LBRY is the earliest digital marketplace governed by its community members, not by a corporation or any other outside third party. It aims to be the most open, fair, and effective marketplace for digital assets ever built, using an incentive system designed to help it grow into the most complete option. At its core, LBRY does something straightforward: it links a distinctive name to a specific digital piece-like a movie, book, or game. This is comparable to the domain name system you likely use to reach this article.

Instead of relying on a closed service or proprietary network, LBRY accomplishes this as a protocol-a way of operating-similar to HTTP, DNS, and other specifications that form the foundation of the internet. Since many domain names owned by different organizations use a common language, the same idea applies here: any individual or company can participate in LBRY. There’s no special access requirement or permission needed.