The technology behind Bitcoin may allow for controlled sharing and transfer of digital assets.
tl/dr:
Bitcoin is at root a decentralized public ledger, and what it allows for the first time is the transfer of digital property from one person to another without the need for a central authority like Redigi. The Bitcoin network allows one to transfer tokens called bitcoins, and to date these tokens have been used to represent money. But there’s no reason they could not represent a particular instance of a song or a book or a movie.
Particular music files could be associated with a particular user’s public Bitcoin addresses and encrypted in such a way that the user’s corresponding private key is needed to play the songs. Selling, lending, or giving away a song or a book would be as simple as sending it to someone else’s public address. At that point, only recipient’s private keys can unlock the file. And this would all be cryptographically provable, without requiring trust.
Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment system and digital currency introduced as open source software in 2009 by pseudonymous developer Satoshi Nakamoto. It is a cryptocurrency, so-called because it uses cryptography to control the creation and transfer of money. Conventionally, the capitalized word "Bitcoin" refers to the technology and network, whereas lowercase "bitcoins" refers to the currency itself.
Bitcoins are created by a process called mining, in which participants verify and record payments in exchange for transaction fees and newly minted bitcoins. Users send and receive bitcoins using wallet software on a personal computer, mobile device, or a web application. Bitcoins can be obtained by mining or in exchange for products, services, or other currencies.