There are legitimate reasons to be excited about the potential that blockchain technology has for the music industry in 2018.
But maintaining that enthusiasm this year will also involve strategic eyebrow-raising at some of the hype and shenanigans around the tech both within music and beyond.
Start with this story about The Long Island Iced Tea Corporation. It’s a company that sells iced tea and lemonade, but which tripled its value instantly by changing its name to Long Blockchain Corporation and announcing that it was “shifting its primary corporate focus towards the exploration of and investment in opportunities that leverage the benefits of blockchain technology”.
Don’t worry: it’s hanging on to the whole iced-tea thing as a subsidiary.
Bloomberg has a handy roundup of other companies adopting similar strategies: a furniture-maker quintupling in value after renaming itself I Design Blockchain Technology Inc, as well as juice-maker and cigar companies announcing blockchain pivots.
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Tools: Kaiber
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