A smart contract is a digital version of a traditional contract, but instead of being written on paper, it’s coded onto a blockchain. Think of it as a set of rules programmed into a computer. Once certain conditions are met—like all parties agreeing to specific terms—the smart contract automatically enforces those terms. This means it can handle tasks like releasing payments, transferring ownership, or verifying that a project is complete without needing a middleman. The beauty of smart contracts is that they are self-executing and transparent. Once written, they can’t be changed, ensuring that everyone involved sticks to the agreed-upon terms. Blockchain technology, which stores the contract, acts like a digital ledger where everything is recorded, and anyone can check the details, but no one can tamper with them. This makes smart contracts highly secure and trustworthy, especially in industries like finance and now, music. MESA’s smart contract system offers a glimpse into the future of music rights management, where blockchain technology ensures transparency, security, and seamless collaboration for artists and their teams. Whether you’re an independent artist, a manager, or a producer, MESA provides the tools to manage projects efficiently while safeguarding your creative work.

MESA’s contract builder makes it easy for independent artists, managers, and music professionals to create tailored contracts for songwriting and master recordings. Using a simple decision tree, users answer step-by-step questions to generate customized contracts. Once completed, the draft can be sent for signatures via DocuSign, ensuring that collaborators are legally protected with a document that clearly defines ownership and splits.

Why does MESA work for all music professionals? - MESA is built to simplify and secure the music creation and distribution process, empowering all music professionals—from songwriters and producers to managers and labels—with transparent, automated tools. By allowing detailed project notes, comments, and collaboration on multiple iterations, MESA ensures that the creative process is both efficient and secure. Whether you're an independent artist, part of a larger team, or managing multiple projects, MESA provides the transparency and control that every music professional needs in today’s decentralized music landscape.

In September 2024, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that the Internet Archive’s book scanning program infringed copyright law, rejecting its "fair use" defense. The court found that scanning and lending digital copies without permission harmed authors’ ability to earn revenue. This case mirrors challenges in the music industry, where unauthorized digital reproductions and AI-generated content threaten artists’ rights. MESA uses blockchain technology to ensure musicians retain ownership and receive fair compensation, offering a solution to protect creators in the digital age.

The rise of AI-generated music presents both opportunities and challenges for the music industry. At MESA, we believe in the importance of maintaining the integrity of human creativity. Through the use of Web3 attestations and smart contracts, we ensure that the music distributed on our platform is authentic, original, and rightfully attributed to its human creators. As the industry evolves, we will continue to innovate and protect the interests of artists worldwide.

"Continuing Water & Music’s exploration of the legal maze around music and Web3, this article takes a closer look at nascent smart-contract developments around collaborative splits for Web3-native music releases. Informed by interviews with artists and developers, we present an overview of on-chain music splits tools including 0xSplits, Slice, Reveel, and Revelator, comparing their capabilities and limitations to what’s possible with Web2 distribution rails. We also explore projects that are working on processes that bridge Web2 and Web3, i.e. integrating music royalties from the traditional legacy industry into on-chain structures like Stem and Bridg3. We conclude with a spotlight on an underused setup of a multiplayer, consensus-driven wallet that can deploy and control a “split” contract. We were able to deploy a custom artist smart contract via Zora, a split contract, and mint an NFT using a “multisig” wallet (which you can view here), but only after months of research and direct support from platforms to help troubleshoot. The process is unattainable for most, and up until this point, we have been unable to find another example of a music NFT being deployed using such a wallet."

MESA is NOT a marketplace but a platform designed to streamline your collaborative process prior to distribution. You can distribute music from MESA when the song is finished and all administrative tasks, such as ownership contracts, are created. We take your legal contracts and convert them into smart contract format, ensuring that when you distribute to web3 marketplaces, all rights holders are automatically and fairly compensated. By distributing from MESA, you can effortlessly ensure that everyone involved in your project gets paid accurately and promptly.

Trust in MESA comes from our deep industry experience and our commitment to solving real-world problems faced by music creators. With robust security measures and a transparent approach to music rights and royalties, MESA ensures that artists are fairly compensated for their work.

MESA ensures all rights holders are able to get paid out when distributing to blockchain marketplaces by providing the necessary infrastructure to facilitate these distributions and streamline the payment process directly to their wallets.

MESA provides a comprehensive suite of features including file organization, collaboration management, contract creation, and on chain distribution. Future updates will introduce AI legal assistance, further distribution services, and fintech solutions to empower artists in managing their careers efficiently.

MESA facilitates the creation and management of licensing, work- for- hire, and ownership contracts. MESA then integrates these with smart contracts on the blockchain, ensuring transparent and enforceable rights management. This system helps clearly define and instantly distribute ownership rights among all contributors.

Yes, MESA is designed for a diverse range of music professionals, including songwriters, producers, singers, and managers. Whether you are an independent artist or part of a larger team, MESA’s tools are crafted to streamline the administrative and creative processes.