Decentralised Music: Exploring Blockchain for Artistic Research

Researchers of the MetamusicX research cluster at Orpheus Institute Paulo de Assis and Adam Łukawski co-edited a new book for CRC Press / Taylor & Francis titled “Decentralised Music: Exploring Blockchain for Artistic Research”. The book will premiere on the 14th of August 2024.

The book includes contributions from leading researchers in music, arts, and technology offering a thorough examination of the potential of blockchain technology to transform musical practices. Moving beyond blockchain’s financial applications, it presents various perspectives on how this technology plays an important role in a creative, conceptual, and philosophical rethinking of the current modes of artistic creation.

It is an essential reading for artists, musicians, researchers, and policymakers curious to know more about the implications of blockchain for the future of music. More than an academic exploration, it is a call to the artistic community to critically engage with blockchain technology and its consequences for the creative practice of music.

The original idea for this publication originated in a 2-day webinar “Music NFTs: blockchain technologies for artistic research in music” (https://orpheusinstituut.be/en/news-and-events/call-for-presentations-music-nfts) held on 24-25 May 2022 at Orpheus Institute, which many of the contributing book authors participated in as either speakers or participants.

The book includes contributions from Orpheus Institute’s MetamusicX research cluster members (Paulo de Assis, Adam Łukawski, and Martin Zeilinger) and other authors: Marcus O’Dair (University of the Arts London), Claudio J. Tessone (University of Zurich), Diane Drubay (WeAreMuseums), Catherine Mulligan (University of Lisbon), Kristof Timmerman (Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp), Einar Torfi Einarsson (Iceland University of the Arts), and Kosmas Giannoutakis (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute).