The ongoing battle between the music industry and artificial intelligence (AI) continues as Spotify removes AI-generated music. According to a report by the Financial Times (FT), the music streaming platform has removed 7% of songs created by the AI music startup Boomy, amounting to “tens of thousands” of songs. Spotify is also said to be increasing its policing of the platform in response to the situation.
This action by Spotify comes after the platform and other streaming services received complaints of fraud and clutter on the platform. The music industry giant Universal Music Group (UMG) alerted streaming service providers of “suspicious streaming activity” on Boomy tracks, according to FT sources. UMG’s alert led to the removal of the Boomy songs due to the suspected “artificial streaming” of bots posing as listeners, said Spotify. The company also commented, “Artificial streaming is a longstanding, industry-wide issue that Spotify is working to stamp out across our service.”
Representatives from Boomy said the platform is “categorically against” all manipulation or artificial streaming of any kind. However, Lucian Grainge, CEO at Universal Music Group, commented to investors that “The recent explosive development in generative AI will, if left unchecked, both increase the flood of unwanted content on platforms and create rights issues with respect to existing copyright law.”
Last month, UMG emailed streaming services, including Spotify, to block AI services from accessing music catalogs for training purposes. UMG has also sent requests “left and right” to remove AI-generated songs from platforms.
While music industry giants are fighting to control AI-generated content, some artists like Grimes are championing its use. The musician permitted creators to use her voice and be a “guinea pig” for AI music creation, as long as a small set of rules were followed and royalties were split.
In conclusion, the issue of AI-generated music and fraudulent streaming activities is a long-standing problem in the music industry. As the technology continues to develop, it is likely that music industry giants and streaming services will increase their policing of the platform. However, some artists are embracing AI as a new way to create music, and it will be interesting to see how the industry adapts to this new technology in the coming years.
The music streaming giant Spotify is increasing its focus on Web3 by conducting trials of token-enabled playlists in a number of important locations.
On February 22nd, Overlord, a Web3 game platform, made the announcement that it will be partnering with Spotify. People who have Creepz nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on Spotify may now access the token-enabled community-curated playlist from Overlord by using their Web3 wallets. This feature was previously only available on Spotify. The playlists can only be unlocked by those who use Android and come from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, or New Zealand.
In addition, members of the Fluf, Moonbirds, and Kingship metaverse communities are taking part in the trial project for a period of three months. Although Fluf and Moonbirds have not disclosed any information on their partnership with the streaming service to the public, Kingship has stated on Twitter that it will be participating in a pilot. Users need to have a Kingship Key Card NFT in order to open the tracklist, which include popular songs from artists such as Queen, Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg, and Led Zeppelin.
The news caused a significant increase in the number of Web3 music tokens. For instance, the value of Viberate’s (VIB) native token increased by 33 percent. The value of other tokens, such Audius (AUDIO) and Rhythm (RHYTHM), increased by 4% and 2.5%, respectively.
In May 2022, Spotify started conducting experiments using NFT galleries on the profiles of artists. The users were able to see the artists’ NFTs and then be routed to the OpenSea website where they could buy the things, despite the fact that there was no possibility for direct purchase on this platform.
One of the most rapidly developing industries for cryptocurrency use is still the music industry. A collaboration between the value-for-value podcasting platform Fountain and Zebedee was announced in the end of January. This cooperation would allow Bitcoin (BTC) micropayments for podcast listeners. The royalties rights to Rhianna’s popular song from 2015, “Bitch Better Have My Money,” were included in a collection of 300 non-functional tokens that were put up for sale in February.
Spotify announced on Monday that it is testing a new feature that will allow artists to promote their non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on their profiles.
The Swedish audio streaming and media services provider said that the new option is only available for a “very small group of artists.” The firm stated that the test is currently available to a select group of Android users across the US.
Users who are part of the test will be able to preview NFTs via an artist’s profile page. They will then be able to tap through to view and learn more about specific NFTs and choose to buy them from external marketplaces.
Spotify mentioned that it is not applying any fees for NFT sales as part of the test. The company clarified that it is just testing a way to allow artists who are selling NFTs to promote them on its service. According to Spotify, the data will assist in deciding whether to launch a full feature for all artists.
Spotify said that it is conducting the test in response to requests from its industry partners. The company further mentioned that the test is part of its continued commitments to enable artists to deepen their connections with fans both on and off its platform.
In a statement, a Spotify spokesperson said: “Spotify is running a test in which it will help a small group of artists promote their existing third-party NFT offerings via their artist profiles. We routinely conduct a number of tests in an effort to improve artist and fan experiences. Some of those tests end up paving the way for a broader experience and others serve only as an important learning.”
Blockchain in the Music Industry
In March this year, Spotify announced plans to add blockchain technology and NFTs to its streaming service. The music streaming giant posted two job adverts that showed its intent to hire people to work on the early stages for Web3 projects.
With the new venture, Spotify is assessing how it could develop its cryptocurrency or NFTs to regulate how record labels and artists get paid for their albums and songs.
The proposed system is leveraging blockchain technology to create a shared ledger of rights and royalties between music labels, musicians, and other players in the music industry.
Streaming services play an important role in human lives. As far as music is concerned, Apple Music, YouTube, and Spotify have become inseparable from the music industry. Blockchain-based platforms and NFTs have become a vital aspect that leverages the way such services (Spotify, YouTube, and others) stream songs to benefit artists on their platforms.
NFTs can represent anything of value, ranging from a piece of art to a song and beyond. Their non-fungible nature means that every token is different, therefore allowing ownership rights to be preserved on the blockchain.
By using blockchain technology and NFTs, Spotify can further enhance its streaming services to help both users and artists get more out of them.
Spotify, a Swedish audio streaming and media services provider, appears to plan to add blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to its streaming service.
The firm recently posted two job openings that indicated that the streaming company is exploring the possibility with Web3.
Spotify is currently seeking to recruit people to work in the early stages for “Web3” projects. According to the ad statement by the company: “The hiring of Spotify in the sector seems to be in the first phase of exploration. A vacancy asks for an engineer for its experimental growth team. The full-stack small team that will be responsible for driving growth through new technologies, such as Web3.”
Spotify also has another job offer that looks for a manager in the Innovation and Market Intelligence group. The job posting said: “The streaming company is looking for a candidate with experience in the content, creator, media, Web3, and emerging technology industries” to assist Spotify in defining Moonshots, a term for ambitious new projects.
Spotify is the latest giant in the tech space seeking to make NFT a part of its streaming service to enhance better offerings, increase artist earnings, and make a step ahead in the competition in the crypto space.
However, the company has not commented on the latest developments.
Optimizing Streaming Capabilities
The move signals that Spotify’s interest in blockchain technology is significantly rising. Three and a half years ago, the firm first expressed its interest in that area by acquiring a startup called Mediachain Labs. Spotify acquired the Brooklyn-based blockchain startup Mediachain Labs, whose team joined the company’s office in New York to work on developing better technology for connecting artists and other rights holders with the tracks hosted on Spotify’s service.
Before the acquisition, Spotify had developed several technologies that could assist in such efforts, including a decentralized, peer-to-peer (P2P) database to connect applications with media and its information, including an attribution engine for creators, and a cryptocurrency that rewards creators for their work.
A few years ago, Spotify invested $10 million in Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency and becameone of the founding members of the Libra cryptocurrency initiative.
Every global digital subscription service (such as music or other things) is carefully watching the cryptocurrency and digital payments space. Spotify is hiring people to help it figure out what to do with such emerging technologies.
The Metaverse is quickly becoming one of the biggest trends of 2022. Recent data found that the metaverse sector currently has a market capitalization of over $26 billion. While impressive, new capabilities are also being added to virtual worlds to create more immersive experiences.
For example, metaverse communities that cater to creatives are starting to unfold, allowing users to customize their own interactive experiences. Although this is still an emerging concept, the incorporation of music appears to be one of the defining characteristics of social metaverse environments.
Music as NFTs
For instance, music in the form of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) is starting to be used in a number of virtual ecosystems to offer social experiences for both artists and fans.
To put this in perspective, Fluf World — a metaverse community consisting primarily of 3D-avatar rabbits — relies heavily on music to create user experiences. Brooke Howard-Smith, co-founder of Fluf World, told Cointelegraph that its metaverse was launched in August 2021 as a platform for creators, artists and musicians to connect using NFTs. Howard-Smith explained that there is a “scenes and sounds” feature that enables community members to combine different soundtracks and backgrounds with their avatar NFTs:
“Users can add a background behind their avatar that serves as a different location, many of which we are building in our part of the Metaverse. A user’s 3D-animated rabbit can also move to different music soundtracks that a user chooses to incorporate.”
Although the concept may sound complex, Fluf World uses a variety of multimedia NFTs to allow users to customize their Metaverse experiences. “This week Fluf World is launching phase 1 of their ‘Burrows,’ a metaverse space within Fluf World where soon, avatars will be able to walk around and hear other Avatar’s music when their ‘proximity feature’ is turned on. You can also see a visual representation of their music called a Nimbus floating near their avatar when you approach them,” Howard-Smith explained.
Fluf World 3D avatar rabbit. Source: Fluf World
At the same time, a number of benefits for artists and fans also emerge from this model. For example, “Gino The Ghost” — a grammy award-winning producer and multiplatform songwriter — told Cointelegraph that he is a metaverse music executive for Fluf World. Gino said that he was initially drawn to the project through its incorporation of music, explaining that audio NFTs offer musicians a new way to package music as a crypto asset. He added that sound clips living on a blockchain network solve a number of problems for musicians:
“The sobering reality is that music labels are making more money today than ever before through streaming platforms but producers and songwriters are making considerably less. For instance, 100 million streams only generate $7,000 dollars if you own about 30% of a label and most individuals earn much less. Royalties are also paid slowly and you need to audit publishers to see if income is accurate.”
With these challenges in mind, Gino said that music NFTs enable artists to generate instant income that is controlled directly by an artist without any intermediaries. In regard to fans, Gino said that those who own music NFTs are not only investing in their favorite artists but are also capable of using those soundtracks to create their own remixes. “Creatives can consume music and do different things with the soundtracks,” he said. In turn, users are also able to sell their unique music NFTs to generate revenue.
It’s also interesting to point out that music NFTs can come in the form of digital wearables. For example, wearable music NFTs were recently launched on The Dematerialised, an experimental marketplace for digital fashion. The collection known as “Defend the Metaverse” was created by Teflon Sega, a singer and producer who claims to have been born in the Metaverse. The different NFTs that are available come in the form of t-shirts, sunglasses and shoulder plates and feature a 15-second sound clip from Teflon Sega’s music video, “Unreal Engine.”
Teflon Saga shoulder plate. Source: The Dematerialised
Sega told Cointelegraph that he believes that the relationship between music and fashion has always been very close. “The two intertwined creative cultures have often played off of each other in music videos, which is why it felt so natural to release the outfits and props from my own music videos into the world as wearable NFT’s,” he remarked. Sega added that this year, he thinks people will be introduced to new features that allow for self-expression within metaverse environments. “Whether it be music, fashion, entertainment or storytelling, all forms will have no limitation aside from one’s own creative boundaries.”
In addition to music NFTs, decentralized audio files are also being used to personalize metaverse environments. For example, Audius is a music streaming service built on the Solana blockchain that is partnering with different metaverse platforms.
Roneil Rumburg, CEO and co-founder of Audius, told Cointelegraph that anyone is able to pull content from the Audius platform due to its decentralized nature. “Fans and developers are running this ecosystem for the benefit of everyone. Therefore, anyone can build using our platform,” he said.
According to Rumburg, Audius music files were initially applied in gaming metaverses but recently, the platform has partnered with the real estate NFT project “Ethereum Towers” and Solana-powered “Portals Metaverse” to provide streaming music. “Portals Metaverse allows users to play their own choice of music within their room inside the Metaverse through the Audius API. The community has even built an Audius lounge for concerts,” explained Rumburg.
Rumburg further noted that while Audius provides a catalog of decentralized audio files combined with metadata, some developers have built wrapped NFTs around Audius files. “We are just a decentralized repository of content without rights, so third-party developers can pull from the platform’s catalog without any issues.” As such, Rumburg explained that the main benefit of Audius in the context of the Metaverse is that developers can freely pull content without being sued by third parties.
Although the concept is relatively new, industry experts believe that music for metaverse environments will continue to gain traction. Sebastien Borget, chief operations officer and co-founder of the Sandbox — a popular gaming metaverse ecosystem — told Cointelegraph that he believes music will be used more often. “It’s defining a new format of entertainment beyond music clips. It’s more social and immersive,” he said. Sticking to this trend, the Sandbox recently announced a partnership with Warner Music Group to create a musical theme park and concert venue within the platform.
Famous musicians are also becoming more involved with NFTs. American singer and songwriter John Legend recently announced his involvement in launching an NFT music platform that will allow artists to tokenize and sell their work. In addition, American rapper and songwriter Snoop Dog recently announced that he is a Fluf World holder by
As popular music streaming services like Spotify cut much of musicians’ revenues, new technologies like nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are likely to help artists grab back their fair share, Saxo Bank predicted.
According to one of Saxo Bank’s Outrageous Predictions 2022: Revolution, music creators would benefit from NFT-based streaming platforms as they allow distributing music directly to listeners without centralized middlemen charging a fee.
Saxo Bank’s cryptocurrency analyst Mads Eberhardt argued that mainstream music streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music take a substantial cut, which together with the cut paid to labels is some 75% or more of the total revenue.
“These models don’t guide individual subscribers’ fees to the actual music an individual subscriber listens to,” Eberhardt stated, adding:
“The use case for NFTs could prove particularly compelling in the next step for the technology for content generators in the music industry as musicians feel unfairly treated by the revenue sharing models of the current streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.”
The analyst noted that NFT-based music streaming projects are likely to start kicking off in 2022, including initiatives like Audius, a blockchain music platform backed by Katy Perry, The Chainsmokers and Jason Derulo. Based on blockchain, the Audius platform is a decentralized music-sharing and streaming protocol designed to cut out the middleman from the music industry and allow fans and creators to interact with each other directly.
In contrast, the future of traditional streaming platforms like Spotify is “bleak,” according to Saxo Bank. The company predicted that Spotify shares would tumble 33% in 2022. SPOT has already been dropping in 2021: starting the year around $300, Spotify shares dropped to as low as $204 in August, according to data from TradingView. At the time of writing, SPOT is trading at $229.
In the meantime, Spotify’s revenues have been steadily growing over time, reflecting much potential for NFT-based music platforms to disrupt. According to Spotify’s official 2020 financial results, the company generated 7.85 billion euro ($9.5 billion) revenue last year, a 16% increase from 2019. Spotify’s financials continued growing in 2021, with the total amount of monthly active users surging 19% year-on-year to 381 million in Q3 2021.
Source: Business of Apps
Related:NFT music marketplace Royal raises $55M in Series A round
As previously reported, Spotify has been paying attention to the cryptocurrency industry, looking for talent with a crypto background in late 2020. The firm is also well aware of the rise of NFTs as it mentioned NFTs in its Spotify Wrapped 2021 compiled for users on Dec. 1, 2021.
I will say I was not expecting to see an NFT reference in my Spotify Wrapped today but here we are pic.twitter.com/KnpwrR90Y4
— Meghan Bobrowsky (@MeghanBobrowsky) December 1, 2021
Spotify did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
Blockchain is rapidly becoming the innovative force industry insiders have been promising for years. The number of projects and artists offering their works using it as a core technology may be shifting the current economic model under which most musicians operate.
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, allow independent artists to earn income and engage with their fan base without always relying on a label or streaming service like Spotify. In March, 3LAU, an electronic dance music producer, sold more than $11 million worth of tokens redeemable for real-world goods — including music — in addition to a $3 million token holder who bid for the right to collaborate with the artist. Paul Oakenfold, another well-known EDM DJ, announced in September he would be launching a tokenized album on the Cardano blockchain.
Many venues around the world are still unable to hold live concerts due to restrictions broughton by the pandemic, and some streaming services do not offer a sustainable income for artists. Rather than shirking COVID-19 guidelines, some performers and organizers have turned to blockchain technology in the form of metaverses and NFTs for alternative solutions. In August, Epic Games’ Fortnite hosted a virtual concert with singer Ariana Grande and others.
One project claims to be revolutionizing the music space, offering music fans creative access to top artists, while wetting the palette of blockchain newbies and veterans through the merging of blockchain technology with mainstream entertainment. Animal Concerts’ fans can go to live or virtual concerts, while also retaining some control of their own content with the platform’s utility tokens. NFTs also play a large role, used for virtual venue tickets, future live events, avatars for fans, and souvenirs for certain performances.
“We are at the apex of several emerging technologies, streaming, VR, metaverses and NFTs and well positioned to capitalize on this as the only one bringing it all together in one place,” said Animal Concerts CEO Colin Fitzpatrick. “For musicians this is the first new major revenue stream in a decade, and an exciting and innovative way to interact with their fans. We’re democratising concerts and bringing the power directly back to the artists themselves.”
Related:NFTs are a game changer for independent artists and musicians
Animal Concerts says its business model is focused on bringing in 100 million crypto users into the space in the next 12 months, offering a seemingly closer connection with performing artists than in-person venues have been able to provide for the non-VIPs. According to the project, there may be no limit to the number of people able to engage with musical artists by combining the best features of streaming, concerts, metaverses, NFTs, and crypto. Animal Concerts is already selling an exclusive collection of NFT tickets that incorporate a live concert and meet-and-greet with Grammy award-winning rapper Future in Miami on October 30. Other perks include roundtrip flight, beachfront hotel, bottle service, and access to the Maxim Model Lounge.
Whether blockchain technology will help revitalize the music industry as the epidemic continues to take a toll on many countries around the world remains to be seen. However, expanding consumer engagement to the virtual and offering a way to democratise the concert industry may revolutionize the space. If the more than one million people who watched Ariana Grande perform virtually in Fortnite in August is any indication, along with the $20 million she nabbed for the gig, companies like Animal Concerts may be saying “Thank U, next” to the mainstream concert industry.
The Bank of England has named the representatives from companies such as Spotify, PayPal, and Asos, Visa, and Amazon among stakeholders participating in two advisory groups that are examining a possible UK’s CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency).
On Wednesday, September 29, the Bank of England announced the members of the technology and engagement forums.
The technology forum will assist the Bank of England (BoE) in understanding the technical challenges of designing, operating, and implementing a CBDC.
Among the 26 members of the technology, the forum is James Whittle, director of standards and architecture for payments giant PayPal; Mark Shaw, director of global payments strategy for music streaming provider Spotify; Simon Brayshaw, head of technology for online fashion retailer Asos; David MacKeith, principal technology advisor at Amazon Web Services; Edwin Aoki, PayPal’s chief technology officer for blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital currencies.
On the other hand, the engagement forum will assist the BoE in understanding the practicalities of designing, rolling out, and operating a CBDC.
Representatives from Visa, Standard Chartered, Morgan Stanley, Mastercard, and HSBC are all included in the engagement forum. Christian Catalini, chief economist for the Facebook-backed Diem Association, and Anne Boden, founder and CEO of digital bank Starling.
While the technology forum conducted its first meeting earlier this month, the engagement forum plans to hold its first meeting later this year.
Central Banks Leading the Way In CBDC
In April, the Bank of England announced the formation of the two forums to examine a potential UK’s CBDC.
During that time, the BoE stated that the central bank and the government had not yet decided whether to launch a CBDC and planned to use the task force to examine the practicalities. The BoE also clarified that a CBDC would not replace cash and bank deposits but exist alongside them.
Despite marked progress in countries like the Bahamas, Jamaica, Sweden, and China, the announcement by the BoE’s approach and status to develop a framework for a digital fiat currency is still at an earlier stage.
In July, the BoE discussed the potential opportunities that a CBDC might bring, including promoting more efficient cross-border and domestic payments, financial inclusion, and financial stability.
The latest announcement signals that the BoE is becoming more serious about its CBDC exploration.
The revolution will not be televised — it will be minted. Earlier this year, we saw the meteoric rise (and fall) of nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, in mainstream media and popular culture. We all heard about them, but was the hype real? Top businessmen and media moguls, such as Mark Cuban and Gary Vee, still strongly advocate NFT use and the role smart contracts will play in the near future, while each week new NFT exchanges and drops continue to roll out. Jay-Z’s Twitter profile picture is an NFT CryptoPunk.
With or without the buzz, one of the most powerful and overlooked impacts of NFTs is on the music industry. NFTs have the power to change the game for independent artists by providing a new way to earn an income (while connecting with fans), and this kind of change has been long overdue.
Related:Beyond the hype: NFTs’ actual value is still to be determined
Music and musicians
There are a few aspects of NFTs that make them highly appealing for musicians. The first is financial: NFTs have been selling at extremely high prices. Superstar artists, like Kings of Leon and Steve Aoki, have sold NFTs for millions of dollars. Even lesser-known artists, such as Vérité and Zack Fox, have made tens of thousands of U.S. dollars selling NFTs. The artist Young and Sick had only 27,000 followers on Instagram when he sold an NFT for $865,000.
These numbers are incredible, especially when you compare them with the payout rate of streaming platforms. Streaming platforms have been one of the main revenue sources for musicians in the digital age, and became even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic last year when live show revenue dried up. The payout rates of these platforms, however, is still not very high. This has been a hot topic since their creation. Spotify pays out on average around $0.003 to $0.005 per stream. That equates to around $3,000 to $5,000 for 1 million streams, but 1 million is a large number for an independent artist.
In 2020, there were only 13,400 artists that generated more than $50,000 (the median wage for United States workers) of yearly revenue on Spotify. With these stats, you can see how NFTs start to look like a real opportunity — sell a song or a collectible and you can make more with one sale than you could your entire career from a streaming platform. NFTs can also provide a recurring revenue: They can be coded so that the original creator receives anywhere from 2.5% to 10% of a sale every time the token is resold. That’s quite nifty, indeed.
Related:Nonfungible tokens from a legal perspective
NFTs for musicians
For musicians, the other value of NFTs is their “unlockables” feature — basically, creators can include additional perks within the contract of an NFT. These can range from a one-on-one video call with a fan to shoutouts or physical products, or even giving away partial ownership of a song. This last case is unique, as now artists can treat songs as equity investments — they can create an NFT and give away 30% ownership of a song. This gives those contributing money a chance to get an actual return on their investment, while the artist gets money in their pocket. This is like a more rewarding version of a crowdfunding site.
Even in India, where I live, NFTs and cryptocurrency are gaining in popularity. Currently, over 15 million people in India hold around $6.6 billion worth of cryptocurrency. Visual artists in India have started making the jump to the NFT metaverse by selling 2D and 3D art pieces. Back in May, a South Indian musician sold an NFT of a demo of his for $200,000 (15 million rupees) — that’s crazy. There is still a lot to be explored in the NFT space, but the potential is there. The high value and unique rewards system that NFTs offer is a revolutionary opportunity for musicians — one that I definitely recommend checking out.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Jay Kila is an international hip-hop artist who lives in Mumbai, India. Originally from New York City, his music combines witty lyrics with crisp delivery to create party anthems. His work has been featured in Rolling StoneIndia, Desi Hip-Hop, Hello Magazine, as well as on The Today Show. He just released the first hip-hop NFT EP from India called No Free Tracks.
On Tuesday, 16 March, Fiat’s parent companyStellantisoutlined a new programthat pays youwith a cryptocurrency called KiriCoinif you drivea new 500,the brand’s EV minicar.
Taking a Crypto Path
Owners of the new Fiat 500ewill be able to earn rewards for economical driving thanks to an app that scores their driving style out of 100.Stellantis allied withKiri Technologies, a U.K.-based company, to initiate this reward program and improve sustainability.
Apart from that, the high-scoring drivers will get exclusive extra rewards which include vouchers fromApple, Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, and Zalando.
Gabriele Catacchio, Stellantis e-Mobility program manager, said they want to support their environmentally friendly behaviors. Drivers of the New 500, connected and equipped with the new infotainment system, will get exclusive rewards in KiriCoins which they can collect in a ‘virtual’ wallet shown in the Fiat app.
Driving data, such as distance and speed, is uploaded to the Kiri cloud and automatically converted into KiriCoins, using Kiri’s algorithm. The outcome is downloaded to the user’s smartphone, who, on the other hand, use KiriCoins to purchase products and services in the Kiri marketplace.
KiriCoin for Every Kilometer
Founded in 2020, KiriCoin is a digital currency used in 13 European countries.All theFiat 500eownersdrivers of theNew 500 EV will get one KiriCoin for approximately every kilometer driven. Still, drivers with the highest eco: Score arrived via the car’s Uconnect infotainment system on efficiency and energy usage will get extra rewards according to their driving style.
Stellantis– the car giant that owns Fiat and its sister brands – says the venture will be available in the Fiat app. Fiat says 10,000 kilometers ( 6,214 miles) driven will earn a driver the equivalent of about €150 a year, or about $179, to be spent on vouchers at a minimum.
Rewarding Individuals who Respect the Environment
To qualify for the program, you first need a New 500. Currently, this EV is not available in North Americabut has been updated and re-introduced as a pure-electric model in Europe.You also need to live in an EU country where Fiat and KiriCoin offer this program.
Cristiano Fiorio, head of marketing communications at Stellantis Europe, said that Talent Garden is a melting pot of new ideas, the realm of high-tech and digital professionals. He added that this is where the e-Mobility journey through innovation began.
They discovered Kiri Technologies, which caught their attention with a straightforward, innovative idea: to reward the behaviors of people who respect the environment. He noted that the concept and features of the New 500, their flagship of technological innovation and electric mobility, came naturally to them.
