There is a huge gap between hype and reality over application of blockchain in the media, but no shortage of money piling in to start-ups calling for a radical overhaul of prevailing business models. They argue blockchain can liberate the long tail of content by streamlining critical trading activities, such as relationships with business partners and distribution of revenue across the value chain. Even for large content creators blockchain offers opportunities, with the potential to gain more control over distribution through flexible license models, as well as a greater share of revenue by cutting out the middle layer, which could also lead to faster monetization. The corollary is that blockchain threatens distributors, even possibly the largest such as Spotify and…