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🧩 Proof of Metadata (PoM)

The Proof of Metadata (PoM) system is at the heart of Allfeat.

It ensures that all the metadata stored in the network is reliable, relevant, and verified by the music community itself — not just by machines.

While the technical design of PoM is still being refined, its purpose is already clear:
✅ Allow anyone to contribute metadata
✅ Let professionals verify and certify what gets included
✅ Keep the system transparent, fair, and valuable for the whole industry

Note: PoM is still evolving. Some details may change over the coming months as we shape the right formula for a strong and balanced system.

❓ Why Do We Need PoM?

Storing metadata on a decentralized network is easy.

What’s hard — and absolutely essential — is making sure that metadata is:

  • ✅ Accurate
  • ✅ Complete
  • ✅ Not duplicated or fake

Without a layer of human and social validation, a public metadata network would quickly fill with spam, errors, or self-promotional noise.

PoM solves that. It provides a community-driven filter to:

  • Incentivize quality contributions
  • Encourage peer review and collective validation
  • Maintain long-term trust in the database

This makes PoM the true engine behind Allfeat’s value as a public, open metadata layer.

🧑‍🎤 The Key Roles: Providers and Trusters

PoM is based on a collaboration between two types of participants:

Providers

These are the people or entities who submit metadata to Allfeat.

They could be:

  • Artists
  • Labels
  • Collectives
  • Rights organizations
  • Independent contributors

To ensure quality and discourage spam, providers must:

  • Lock a small amount of AFT tokens (collateral)
  • Accept that their submission may be contested or rejected if inaccurate

Their incentive:
The more high-quality data they contribute, the more they can earn over time from the protocol’s reward system.

Trusters

Trusters are the community members who validate and certify the metadata submitted by providers.

They play a crucial role by:

  • Reviewing MIDDS (Allfeat’s structured metadata objects)
  • Voting to approve or reject submissions
  • Helping challenge suspicious or invalid data

Trusters must also stake tokens to be eligible and accountable. Over time, their reputation grows as they participate honestly and constructively.

Only Trusters can participate in the final certification of a MIDDS.

🧱 What Does PoM Certify?

Allfeat does not host sensitive or private information.

Instead, it focuses on Level 1 public metadata, like:

  • Song titles
  • Artist names
  • Recording details
  • Release dates
  • Contributors and roles

Once a MIDDS is certified through PoM, it becomes:

  • Immutable (cannot be changed)
  • Publicly available to all
  • Timestamped and anchored in the network history

This turns Allfeat into a shared truth layer for metadata — visible and usable by everyone.

🧠 Why Is PoM So Powerful?

PoM brings something unique to Allfeat:

  • A human layer of curation for public data
  • A reward system aligned with real value creation
  • A balance between openness and quality

Unlike traditional platforms where metadata is hidden or controlled by a few players, Allfeat offers:

  • An open platform
  • Backed by professional review
  • And rewarded through transparent incentives

It’s not just a database — it’s a living ecosystem for metadata.

📌 Summary

  • PoM is the mechanism that validates and certifies public metadata in Allfeat
  • It involves providers (who submit) and trusters (who review)
  • It ensures that metadata is verified, structured, and publicly accessible
  • It is the key reason why Allfeat is a trustworthy, decentralized source of musical metadata