth research to ensure that the proposed technology (tokenization, high-fidelity streaming, smart recommendations) is viable, secure, and scalable. 

outputs:

1. Technology Feasibility Research (Report): The report would include a thorough evaluation of the current state of these technologies, potential obstacles, how we plan to overcome them, and what will be our workflow for the app development.

1. UX/UI Design Draft: 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.
2. UX/UI Research: Here, we conduct research into best practices for UX/UI design, particularly for music streaming apps. 

outputs:

1. UX/UI Design Draft (Mock-ups): These mock-ups provide a visual representation of the app's functionality and appearance.
2. UX/UI Research (Report): The report will include data on what works best to engage users, improve their experience, and increase app usage.

1. UX/UI Design Finalized: After incorporating feedback and insights from the research, the final design of the app's UX/UI will be completed.

outputs:

1. UX/UI Design Finalized (Prototype): A prototype will be created to provide a tangible, interactive model of the app for testing and feedback.

1. Back-End Implementation: This phase involves coding and setting up the server-side technology that powers the app, including the database, server, applications, and APIs. 
2. Front-End Implementation: 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.

outputs:

1. Back-End Implementation (Github): The code will be stored and versioned on Github.
2. Front-End Implementation (Github): The code will be stored on Github.

1. Quality-Control Stage: This stage involves rigorous testing of all aspects of the app, from functionality and performance to security and user experience. 
2. User Product Testing: 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.

outputs:

1. Quality-Control Stage (Report): Any issues found will be documented in a report, providing a basis for improvements.
2. User Product Testing (Report): The results of these tests will be compiled into a report.

1. Implement Improvements Front/Back: Based on the results from the Quality-Control Stage and User Product Testing, improvements will be implemented on both the front and back ends. 
2. Bug fixing: This is the final stage of development, where any remaining bugs or issues are fixed to ensure the app runs smoothly and reliably. 

outputs:

1. Implement Improvements Front/Back (Github): All changes will be documented on Github.
2. Bug fixing (Github): Bug tracking and resolution will be documented on Github.

(All these milestones M1 to Final are stated in the flow that is best suited for presentation purposes and the actual milestones will coincide with each other at many stages.)

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Project Team:

CPO NEWM: Overall product lead, Strategy,

CTO NEWM: Overall technology lead, implementation

Senior UX/UI Designer NEWM: UX/UI Designs

Senior UX/UI Researcher NEWM: Research

Senior Back-End Developers NEWM: Development

Senior Mobile Developers NEWM: Development

Product Manager NEWM: Development coordination

Quality Manager NEWM: Quality Control

Product Tester NEWM: Product testing

Project Manager NEWM: Proposal & CF11 coordination 

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost 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 F11 teams – due to the friction we experienced the last time we received funding. We used a conversion rate of 0.30 USD for ADA due to the high volatility.

As the ADA Prices during the submission and editing phase were floating around 32 to 40 cents, and since the general support of the ADA below these levels is 24 Cents we settled at 30 Cents Exchange rate which provides downward protection for the project and ability to continue it without compromising on the quality or security of the Team.

[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.

However, 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 agrees to Fund 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