Music is a complicated business. The industry has its share of controversies, from monopolies to the limited earning potential of new artists. Although Web2 brought many positive changes, the industry still has a long way to go. For this reason, there are projects that try to use blockchain technology to offer new solutions to the old music market.
In the last ten years, the industry has changed drastically due to the development of the Internet and social networks. Artists have new ways to share their songs, and fans have many new ways to engage with and support their favorite musicians.
However, as with most things within the Web2 sphere, a select few own the assets of the industry, with the big companies benefiting more than the users and artists. Although still in their early stages, some blockchain projects are trying to change the industry from within.
Bring fair payment to musicians
Tune.FM, a platform powered by Hedera Hashgraph, claims to be able to give musicians 90% of music streaming revenue, which is about ten times more than streaming earnings on traditional services. Artists can earn digital tokens every time their music is streamed on the platform.
In an announcement, Andrew Antar, co-founder of Tune.FM, pointed out that many independent musicians suffered in the wake of the pandemic. “Because Spotify does not pay them fairly, many were struggling to get ahead. We are the antidote for the millions of creatives who do not receive fair compensation from the big streaming services,” said Antar.
Allow fans to co-own songs
Andreessen Horowitz-backed music marketplace Royal continues to allow fans to share ownership of songs by their favorite artists via non-fungible tokens (NFTs). After launching NFT for prominent rapper Nas, the platform recently launched tokens for American DJ and songwriter Diplo.
In a blog announcing the launch of Diplo, Royal co-founder Justin Blau wrote that the platform’s goal is to “empower artists to maintain control over their work” while also providing fuel for their careers. Blau also believes that by co-owning the music, fans “make a deeper connection” and help them be independent when it comes to creativity.
Empowering musical collaboration through NFT
A project called Squad of Knights allows NFT owners to form squads of six, each assigned their own role in the music production process. Unlike working with traditional record labels, the platform allows its community members to own 100% of the music they produce.
Founder and award-winning record producer Ramon ‘Illmind’ Ibanga Jr. said, “Finding people to work with is hard. Finding the right people to work with is even more difficult.” He noted that the goal of the project is to bring together producers, engineers, music artists, and managers, both in the real world and in the metaverse.
Providing decentralized audio to the metaverse
The Solana-based streaming platform Audius provides a variety of decentralized audio archives to the metaverse. The platform works with metaverses like Portals Metaverse to bring music to its users. Due to its decentralized nature, Audius allows anyone to pull content from the platform and use it to create their own projects.
In a Cointelegraph interview, Roneil Rumburg, CEO and co-founder of Audius, said that the platform is a “decentralized repository of content with clearly defined rights so that third-party developers can access the platform’s catalog without any problem.”
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