[On-site+] "Even though it's a coin meetup, there was a line"… Why participants flocked to the 'Aria Protocol' meetup

Aria draws attention by tokenizing global artists' music

Partial acquisition of major music IPs including BTS, BLACKPINK, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5

"Challenging the IP market worth 8 quadrillion won through blockchain real-world asset tokenization"

Expectations focused ahead of the 'ARIAIP' token launch

Aria Protocol, a representative ecosystem project of STORY, a blockchain infrastructure story for intellectual property (IP), held its first domestic meetup 'Meeting the Future of IP Assetization' at Merkle in Gangnam, Seoul on the 1st to great acclaim. More than 1,200 attendees gathered, creating the spectacle of a queue extending outside the venue.

Aria drew attention by consecutively acquiring partial IPs of global artists such as BTS, BLACKPINK, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, and Miley Cyrus, and recently announced the upcoming launch of its native token 'ARIAIP', concentrating investor expectations.

"Challenging the 8 quadrillion-won IP market… Aria presents a vision of blockchain real-world asset tokenization"

Aria Protocol is a web3 platform that combines intellectual property and real-world assets (RWA), on-chain-ing the rights and value of creative works to build a new investment ecosystem. The project aims for a structure in which IP can be traded in the form of real-world assets and targets a transparent market that creators, consumers, and investors can all participate in.

Han Won-seok, Aria Protocol investment lead (photo), said in his keynote, "The global IP market, including music, art, video, patents, and trademarks, is approximately $60 trillion (about 8 quadrillion won)," adding, "Nevertheless, most transactions rely on private contracts, making the market opaque and creating high entry barriers for both creators and investors." He explained, "Aria is improving these structural inefficiencies through blockchain-based RWA tokenization and building an ecosystem that raises the value and liquidity of IP."

There are actual results. Through the 'Aria Premiere Launch (APL)' held last February, Aria raised about $11 million (about 15.7 billion won) and acquired partial copyrights of 48 tracks by global artists including Justin Bieber, BLACKPINK, and BTS. APL token holders receive a share of the revenues generated from those copyrights, and the expected annualized return (APY) was presented at the level of 5~8%.

Aria is also experimenting with an 'expandable IP' ecosystem, such as holding a remix contest for singer Nana's comeback album. It is discussing IP catalog tokenization with major content company Contents Technologies and expanding its business across music and art by collaborating with global digital art platform Sedition to showcase works by more than 1,000 artists and over 7,000 pieces.

Han Won-seok said, "Aria's native token 'ARIAIP' will be used as a core tool for ecosystem operations such as project governance participation, revenue distribution, and staking rewards," and added, "The official release is scheduled within 1–2 weeks, and detailed schedules will be announced through STORY's official channels and X (formerly Twitter)."

"A new stage for K-POP… connecting fans, creators, and investors through blockchain"

In the subsequent panel discussion, panelists said K-POP is forming a new market order where creators, fans, and investors coexist by combining blockchain and IP assetization, and they predicted this trend will become the next growth engine for K-POP.

The panel discussion was moderated by Jang Chae-seon, STORY Korea head, and featured Han Won-seok, Aria Protocol investment lead, and Doko, CEO of PIG Entertainment, as panelists.

Han Won-seok said, "If K-POP fan culture combines with blockchain-based distributed investment and community-centered funding, more interesting music projects could emerge," adding, "It will be a change that provides new opportunities for creators and a tangible participation experience for fans." He added, "Now the structure is moving away from one label bearing all the burdens toward more communities and supporters forming large funds through distributed and fractional investments."

He said, "For a participatory ecosystem to take root, the technical infrastructure to support it is essential," adding, "It is important to build a solid foundation for investor risk management and market growth." He emphasized, "On the IP-specialized layer that STORY has built, we focus on connecting creators and consumers based on RWA and increasing licensing efficiency to lower entry barriers."

The CEO of PIG Entertainment also said, "The global success of K-POP is still in its early stages," predicting, "The domestic entertainment structure is equipped with a system that responds quickly to trend changes, and various forms of IP and content businesses will continue to expand." He explained that as IP is being converted into assets, revenue structures are diversifying.

He said, "In the past, it was difficult to earn revenue without going through copyright holders or associations, but now tokenization via blockchain has made forms of participation such as fractional investment possible," adding, "For example, just as you can buy Bitcoin in units of 0.0001, IP investment now has an innovative structure that allows participation and attachment with small amounts." He analyzed that the IP industry is evolving into a much more flexible and fair direction through tokenization.

Jang Chae-seon said, "New technologies such as AI and blockchain have the potential to grow the IP industry by 10x or 100x," adding, "STORY and Aria are establishing infrastructure on this balance and creating an environment where market participants can access the industry more easily," and asked readers to watch for various products and opportunities that many users can participate in going forward.

Kang Min-seung, Bloomingbit reporter minriver@bloomingbit.io