Perma-music rmNFT Marketplace

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem.

Our platform Rythmeet will allow musicians to network, mint and sell their creations through NFTs and permanently lock their original files allowing them to become independent and develop their career

[GENERAL] Summarize your relevant experience.

Proposer: 2 PhDs, 8 years in research and international project management

Team: More than 40 years cumulated in software development and project management

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

More and more people are interested in creating marketplaces for selling NFTs, but there are 2 important parts often neglected. 

The first one is how to attract people who are not aware of crypto and NFTs or not into new technologies? The Rythmeet platform will comprise 2 main parts. The first one is described in the proposal named “Rythmeet:P2P music network platform” under the category “F9: Dapps, Products & Integrations” and seeks to attract and bring everyone with interest in music for playing, meeting other musicians, finding a place where to perform or even funding scholarships for music students. Rythmeet has been thought of for everyone and will be developed for everyone to feel comfortable with crypto money. Moreover, our vision is to develop the platform regarding users' recommendations and being part of the Cardano community, we wish to collaborate, link and bridge our platform to other projects/platforms to allow users to navigate into the crypto world and discover new features in an easy way.

The second one refers to the NFT security. Generally, the original file containing the art creation is stocked into a server like Amazon or Google. Then, when minted, the address/location of the file is integrated at the NFT into the blockchain. The problem is that if the art file is removed from this location voluntarily or by mistake, if the account is deleted or if the server crashes, the NFT referring to it becomes useless. This can be detrimental for buyers who will lose their investment, but also for artists who will lose all credibility and this could end their career. For this purpose, we will use Arweave. Arweave is a platform allowing any artist to integrate their art into a blockchain, and that, forever. This will be a huge security for artists and for buyers. For this part, we will work in collaboration with the team of Albert Feghaly who proposed the project “PanDAO: Focus on dDataStorage” within the category “F8: Cross-Chain Collaboration”. For more information about the strategy, you can have a look at his proposal.

Here is the description of the second part of the platform which will propose a marketplace for music NFTs, called Rythmeet (rm)NFTs. 

The music world is a billion dollar industry that mainly brings money to big companies. Moreover, contracts with big corporations often trap artists under a specific label that has the total control of their art. To be consistent with our vision of this music world FOR MUSICIANS, we want to develop an NFT platform dedicated to music, giving the opportunity to all musicians to easily monetize their creations without a middleman. Also, integrating music NFTs into the Cardano blockchain will help the original artists to follow how their tracks are used, protect and help them to collect unclaimed royalties if necessary. 

Only a very few number of music NFT platforms exist and artists have to figure out how to deal with minting and wallets which makes it very technical. Rythmeet is designed to contain all tools artists will need to sell their creations, without requiring knowledge in crypto money or NFTs in order to let them focus on the most important: their music. Their music will be minted as rmNFTs that will represent limited editions of artist creations made on the platform and stored in their own wallet. It will represent an interesting source of revenue for them. On the other hand, people will be able to discover new artists they like and purchase from them to encourage artist developments. We can also easily imagine that rmNFTs acquired from an artist that is unknown at the time of the purchase will gain in value as the artist becomes more and more famous. Then, these rmNFTs are not just an investment, they become part of music history, written into Cardano blockchain. We believe that our website will allow everyone to identify new talented artists and support them in their career development. Music is present in every single country on the planet, heard in most houses and cars, therefore linking the rmNFT model to the Cardano ecosystem will drastically expand the network and number of transactions of this cryptocurrency.

Since our goal is to bring people who are not aware or comfortable with cryptocurrencies, we will allow people to pay using their own money or Cardano to make people discover this cryptocurrency and become more familiar with it. We do not want to affray them with crypto and that's why our strategy is to familiarize them with this platform. Simple tutorials will be created to explain how to buy Cardano for those who do not already have and how to use every feature of the platform. To encourage people to use Cardano, fees will be lower for transactions using it (2% VS 4% using other currencies).

The minting feature will comprise several steps:

1-Linking the original file containing the musician creation from Arweave into the contract.

2-Payment of minting fees from the artist. We want the fees to be minimal to allow all kinds of artists, famous or not, to use our platform. These fees will be lower if they are paid in Cardano versus other currencies.

3-Minting the specific amounts of NFTs indicated by the artist, crafting them into the Cardano blockchain and burning the requested amount of tokens.

4-Giving back the NFTs to the artist once the script will have validated the number of burned tokens. NFTs will be visible by the artist in his personal wallet and in his Rythmeet account.

Execution steps:

Stage 1: Project Definition

The first stage of the process will revolve mostly in taking the time to formally define the rmNFT standard, its underlying legal component and every option/feature of the platform. The process and approach are easy to define, with integration of a CDN for content management requirements and development of a .NET or SQL Database for all required on-site functions. At this stage, we will have a clear understanding of what we are setting out to achieve, including:

Target audience: Defining our online target market will help the designers understand target users' preferences, study their online habits and develop wireframes and interfaces that are most likely to result in great user experience.

Competition: This is one of the key elements for the research phase and it will allow us to analyze the competitor’s strengths and weaknesses, and develop a strategy that will result in a market-leading website.

Stage 2: Planning

Based on the data we collect during Stage 1, we will be able to create:

A sitemap: This bird's eye view of our site is a map that determines the list of pages, their placement and relationship on the website. It includes both the user-facing elements and those intended for web crawlers only (e.g. Google). A site map helps define and organize web content, allowing our strategist and designer to go deeper into planning the look, feel and functionality for each page.

A wireframe: This, on the other hand, is the layout of each individual page of the site. It outlines and maps out the elements on the website and how the website will function.

Stage 3: Design

This is where we put our creative minds together to come up with a visual representation of our idea and brand. By the end of this, we will have a clear idea of what the look of the website in its entirety will be. From the home page to the inner pages, and what users will see when navigating through different sections of the website. For our consumers, this will show how they travel through different product categories, what they would see on individual product pages, and what the buying journey will look like.

Stage 4: Content Creation

By this stage, we will have entered the early stages of the actual development cycle. Once the designs and layouts of the website have been finalized, we will begin the content creation process which encompasses planning, writing and editing various forms of website content, including:

• Landing pages    • Product/service description

• Testimonials     • Case studies

• Blog posts      • Videos

• Images

This makes use of our skilled writers who will create assets that grab attention and help our pages rank on search engines. Much like design itself, content is an important element of our user’s experience. Quality web copy and resources will give them the information they need to make their purchasing decisions, while a strategic keyword optimization will place our web content on the path of searchers with high purchase intent.

Stage 5: Development

This stage includes coding and our developer’s job is to make the site function properly. Our developer will create the homepage followed by the other landing pages, based on the website hierarchy. The process also includes combining all the previously designed elements and building an actual website. The front-end development of the website will be a nominal task. The back-end development will consume more time and will be built carefully and methodically.

Stage 6: Testing

Testing is one of the most significant phases. At this point, our developers will check the functionality of all the elements on our website. The aim is to detect any issues, such as broken links and compatibility with different devices to ensure everything works properly. They will use validators to check the code making sure it follows the current standards, test the site’s speed as well as test for mobile responsiveness. Once they finish the manual and automated testing, our website will be ready to go into a live server and launch.

Stage 7: Maintenance

The last - and the never-ending - phase of the website development timeline is maintenance. As our project grows, we will need to increase the number of pages and add more functionalities and features. We will need to carry out certain tasks on a regular basis, including:

• Editing existing content      • Adding blog posts

• Fixing bugs and issues      • Dosing site backups

• Installing plugins

Since digital and web design trends constantly change, we will also need to keep our site up-to-date both UX and SEO-wise.

[IMPACT] Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.

Being part of the Cardano community, we will develop the minting feature as open source to help the development of other projects/platforms from this challenge. We are also very open to link and bridge our platform with other projects from the community to help each other develop, like we are planning to do with PanDAO. We are also considering using Atala Prism.

Developing our new low fee NFT minting feature linked to Arweave which will secure both artists and buyers will significantly expand Cardano’s use-case. Music being present in every country in the world, our platform containing the NFT minting feature will create utility for otherwise locked Cardano and consequently reduce its price volatility.

More than just targeting people already using crypto, the Rythmeet project seeks to bring thousands of people from outside the crypto bubble into the Cardano community. We believe that this number will increase exponentially in the next few years and has no real limit since music is present everywhere.

Bringing musicians on our platform will allow them to monetize their creations and to become independent and free of any contracts with big corporations. We believe that we will allow musicians to focus more on their music and help them increase their incomes and so their quality of life.

[IMPACT] What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?

-For web hosting, we plan to start with one server with a high quality-price ratio for the first months of the Rythmeet launch. Then, upgrade the specification and the number of the servers along with the increase in the number of users.

-For data storage related to original music files, we plan to use Arweave.

-People coming on our platform might not be comfortable using cryptocurrencies, even with lower fees. We could propose some rewards for people using Cardano for the first time. Once they use it for the first time, they will understand how easy it is and we are confident they will continue to use it after.

-Artists may be scared to move from a corporation label to their own label using our platform. Once our platform is launched, we will focus on bringing artists onto it, explaining to them the advantages of using our platform versus signing contracts with big labels. We already know artists who are interested in our project. We will also develop our marketing since Shinetech has marketing specialists ready to work with us. At this stage, the fastest we bring artists into the Cardano community, the more chances we have to succeed.

-Shinetech is a Chinese company. What if the Chinese government forbids development of cryptocurrency platforms? Luckily, Shinetech is also based in other countries like the US, Australia or Canada and the Rythmeet platform will be registered in France, so it won't be a problem for us.

-The most obvious risk regarding art platforms in general, and so NFTs, concerns unauthorized parties who would mint an NFT using a digital audio track they do not own copyrights. We plan to develop smart contracts to minimize this risk.

Our answer to previous reviews:

-The team has not enough experience in blockchain: We recruited 2 new members, Jeff Junwei Chen, expert in blockchain and digital currency and Albert Feghali, blockchain developer and Plutus Pioneers Program Alumni.

-The proposed time frame is too short: Platform frameworks are already available in Shinetech which will save us time and money. Also, we added a few weeks to the timeframe to be sure to deliver a functional platform. Nevertheless, the platform will endlessly continue to improve and develop using its own funds.

-Github and social media accounts from Rythmeet are new/empty: Yes, before attracting artists and people in general, we need to develop the platform.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.

Week 1 and 2: Setup the website with initial ecommerce platform frameworks available at Shinetech, install plugins and spread project documents to the development team members and discuss for comprehension.

Week 3 to 5: Design the whole platform and define the features to add to the framework (Checkpoint 1: $20,000 for this part).

Week 6-7: Develop features for payment and to allow web users to trade with Cardano (ADA).

Week 8-9: Develop features for each account, like changing profile, sharing information through social media and integration into blockchain (Checkpoint 2: $20,000 for this part).

Week 10-12: Develop features between accounts, like rating, review, text chatting and beginning of integration into blockchain.

Week 13 to 15: System test for receiving and inspection, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), solve problems found through system tests (Checkpoint 3: $20,000 for this part).

Week 16 to 17: Launch, solve issues found by users. This will be the end of the MVP phase (Checkpoint 4: $13,000 for this part)

Next months: Further business analysis and add features based on users' needs.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

2 Developers (Back-End and Front-End): 45$/hour: (2x $1,575/week x 8 weeks = $25,200)

2 Developers (Cardano Blockchain): 55$/hour: (2x 1,925/week x 8 weeks = 30,800)

1 Technical Project Manager: 45$/hour ($1,500/week x 4 weeks = $6,000)

1 Content Writer: 35$/hour ($1,250/week x 4 weeks = $5,000)

1 Designer: 45$/hour ($1,500/week x 4 weeks = $6,000)

Total: $73,000

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide details of the people who will work on the project.

My name is Alan Hegron (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-hegron-09648154/). I am the proposer and have been passionate about music and art in general since I was a kid. I lived in different countries like France (where I am from), Canada or US and I have often thought "How musicians/singers with so much talent and hard work can struggle with money?". I began to think of and build this project to help musicians, around 6 years ago in my head, on papers and through connections, and I am confident Cardano's Project Catalyst will allow me to finally develop it.

I received 2 PhDs from France and from Canada in research and then went to work at Columbia University in the US and now at New-York University. It has now been more than 7 years I am managing projects involving international collaborations and am consequently well trained in managing many projects at a time and to always find a solution to problems occurring. Over the time I have contacted many developers and finally built a team of experts who, altogether, will allow us to create the Rythmeet platform.

Most members of the developing team work for Shinetech which is a leading software development provider founded in 2001 in Beijing, China, with additional global locations in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia. Shinetech collaborated with more than 1500 clients including world known companies like Coca-Cola, BMW, Ralph Lauren or HP. For HP, Shinetech developed its website and is still managing it worldwide, proving the seriousness and efficiency of the company (https://www.shinetechsoftware.com/).

Here is the development team:

Project manager, senior full-stack developer: Jason Hao Li

• Over 4 years of experience in full-stack web development. Expert in back-end development frameworks, front-end development, system design, business analysis and senior project manager. (CV attached)

Expert PHP developer: Finley Fei Ma

• Over 9 years of experience in PHP, Node, Front-end and 4 years project manager. Expert in PHP MVC framework, web development and CI/CD. (CV attached)

User interface designer: Keyon Keyang Du

• Over 7 years of experience in graphic design. Expert in UI and UX design and mobile app design. 4 years as UI team manager. (CV attached)

Expert PHP developer: Ranger Guan

• Over 9 years of experience in software development. Expert in front-end and multiple languages (PHP, javascript, TypeScript, Python…). Expert in web applications including E-commerce, in app creation and in Agile development methodologies. (CV attached)

Senior software engineer: Jeff Junwei Chen

• Over 7 years of experience in software engineering, proficient in both frontend and backend development. Expert in blockchains and digital currency. For example, he developed the website www.ddpurse.com which is a BCH wallet based on WeChat platform. Users can generate a wallet to manage their cryptocurrency(BCH), receive the BCH to the address generated in DDPurse, or send BCH to any other BCH address, and backup the mnemonic words etc.

Blockchain developer and Plutus Pioneers Program Alumni: Albert Feghaly

• Over 6 years in academia using Python, Javascript, big data, ML.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/albert-feghaly-28060a113/

[FEASIBILITY] If you are funded, will you return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding? Please explain why / why not.

Once the Rythmeet platform is at an advanced stage, we may request fundings for the marketing phase. We already know some artists who are interested in the project but with a functional platform, it will be easier to bring more artists and users onto it. At early stages, marketing will be very important and then, the money generated by the platform will be enough for its own development and marketing. For the marketing, we will continue to work with Shinetech which has an experienced team available for us.

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or any member of your team working on any other proposals in this Fund9?

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or your team working on any other proposals from previous Funds?

[AUDITABILITY] Please describe what you will measure to track your project's progress, and how will you measure these?

At the end of every step detailed in the timeline and even after the platform launch, we will update the community on the progress of our platform Rythmeet through: 

Twitter: @rythmeet

Github: https://github.com/alanhegron/Rythmeet

Telegram: @AlanHegron

Instagram: @Rythmeet

These accounts exist but are empty. We will load contents and develop them when the platform will be at an advanced stage.

If we share our successes, we will also share our struggles and we believe that being part of the Cardano community is a strength and we would be pleased to receive suggestions about Rythmeet.

We also plan to participate in Town Halls to inform the catalyst community on the progression of the platform and to have feedback from it.

Once the platform is launched, we will continuously inform our members on every news involving Rythmeet through publications on social media.

[AUDITABILITY] What does success for this project look like?

As explained earlier, the Rythmeet platform will contain 2 parts. The first one will offer a versatile platform for all musicians and will bring them onto our platform. The second one is described here in this proposal. Both parts can be developed on their own independently if necessary, and then be fused later. If only this proposal receives its funding, here is what the success will look like:

Success after 6 months: The platform has been launched online, all technical problems have been solved and the website works smoothly. We reach 3,000 users and 15% of them use Cardano currency. People begin to mint and sell their NFTs and we reach $10,000 of sales on our platform. We may also begin to develop in parallel the first part of the platform if we receive funds in the Fund#10 for it. We are develop[ing the marketing using the network of influencers and musicians we already have.

Success after 12 months: We reach 20,000 users and 50% of them are using Cardano currency. More people are selling NFTs and we reach $500,000 of sales on the Rythmeet platform. We could then begin to host advertisements on our platform and become financially auto-sufficient. With money increasing, we will focus more and more on marketing, contacting other influencers, music festivals and advertising on platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for example. We already know people from Shinetech working in marketing and ready to work on this project. Hopefully, by then, we will have launched our platform Rythmeet 2.0 containing both parts of the platform. Also, many unknown artists are getting more popular and financially independent.

If both funds for parts 1 and 2 are accepted within this Fund#9, we will develop both parts at the same time. After 12 months, we should then reach more than 20,000 users in targeting both artists and investors/buyers and probably reach more than $500.000 of sales.

[AUDITABILITY] Please provide information on whether this proposal is a continuation of a previously funded project in Catalyst or an entirely new one.

It is a new project.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Rating

SDG goals:

End poverty in all its forms everywhere

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Reduce inequality within and among countries

SDG subgoals:

By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions

By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance

Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services

By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value

Key Performance Indicator (KPI):

Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age

Proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions

Proportion of population living in households with access to basic services

Average hourly earnings of employees, by sex, age, occupation and persons with disabilities

Unemployment rate, by sex, age and persons with disabilities