As one of the oldest entertainment industries in existence, the music business has seen many technological advances that fueled its widespread adoption. The digitization of music made it possible for artists to reach any audience around the world, and digital distribution gave people unlimited access to music..
With these advances in distribution came some drawbacks in monetizing music.. The way musicians make money digitally has squeezed the margins of media or video revenue. Artists have been forced to generate income from offline activities, such as concerts and the sale of products, since the online scene has been filled with intermediaries who take a piece of the cake.
“Web3 and existing platforms help us build a new chapter of the music industry”. Takayuki Suzuki, CEO of MetaTokyo—a Web3 entertainment studio—told Cointelegraph: “It was difficult for me to find good music, checking many record stores in Tokyo and sometimes abroad. Now it’s very accessible through streaming.” .
The new paradigm of Web3 tools is giving creators the means to develop an existing audience and transform it into a community.. Fan relations have become crucial and have never been closer with artists on Web3.
Marcus Feistl, COO of Limewire, a music NFT marketplace that was originally an open source peer-to-peer music file sharing platform, told Cointelegraph:
The music industry and creators are certainly about to take a step forward, moving from a Web2 model focused on content consumption to a Web3 model focused on content ownership. Artists are starting to figure out how to better use Web3 to engage with their audiences.”
Among the many use cases for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the most prevalent has been the ability to form communities around token holders.. The rise of decentralized autonomous organizations experimented with coordinating these communities in a digitally native way. All of this opens up potential opportunities for independent artists willing to innovate in the next iteration of the music space.
Re-upset the music industry
The music industry has always been willing to try new things. As Mattias Tengblad, CEO and co-founder of Corite, a blockchain-based music crowdfunding platform, told Cointelegraph: “When music videos came out in the 1980s, it was something totally new and people didn’t know what to do with it. The adoption of these things usually starts slowly, but eventually becomes widespread“.
Web3 platforms are in their early stages. Most users have a knowledge of cryptocurrencies and a basic technical understanding of how to interact on-chain. As the space develops, Web3 music platforms may become a key part of how labels and artists do business and market themselves..
The opportunities offered by this technology facilitate connections between like-minded people, breaking down any previous barriers to forming a community.. “It was hard to maintain great relationships in the industry,” Suzuki reflects, “I’ve been constantly meeting and reconnecting with forward-thinking people.”
These innovations are not exclusive to music industry incumbents, and young native Web3 talent can open the doors to new expression and monetization.. This is encouraging the relationship between artists, intermediaries and fans to become a community.
Musical innovation offers artists who try new technologies the opportunity to become the next established artists of the future generation. This can potentially lessen the importance of record labels to an artist’s success. Many record companies are getting involved, moving some of their activity on-chain and releasing NF collectionsT.
“Record labels will always be needed, but I think those that don’t adapt to the changing landscape run the risk of being left behind”says Tengblad:
“Once you have a loyal group of followers, I think technology opens the door for you to directly monetize your work, while also sharing the benefits of your success with your followers.”
The success of Music NFT drops shows how Web3 can disrupt the fundraising model by allowing artists to target fans directly for funding. Those artists who make an effort to engage with their community and build a direct relationship with their fan base will benefit the most from Web3.
From the audience to the community
The audience is generally understood as a one-way relationship, while a community suggests two-way communication between the artist and their fans. For a community to be productive, those involved must enrich the creative process by actively listening to the needs of others and proposing solutions to improve the community as a whole.
As artists shift to a more community-oriented approach, blockchain and NFTs allow artists to raise funds from their fans without intermediaries and offer unique benefits and opportunities to the people who contribute to them.. Existing platforms remain a crucial tool for community building and music distribution as a complement to a Web3 strategy.
“Affordable digital recording has led to an explosion of musicians on YouTube reaching out to their community for collaboration, instant feedback, livestreaming, etc..” Tengblad commented. “Social media and chat programs like Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Telegram and Discord give people who are interested in what you do the opportunity to engage with more of your content, connect with you and the rest”.
If an artist publishes a new video on YouTube, your community can contribute to the artist’s work providing instant feedback and proposing new ideas that can help the artist to grow and develop further.
Activities carried out by the community usually have a greater impact and immediately affect the growth of an artist. Supported by a strong community, artists have a solid foundation to build a career.
The engagement process between the artist and his community has to be as simple as possible, Suzuki explained:
“Web3 will empower artists and creators, so they will need to be educated. Intermediaries could be supporters or contributors to a community who don’t intercept information or money.”
This starts with clear communication and making NFTs more accessible to everyone. Bringing NFTs and the content ownership model closer to fans is what will ultimately drive artist communitiesas it creates a much stronger and more exclusive connection between fans and creators.
“For creators, this means an easy-to-use auto-opt-in process where they can create their first NFT project in just a few clicks.Fesitl concluded. “For fans, this means a full escrow service can be used without the need to own a wallet or directly connect an external wallet, providing the full Web3 experience.”
The artists who are most poised to succeed in today’s industry are the ones who are willing to use every tool available to them to build an interactive and engaged community around their work..
Clarification: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information set forth herein should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
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