Please describe your proposed solution.

We were funded in Fund 8 to build a "Decentralized Music Platform" proof of concept. That project transformed into two separate projects: The Jukebox Music Player dApp, which is the first dApp built atop the DEMU Protocol detailed here. And the underlying protocol that supports the Jukebox dApp, which is the DEMU Protocol.

This proposal will be focused on the DEMU Protocol itself.

Here is our original 2-minute pitch. https://youtu.be/pU3TKl3_pQ8 Our proposal focuses on the development of the DEMU Protocol, a blockchain-based music protocol that streamlines music licensing and royalty distribution. The aim is to create a marketplace for artists, record labels, music-using dApps, and listeners, fostering new forms of music-related commerce.

The crux of our solution is the creation of on-chain and off-chain APIs that developers can seamlessly integrate into their applications. These APIs enable developers to access and contribute to on-chain libraries of licensable music and even propose new licensing use-cases. This opens up opportunities for developers in the music and music adjacent ecosystems, providing tools for creating new music outlets & revenue streams with the challenge of licensing music and paying royalties already solved. The auto-distribution of royalties generated by the Intellectual Property is powered by the Cardano blockchain.

When licenses are created, purchased, or used in downstream applications, the music creators will receive their royalties automatically. This addresses the complex and inefficient process of music licensing and royalty distribution, which has been a significant barrier to growth and innovation in the music industry & for tech companies.

Our solution also aims to attract new music creators, listeners, and ADA holders as well as attract artists and record labels to Cardano. By resolving the problem of music licensing and royalty distribution, we anticipate accelerating the adoption of Cardano.

Our API services will support search for music offered for a desired type of license (e.g., personal listening, performance for metaverse or regular-world spaces, curated in-game music, sampling or remixing), as well as fetching the curated, licensed or selected music for in-app use.

The uniqueness of our solution lies in its ability to simplify music licensing and royalty distribution. This not only enhances efficiency but also promotes transparency and fairness for all parties involved.

The beneficiaries of our solution are artists, record labels, music-using dApps, and listeners. Artists and record labels will benefit from a more efficient and transparent process of music licensing and royalty distribution. Music-using dApps will gain from the ability to easily access and add licensable music to their platforms. Listeners will enjoy a wider range of music and new forms of music-related commerce, as well as a direct relationship with the artists they support.

This solution is crucial to Cardano as it develops real world utility and demonstrates its potential. It also aids in attracting new users to the Cardano ecosystem, thereby promoting the adoption of Cardano. This will result in increased transaction volume, which will contribute to an increase in the value of ADA for all holders.

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

The DEMU Protocol addresses the challenge of simplifying music licensing and royalty distribution by leveraging the capabilities of the Cardano blockchain. This solution will bring numerous benefits to the Cardano ecosystem, including:

1. Providing Developer Tools and Infrastructure: The DEMU Protocol will provide a set of APIs that developers can use to incorporate music licensing and royalty distribution into their applications. This will make it easier for developers to build music-related applications on the Cardano blockchain, thereby attracting more developers to the Cardano ecosystem.
2. Supporting Enterprise Development: The DEMU Protocol will provide a robust and scalable solution for music licensing and royalty distribution, which can be used by enterprise developers to build commercial projects. The protocol's focus on transparency, security, and efficiency aligns with what enterprise developers are looking for in a blockchain platform.
3. Increasing Transaction Volume: By facilitating music licensing and royalty distribution across any blockchain or non-blockchain based applications, the solution will increase the volume of transactions on the Cardano blockchain. This will contribute to the increase in value of ADA for all holders.
4. Strengthening the Cardano Ecosystem: By enabling a wide range of music-related applications to be built on the Cardano blockchain, the DEMU Protocol will contribute to the diversity and resilience of the Cardano ecosystem. This will make Cardano a more attractive platform for developers and users alike.
5. Promoting Open Source Development: The DEMU Protocol will be open source, encouraging more developers to contribute to the Cardano ecosystem and fostering innovation and collaboration.

In terms of impact, the DEMU Protocol will bring a new user base to the Cardano ecosystem, including artists, record labels, music-using dApps, and listeners. It will also drive a significant volume of transactions on the Cardano blockchain, contributing to the utility and value of ADA. Furthermore, by showcasing the capabilities of the Cardano blockchain in solving complex real-world problems, the project will help promote Cardano as a leading platform for blockchain-based solutions.

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

Our project's success will be measured through a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics.

Quantitative Metrics:

Number of Developers Using DEMU APIs: This will be a key indicator of the adoption of our solution within the developer community. We aim to have at least 25 developers using our APIs within the first year.

Number of Artists and Record Labels Onboarded: This will indicate the adoption of our solution within the music industry. Our goal is to onboard at least 1000 artists and record labels in the first year.

Number of Music-Related Applications Connected to DEMU: This will show the diversity and resilience of the Cardano ecosystem. We aim to have at least 10 music-related applications connected to DEMU within the first year.

Transaction Volume: This will indicate the level of activity on the DEMU Protocol and its contribution to the Cardano network. We aim to process at least 10,000 transactions in the first year.

Qualitative Metrics:

User Feedback: We will regularly collect feedback from developers, artists, record labels, and listeners to understand their experience with our solution and identify areas for improvement.

Community Engagement: We will monitor the level of engagement in our community, including participation in discussions, contributions to the open-source DEMU Protocol, and attendance at events.

In the short term, our project will increase the number of users and transactions on the Cardano network, contributing to its growth and vitality. In the long term, by solving a complex real-world problem and showcasing the capabilities of the Cardano blockchain, our project will attract more users and developers to the Cardano ecosystem, promoting its adoption and strengthening its position as a leading platform for blockchain-based solutions.

Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

Our plan to share the outputs and results of our project involves a multi-faceted approach:

1. Open Source Code: As an open-source project, the DEMU Protocol's code will be made publicly available on platforms like GitHub, but this will be a gradual process. As we increase the size of our repository of licensable content from artists and record labels, we will slowly transition to open source. The network effects of a growing repository of licensable content, combined with the multiplying effect to revenue by each application that builds atop DEMU, will secure our project from those who might fork the code for their own purposes. This approach allows developers worldwide to use, contribute to, and learn from our work, while also promoting transparency and trust in our project.
2. Documentation and Developer Guides: We will create documentation and developer guides to help developers understand how to use our APIs and contribute to the DEMU Protocol. This will be made available on our website and other relevant platforms.
3. Community Engagement: We plan to actively engage with the Cardano and broader blockchain community through various channels. This includes participating in forums, hosting webinars and workshops, podcasts & Twitter Spaces, attending conferences, and more. We will share project updates, insights, and learnings through these engagements.
4. Partnerships: We will seek partnerships with music industry stakeholders, tech companies, and other relevant organizations. Through these partnerships, we can share our results and explore opportunities for collaboration.
5. Media and PR: We will leverage media and PR to share our project's results and impact with a broader audience. This includes publishing articles, press releases, and case studies, as well as participating in interviews and podcasts.

As for further research and development activities, the results generated from the project will inform our future work. We will use the insights gained to improve the DEMU Protocol, develop new features, and explore new use cases. We also anticipate that the results will inspire other developers and researchers in the Cardano ecosystem and beyond to build upon our work and contribute to the evolution of blockchain-based music licensing and royalty distribution.

What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

Our team at DEMU Protocol is uniquely positioned to deliver this project with high levels of trust and accountability. We have:

1. Industry Experience: Our founder has extensive experience in the music industry, both as a touring artist and in the music business. He has worked for worldwide Hip Hop superstar Kanye West's Yeezy Season and has connections with Def Jam Records. This deep understanding of the industry is crucial for designing, implementing, and gaining adoption for a solution that meets the needs of artists and other music-related entities.
2. Technical Expertise: The team includes experts in blockchain technology and smart contracts, which are key components of the DEMU Protocol. The DEMU team's CFO is ex-IOG, joining us full-time after discovering the project while working on its Tokenomics under IOG's Professional Services Group. This technical expertise ensures that the team can effectively leverage the capabilities of the Cardano blockchain to deliver a robust and secure solution.
3. Previous Funding and Successful Delivery: We were funded in Fund 8 to build a "Decentralized Music Platform" PoC. We successfully delivered on our promises, and that project has since evolved into two separate projects: The Jukebox Music Player dApp and the DEMU Protocol being proposed here. This demonstrates our ability to manage funds properly and deliver on our commitments.
4. Strong Community Engagement: We have a strong presence in the Cardano community and have been actively engaging with community members through various channels. We believe in transparency and regularly share updates about our progress.
5. Partnerships and Collaborations: We have established partnerships with key stakeholders in the music industry and the blockchain space. This includes WorldMobile, FutureFest, SoundRig, Museverse, & Viper Records. These partnerships validate our work and provide us with valuable resources and support.
6. Open Source Commitment: We are committed to making the DEMU Protocol open source. We believe in the power of open source to drive innovation and trust. As our repository of licensable content grows, we will gradually move towards open source, securing our project from those who might fork the code for their own purposes.
7. Proven Track Record: Our team has a proven track record of delivering successful projects. For example, our founder has successfully launched and managed several music-related businesses. This experience gives us the knowledge and skills needed to manage funds properly and deliver a successful project.

Our unique combination of industry experience, technical expertise, previous successful delivery, strong community engagement, partnerships and collaborations, open source commitment, and proven track record make us well-suited to deliver this project with high levels of trust and accountability.

What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

The main goals for the DEMU Protocol project are:

1. Develop the DEMU Protocol: This includes creating on-chain and off-chain APIs that developers can easily incorporate into their applications. These APIs will allow developers to access and add to on-chain libraries of licensable music, and even offer new licensing use-cases.
2. Attract Artists and Record Labels to the Cardano Ecosystem: By simplifying the process of music licensing and royalty distribution, we aim to attract artists and record labels to the Cardano ecosystem. Our goal is to onboard thousands of artists and record labels in the first year alone.
3. Increase Transaction Volume on the Cardano Blockchain: By facilitating music licensing and royalty distribution across any blockchain or non-blockchain based applications, our solution aims to increase the volume of transactions on the Cardano blockchain.
4. Promote Open Source Development: We are committed to making the DEMU Protocol open source. Our goal is to encourage more developers to contribute to the Cardano ecosystem, fostering innovation and collaboration.

In terms of feasibility, we aim to validate the following:

1. Developers and end-user applications can use APIs to issue music licenses of available kinds.
2. Applications can access and play licensed music in ways consistent with the license.
3. Applications can allow artists, creators, and record labels to create new music within the protocol.
4. The protocol involves real people verifying artists, record labels, and KYC, with incentive mechanisms to guard against pharming.
5. Node operators can contribute resources to ensure sufficient network capacity, with efficient resource usage and incentive-based alignment for fair behavior, and receive fair compensation for their contribution.

Our project is technical and software development in nature. We intend to implement our approach by leveraging our team's technical expertise in blockchain technology and smart contracts, as well as our industry experience in the music industry. We will also leverage our partnerships with key stakeholders in the music industry and the blockchain space to ensure the successful implementation of our solution.

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.

Milestone 1: Design of on-chain and off-chain APIs (1 month)

• Key Activities: Refine API requirements; develop music-license database and replication protocol so nodes can stay sync'd; develop first 3 licensing use-cases with partners
• Outcomes: Working data replication, licensing requirements with first partners
• Success Criteria: Completion of API design and successful testing of data replication
• Projected Cost: $45k

Milestone 2: APIs and tokenomic mechanisms (2 months)

• Key Activities: Create the tier-1 API endpoints and put them into Beta testing with early partners; Alpha testing token-based mechanisms for incentive alignment; design and implement v1 content-protection protocols
• Outcomes: Development partners can start using APIs for their most important use-cases; risk mitigated for tokenized incentive mechanisms and content protection
• Success Criteria: Successful beta testing of APIs and tokenomic mechanisms
• Projected Cost: $45k

Milestone 3: Complete API support for partners, and verification workflows (2 months)

• Activities: Complete development of APIs to round out partner and general developer needs; create protocol-level workflows for artist- and content-onboarding, and UI software for participants to engage with those workflows
• Outcomes: API's feature-complete; able to onboard artists
• Success Criteria: Completion of all API development and successful onboarding of artists
• Projected Cost: $45k

Milestone 4: Node-operations protocol development (contingent) (2 months)

• Activities: Develop protocol details to ensure capacity and content redundancy and contribution accounting; implement content-protection and tokenomic mechanisms for behavioral alignment with trustless actors
• Outcomes: Ability to allocate content requests to specific network nodes, verify they served the content, and credit them for serving end-users. Ability to fall back and fetch content from alternate network nodes.
• Success Criteria: Successful implementation and testing of node-operations protocol
• Projected Cost: $30k

The project will be implemented using agile methodologies, with regular check-ins and updates to ensure that we are on track to meet our goals. We will also engage with the Cardano community regularly to share our progress and gather feedback. This approach will allow us to adapt and adjust as necessary, ensuring the successful delivery of the project.

Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

Milestone 1: Design of on-chain and off-chain APIs

Deliverables: Draft information schema, working data replication, licensing requirements with first partners

Intended Outcomes: Completion of API design and successful testing of data replication

Measurement: We will track the completion of the API design and the successful testing of data replication.

Milestone 2: APIs and tokenomic mechanisms

Deliverables: Tier-1 API endpoints in Beta testing, Alpha testing token-based mechanisms for incentive alignment, v1 content-protection protocols

Intended Outcomes: Development partners can start using APIs for their most important use-cases; risk mitigated for tokenized incentive mechanisms and content protection

Measurement: We will track the number of developers who are using our APIs in their applications and the successful testing of tokenomic mechanisms.

Milestone 3: Complete API support for partners, and verification workflows

Deliverables: Completion of all API development, protocol-level workflows for artist- and content-onboarding, UI software for participants to engage with those workflows

Intended Outcomes: API's feature-complete; able to onboard artists

Measurement: We will monitor the number of artists and record labels that have been onboarded to the Cardano ecosystem through our solution.

Milestone 4: Node-operations protocol development (contingent)

Deliverables: Protocol details to ensure capacity and content redundancy and contribution accounting, content-protection and tokenomic mechanisms for behavioral alignment with trustless actors

Intended Outcomes: Ability to allocate content requests to specific network nodes, verify they served the content, and credit them for serving end-users. Ability to fall back and fetch content from alternate network nodes.

Measurement: We will monitor the number of network nodes serving content and the volume of transactions on the Cardano blockchain related to music licensing and royalty distribution.

We will measure the progress of our project by tracking these deliverables and outcomes. We will also provide regular updates and Proof of Achievement for each milestone to demonstrate our progress and accountability.

Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Here is a breakdown for the budget of this project:

Milestone 1: Design of on-chain and off-chain APIs (1 month)

• API Design and Development: $20,000
• Music-License Database and Replication Protocol Development: $15,000
• Licensing Use-Cases Development: $15,000
• Total: $50,000

Milestone 2: APIs and tokenomic mechanisms (2 months)

• Tier-1 API Endpoints Development and Beta Testing: $20,000
• Token-Based Mechanisms Development and Alpha Testing: $20,000
• Content-Protection Protocols Design and Implementation: $20,000
• Total: $60,000

Milestone 3: Complete API support for partners, and verification workflows (2 months)

• API Development: $10,000
• Protocol-Level Workflows Development: $20,000
• UI Software Development: $20,000
• Total: $50,000

Milestone 4: Node-operations protocol development (contingent) (2 months)

• Protocol Details Development: $15,000
• Content-Protection and Tokenomic Mechanisms Implementation: $15,000
• Total: $30,000

The total projected cost for the project is $190,000. This budget includes the cost of software development, testing, and implementation.

The budget also includes a contingency fund to help cover any unforeseen costs or challenges that may arise during the project.

We will manage the funds provided responsibly and transparently, with regular updates to the community about our progress and expenditure. We are committed to delivering value for money and ensuring funds spent effectively to deliver a robust and impactful solution for the Cardano ecosystem.

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

The project team for the DEMU Protocol consists of the following members:

1. Piotr Napierała: Piotr is a full-stack developer with a current focus in smart contract development on Cardano. He is leading the development of the on-chain and off-chain APIs.
2. Randall Harmon: Randall is our CTO and has 30-years experience with distributed systems, cryptography & blockchain technology. He will lead the development of the tokenomic mechanisms and the node-operations protocol.
3. Nick Avatar: Nick is a talented & hungry developer with many projects built on Cardano already under his belt. He will contribute to the development of the verification workflows.
4. Wheels, Viviek Patel, Keith Kirk, Lucas Macchiavelli, Mecca Rashawn, Session Cruz: This team will be responsible for artist onboarding. They bring a mix of skills including sales, marketing, and artist relations.
5. Armita Jalooli: Armita is our Chief Financial Officer (CFO), handling administrative, finance & accounting, tokenomics and fundraising duties.
6. Scott Kaufman: Scott is our legal counsel, providing legal guidance and support for the project. He will be responsible for handling team contracts, artist attestation, Terms of Service, etc.
7. Daikon Designs: We will utilize this premier UI/UX design house with years of experience.
8. Outsourced Development Companies: To keep our in-house team focused on the more complex problems we have to solve, we'll deploy teams from two different development companies. Reactive Space has already been instrumental with website development, and UI "spring cleaning" of our Music Player. The team at Sens' reputation is strong, and will fill in when extra development capacity is needed.

We have already engaged all the team members and they are committed to the project. We have also established communication channels with all the team members to ensure smooth coordination and execution of the project. We understand the requirements and have engaged the necessary people before submitting this proposal. We are committed to delivering a successful project and will manage the resources effectively to achieve our goals.

How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

Creating capabilities for Cardano to serve general-interest audiences (music listeners) will create value through increased awareness and attention. Serving artists and record-labels through an open protocol will create incentives for those music-ecosystem contributors to turn the flywheel of promotion. Our team will be supported financially to continue serving the Cardano ecosystem by sustaining them with below-market compensation.

The cost of the project represents value for money for the Cardano ecosystem in several ways:

1. High-Quality Solution: The budget allows us to develop a high-quality solution that leverages the capabilities of the Cardano blockchain to solve a real-world problem in the music industry. This will attract artists, record labels, and music-using dApps to the Cardano ecosystem, increasing the number of ADA holders and users of Cardano-based applications.
2. Expert Team: The budget enables us to assemble a team of experts in blockchain technology, smart contracts, and the music industry. This ensures that the solution is robust, secure, and meets the needs of artists and other music-related entities.
3. Open Source Development: By making the DEMU Protocol open source, we are fostering innovation and collaboration in the Cardano ecosystem. This will encourage more developers to contribute to the Cardano ecosystem, multiplying the earning potential of the underlying growing repository of licensable IP, resulting in increased transaction volume on the Cardano blockchain.
4. Long-Term Impact: The budget is an investment in the long-term growth and strength of the Cardano ecosystem. By facilitating music licensing and royalty distribution across any blockchain or non-blockchain based applications, our solution will increase the volume of transactions on the Cardano blockchain. This will contribute to the increase in value of ADA for all holders.

In conclusion, while the costs associated with the project are significant, they are justified by the high-quality solution we are developing, the expertise of our team, our commitment to open source development, and the long-term impact of our solution on the Cardano ecosystem.