What is the LBRY & What Makes it Free To Use?

Traditional content-sharing sites such as Spotify, Instagram, and YouTube store the uploaded content on their servers and allow viewers to download it. They also let creators make money through advertising or other similar mechanisms. However, certain drawbacks exist, especially for creators whose material is not advertiser-friendly. This is what LBRY aims to solve.

What is the LBRY Protocol?

LBRY is a recently developed protocol that allows individuals to create applications that interact with digital content on the LBRY network.

Apps built using this protocol enable creators to upload their work to the LBRY network of hosts, similar to BitTorrent, where they can either set a price per stream or download, much like iTunes, or give their content away for free, similar to YouTube without ads. The content that creators publish can be in the form of videos, audio files, documents, or any other type of file.

While it is not necessary to understand the technical aspects of LBRY to use and enjoy it, it is still relevant to users. Building protocols instead of platforms is an effective way to ensure that the Internet remains free and open.

LBRY is a platform that believes users should own their content and privacy. It is powered by open-source technology, controlled by the public, and has a strong community of developers and contributors.

Who is Behind LBRY?

LBRY Inc. is the company behind LBRY, but they strive to limit our control as much as possible so that they never become an evil faceless megacorp. By making everything open-source and standardized, anyone in the world can walk away from LBRY with everything intact (or create a new, better version). Blockchain technology like Bitcoin and LBRY enables people to create databases that no single entity controls.

LBRY uses the same mechanism to store an index of available content and how to download it, as well as financial transactions such as tips and purchases of paid content, using the Bitcoin-like currency LBC (LBRY Credits). While other sites exist that share their content from a peer-to-peer data network, the index of available content is still centralized and can be easily censored.

LBRY protocol powers the LBRY digital content platform. Publishers can upload free or paid content using the LBRY app with LBC. No one other than the publisher can remove or censor content on the platform.

The LBRY App

The LBRY app is designed to establish trust among publishers and consumers of digital content. Using a “known, promised set of rules that no one can unilaterally change,” the LBRY app prevents censorship and allows creators to publish and distribute digital content without intermediaries.

When interacting with the LBRY app, users can follow channels, explore new and trending digital content, and create personalized playlists. Users can connect to the LBRY app using the official LBRY wallet or the recommended Coinomi mobile wallet. They can also purchase LBRY Credits in-app via a third-party payment provider, Moonpay.

Conclusion

LBRY is a protocol that enables individuals to interact with digital content on their network. LBRY believes in content ownership and user privacy. The platform is open-source and community-driven, with hundreds of developers and thousands of members contributing in various ways.

With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.