True Peer-to-Peer Sharing
Ara has announced the launch of a new decentralized content platform designed to allow users to distribute their content directly to their target audience.
The new platform aims to overcome the high transaction fees and revenue splits that are a difficulty for many content creators. Ara allows content creators to publish their content without the royalty fees required by intermediaries. Content creators also can maintain permanent ownership of their data. Also, Ara will offer a decentralized, universal wallet that allows content creators to accept payments via any application without having to go through a bank.
Ara intends to ensure content creators receive more compensation for their work while giving consumers more flexibility. A decentralized content delivery network will allow consumers to become content delivery nodes for larger companies and smaller, independent creators alike. This kind of content delivery network works by letting users register their computers as part of a decentralized network used for transfer and storage, reducing content delivery and storage costs across the board.
This means that new possibilities between the media sector and peer-to-peer torrent technology can be explored, taking advantage of the platform in a way that benefits both consumers and creators. Content creators will be able to self-publish their work, as well as monitor and maintain ownership, while simultaneously reducing their publishing costs.
Blockchain Allows Creators to Own Their Data
The Ara protocol, which is the blockchain element of the new platform, rewards consumers for seeding content and participating in the platform. The protocol uses Ethereum, allowing transactions to be stored in the ledger by way of smart contracts and providing tracking and proof of ownership. The rewards layer lives on the protocol tier, giving users Ara tokens as a reward whenever they host or send files. The smart contract layer enables content creators to possess a decentralized content license, maintaining permanent ownership over their data.
In the future, the company is looking to move away from Ethereum by building and operating on its own blockchain. Speaking to BlockTelegraph, Tony Mugavero, Ara’s CEO, said “Ultimately we are building our own blockchain that is geared toward solving media-specific problems and building our own ‘on-ramp’ and ‘off-ramp’ using our currency. People would be able to come to us with their bank account information and buy tokens directly from us. Then, the artists who are getting paid who need to liquidate in cash would be able to do that as well.”
There are some features on the new Ara platform for both content consumers and publishers. Consumers will be able to buy and sell content using the blockchain. File supply and consumer demand could be drivers of pricing. Revenue is split automatically between all owners of the rights to data whenever their content is purchased. Using smart contracts, owners can dispense with the need for accounting or pay departments, receiving their compensation instantly. Speaking with BlockTelegraph, Vanessa Kincaid, Ara’s Chief Brand Officer, compared this capability to Airbnb, “The consumer analogy for the distributed file delivery starts to look like Airbnb for computers. We’re all sitting with these machines, like my laptop at home right now, not doing anything for ten hours while I’m away. So basically, I can rent out my bandwidth and computing power and get paid in rewards.”
The Ara platform will also offer bulk order discounts. Publishers can decide how many resells to allow a consumer for each piece of content or individual licenses, as well as set a minimum resell price and maintain the ability to create digital scarcity by determining how many copies will be available. Ara says these factors give publishers immense input in how their data is distributed, as well as offering consumers flexibility in how they use or pass along that data. The platform also gives publishers the right to transfer ownership of any data.
Kincaid added, “The consumer experience for purchasing and consuming media shouldn’t change that much. You should be able to use the system and not think about cryptocurrency or blockchain if you don’t want to. That all happens on the backend.” Ara is focused on creating a platform that is as easy and intuitive to use as other content delivery systems like iTunes or Steam. In the end, they are looking to make purchasing content using blockchain and cryptocurrency as easy as purchasing a flight using airline miles.
