From Prince to Weird Al

Why the Creative World Needs Elacity DRM

In 1993, the artist formally known as Prince famously inscribed ‘Slave’ on his cheek as a protest against is record label, Warner Brothers, for whom he had produced one of the contracted 6 albums (of his latest contract).? His argument was that he was signed to Warner and they, as a result, owned and controlled his name as well as any music released under that name; the artist, ‘Symbol’ was born.

The 1990s were littered with such disputes; for the first time, artists felt empowered to go public about their ‘asymmetric’ relationships with employers.? During the decade, George Michael also (unsuccessfully) tried to liberate himself from Sony, whose terms he described as “professional slavery”.

Prince ended up fulfilling his contract – or ‘his revenge on Warner Brothers’, if you’ve ever listed to the Black Album; but the tide is, at last turning towards the creators; those who make art as opposed to market it?

Last month Elastos announced the launch of Elacity DRM, a digital rights platform that enables creators to promote and monetise their content direct, without passing through any intermediaries; unless they chose to, of course; and then, only on their (ie. the creator’s) terms.?? Elacity's mission is to revolutionize what they call the ‘creative brain drain’; fueled by an economic model which places them at the bottom.

Elacity DRM is all about empowering creators by reinstating their rightful ownership and control over their digital assets. By leveraging blockchain and decentralized technologies, they are ensuring that digital assets are not only secure but also hold their true value in the Web3 era. This is not just about technology; it's about restoring fairness and fueling creativity in the digital realm with a completely new framework.

Unfortunately, Elacity DRM launched a couple of months too late for one creator. Parodist and musician, Weird Al, claims that – despite generating over 80 million steams on Spotify – he actually collected a grand total of . . . . $12. “Enough for a nice sandwich at a restaurant . . ” he remarked.

While I would add, $12 would get you at least two nice sandwiches here in Lisbon, it certainly looks like a type of creative feudalism, from here.?

Web3 provides artists and creators everywhere to tips the scales back in their favour; to enable them to decide whether and on what terms they monetize their creations; and even to whom.? ?This is the promise of the SmartWeb, which for the creator community could mean SmartBusiness. ?

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