http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6655915/how-the-blockchain-could-actually-change-the-music-industryPeerTracks hopes to garner marketing dollars -- it aims to stay ad-free for users -- through "artist tokens," a concept comparable to baseball cards. Consider it A&R, gamified. Every artist on PeerTracks can create their own token, bearing their face and name. The artist sets the amount of available tokens. "Since it is limited edition," Cobban explains, "once you create your tokens, you can't create more." The idea is to create a type of sub-cryptocurrency, the valuation of which directly reflects the appeal of an artist.
Just like the real world, the valuation of PeerTracks tokens is determined by supply and demand. Tastemakers can buy tokens of unknown artists while they are cheap, speculating on that creator's future potential. "Boom! Your incentives have been magically aligned with that of the artist," Cobban explains. "You now want that artist discovered, you want him to sell music. You want him to be streamed and sell merchandise, because your tokens can go up in value as that artist becomes more successful."