# Self-sovereign verification of music credits

> Mycelia developed The Creative Passport as a creator-controlled profile for verifiable data on people, works, contributors, credits, identifiers and business partners. An initial beta of the app was made available during international Change Maker Forums and developed further with music creators. This individual case does not claim automated royalty distribution or widespread production use of blockchain.

**Sector:** Tertiary sector · **Industry:** Film and music industry · **Organisation:** Mycelia, The Creative Passport · **Maturity level:** Pilot

Canonical URL: https://www.sapientblock.com/en/use-cases/mycelia-musik-credits-selbstbestimmt-verifizieren

## Documentation status

- **Project status:** Pilot
- **Evidence:** Evidence medium
- **Editorial review:** pending

## Description

With the Creative Passport, the organisation Mycelia conceived an application intended to restore music creators' sovereignty over their own professional and work data. Many artists face the challenge that credits are recorded incorrectly and revenues cannot be properly allocated due to incomplete identifiers. The initiative relies on tamper-proof registries where creators bundle their verified profiles and contributions, sharing them with publishers and partners in a controlled manner.

As part of the Mycelia initiative, a digital passport was developed that enables artists to manage identity data, catalogues of works, and industry-standard identifiers in a decentralised manner. The solution was mapped into a mobile beta application and practically tested in the context of international workshops and events with musicians and producers. The project aimed to create a reliable dataset directly at the source of creative work in order to eliminate media disruptions in existing accounting systems. However, fully automated royalty distribution via smart contracts or unrestricted commercial production operations were not part of the demonstrated scope of this pilot project. The insights gained highlight in particular the challenges of integrating new identity standards into the traditionally fragmented IT infrastructure of collective management organisations.

## Benefits

- Reduced research overhead for music publishers when matching works
- Faster clearance of copyrights in collaborations
- Increased data integrity through direct verification by creators
- Better discoverability of contributors in digital catalogues of works
- Structured bundling of existing industry identifiers in one place
- Transparent documentation of one's own contributions to music productions
- Increased self-control over shared contact and business data

## Challenges

- Effort required to integrate new identity formats into proprietary legacy systems
- High fragmentation of existing databases and interfaces in the music industry
- Lack of comprehensive acceptance of decentralised standards across all major collective management organisations
- Required additional effort for continuous independent data maintenance

## Technology foundation

Decentralised registry and identity structures for the tamper-proof bundling of metadata, creator proofs, and industry identifiers under the direct sovereignty of creators.

## Sources

- [Inside Imogen Heap's Interactive Creative Passport Project](https://www.grammy.com/news/inside-imogen-heaps-interactive-creative-passport-project-mycelia-world-tour)
- [Mycelia Tour Exhibition Preview](https://beta.kitmonsters.com/blog/imogen-heaps-mycelia-tour-exhibition-preview)
- [Imogen Heap to speak at MyData 2019](https://events.mydata.org/press-release-imogen-heap-to-mydata-2019/)
- [Mycelia: shaping a new landscape for music](https://www.wipo.int/en/web/wipo-magazine/articles/mycelia-shaping-a-new-landscape-for-music-39497)