Music: The Blockchain Series
If you read our latest blog in the blockchain series covering film and television, you likely already know that we’re obsessed with decentralization and the massive impacts it has on the creative community. The birth of blockchain is indeed huge for film and television, however we think it’s even more impactful within the community of music creation.
Similar to the film and television industry, music is another one of those industries that’s well known for being incredibly difficult to tap. Although the popularity of platforms like Soundcloud have helped shine new light on emerging artists, it’s still not easy. Soundcloud essentially means you have marketing and publishing - you still need all the mixing and mastering you can get!
This is exactly where blockchain comes in.
Similar to the decentralized democracies mentioned in our blog covering film and television, blockchain-based organisations can essentially strap rockets to new talent and take them to the heights a record label would - minus the 20 year licensing contract. To reiterate; SoundCloud has essentially turned into that of a marketing platform, with many staying loyal to Spotify and Apple Music. Platform’s like Distrokid have now also made it easier than ever to have your music published directly onto these music streaming giant’s platforms.
The steps to the strategy look something like this:
Buy a beat online.
Write & record your verses.
Upload to Soundcloud.
If traction is gained, spend the money to have it professionally mixed and mastered.
Re-upload to Soundcloud
Utilize Distrokid to publish to Spotify and, most importantly, Shazam (for when you start
paying DJs to play it in the clubs).
The next steps usually have something to do with record deals, whether that’s independent deals or being signed to massive labels. Either way, this is the part that usually comes with a lot of controversy. Those that keep up to date with news stemming from the music industry are no stranger to the consistent backlash record labels get for their hard negotiations towards artists in what some would describe a ‘vulnerable state’, and locking them into unreasonable agreements for such a long period of time.
Decentralization can fix this.
Platforms like Audius are already hot on the trail, however let’s dive a little deeper into what the concept of decentralized music production looks like.
Envision a web3, metaverse-orientated platform where musicians can upload their music (just like SoundCloud), and members of the community can invest in it. Album artworks can be NFTs and community members can fund the project through purchasing smart-contract embedded items - providing future paybacks/royalties.
No lengthy record deals, transparency, and most importantly community engagement.
This is the future of music!