The former prime minister will be an adviser to Beatdapp Software, a firm using blockchain to detect when a song is played on streaming services to try and collect royalties for artists and music labels. The company also raised $3.2 million in a round led by Panache Ventures. (Globe and Mail)

Talking point: Harper’s involvement is the latest boost for Beatdapp, which already partners with Entertainment One’s music label. Artists and large labels are eager to find a way to audit what Apple Music and Spotify pay them. It’s a simpler route than suing the firms, like Eminem is doing to Spotify, or trying to launch a competitor, like the struggling Tidal. Beatdapp promises to find up to 15 per cent more royalties for songs than would normally be allocated. Streaming services in the U.K. made about $1.4 billion in 2018, of which artists and labels took home about $789 million. A 15 per cent increase, in other words, could lead to tens of millions in additional revenues in that one country alone. As Beatdapp tries to expand overseas, it’s banking on Harper’s connections around the world, particularly in India; tracking music from Bollywood productions could be quite lucrative for the company.