Sony has announced plans to launch a new blockchain platform, Soneium, with plans to integrate the company’s various businesses and intellectual property, potentially including its music catalog.
Developed by Sony’s Singapore-headquartered joint venture with Startale Labs, Sony Block Solution Labs, Soneium is described as the “infrastructure network that forms the basis of Web3“.
Established in October 2023, Sony owns 90% of the joint venture, while Startale Labs holds the remaining 10% stake.
Soneium will serve as a public blockchain with an open network, allowing anyone to participate, Sony Block Solution Labs said in a press release on Friday (August 23).
The company aims to turn Soneium into more than just a blockchain platform, but also as a comprehensive Web3 solution, offering services from the infrastructure level to application development.
The makers of Soneium said in the press release that they would be “leveraging Sony Group’s vast global distribution network across entertainment, finance, electronics, and gaming” which would provide “an unprecedented opportunity to introduce blockchain technology to global users”.
They added: “We will work to support creators in expanding their creativity and strengthening their engagement with the fan community.
“Specifically, we will study the protection of rights to creativity created by creators, new mechanisms for returning profits to support creators and fans, and opportunities for creators to be active across the digital and real worlds.”
The mention of leveraging Sony’s own network in entertainment (which includes Sony Music Group), plus the suggestion that Soneium could help with the “protection of rights” both hint towards the potential involvement of music in the technology’s future.
Sony Block Solution Labs developed the technology to address the limitations of the current Web3 ecosystem, the company said. While Web3 has the potential to decentralize power and create new opportunities, it has struggled to gain widespread adoption due to a lack of use and a complex user experience, Sony said.
“By developing blockchain, which is the basic infrastructure of Web3, we will be able to provide comprehensive Web3 solutions from the infrastructure to the application layer, rather than just providing partial services,” the Sony joint venture said.
The company also plans to explore how Soneium can be used to protect the rights of content creators, offering them new ways to profit from their work while also enhancing fan engagement.
In addition to its own initiatives, Sony is inviting developers and creators to build applications on the Soneium platform. The company will provide tools and resources to help developers create innovative and engaging experiences, it said.
“Soneium’s Web3 technology can support the expansion of creators’ potential and strengthen engagement with fan communities.”
Sony Block Solution Labs
“I think the development of a comprehensive Web3 solution based on blockchain is very significant to the Sony Group, which has developed a wide variety of businesses under its purpose of ‘Fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technology.’,” said Jun Watanabe, Chairman of Sony Block Solutions Labs, who also serves as Head of the Advanced Infrastructure Business Search Department, Business Development Platform, Sony Group.
“We will work to create diverse businesses and new use cases with the aim of delivering customer value that can only be enjoyed through Web3 technology to as many users as possible and making people’s lives richer and more colorful.”
Sota Watanabe, Director of Sony Block Solutions Labs, added: “The Web3 industry is in the midst of a major transformation. We believe that the watershed moment for the entire Web3 industry will be whether we, as companies involved in Web3, can truly provide solutions that billions of people use as a matter of course in their daily lives and make Web3 mainstream in the next few years.”
“We believe that Soneium has great potential to lead the world and realize this vision, and we would like to collaborate with a variety of developers and companies, transcending the boundaries of countries, regions, and industries.”
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