When move-to-earn became the most trending topic in the crypto field this Spring, another m-to-earn has been recognized as the next boom, music-to-earn. 2021 is a year full of artistic NFTs. More and more creators realize they can connect directly with their fans and control over their royalties without annoying intermediaries that extract too much value from their hard work.
In our first piece, we revealed how the current music streaming services are robbing musicians ‘ pockets and gaming the recommendation system. Many people might believe the solution should be simple — independent distribution and cheap production hardware, one to make the distribution process more transparent and one to lower down the music production fee so that artists can save more money for marketing. Do those two solutions work? Yes but no. They might slightly ease the pressure on artists but not solve the problem radically. We still need to find a way to reach the point where artists are treated fairly.
Will Web3 be the savior? In some ways, yes. Similar to DeFi exchanges trying to dismantle the power of bank and creating a bankless transaction system, Web3 in the music industry is to snatch power away from monolithic middlepeople, for example, record labels and streaming giants, and return the power to decide how much a piece of music is valued to those who consume the music. For example, when you listen to a song on Spotify, you seldom think if you were Spotify, how much you were willing to pay to sign an exclusive contract with this artist. You just listen and give it a like or dislike. However, in a music NFT marketplace, you are empowered to price through buying music NFTs.
The idea sounds solid, but not all solid ideas evolve to revolutionary changes. As mentioned before, “ we still need to find a way to reach the point where artists are treated fairly”. What is this point? Specifically, we need to solve a 2D problem — discovery and distribution. If the traffic still focuses on the top 1% of the artists, then NFTs are only bringing more wealth to those who are already wealthy. Unfortunately, it is still the main case of the industry. We constantly see prestigious singers announcing their decisions to launch NFTs or host virtual concerts, but in order to build a more consistently developing music industry, we need to introduce more new talents and discover more diverse music.
We have noticed some players have taken the first step to try. Audius is currently the most widely known Web3 music streaming service. Its user experience is very smooth even for Web2 users, since you do not need a crypto wallet to start your exploration. However, its protocol focuses more on the distribution side. Based on its white paper, artists should be able to receive 90% of the streaming revenue. However, it does not solve the discover side well. Even though Audius launched a new rewards system in February, in which fans and artists will be given $AUDIO cryptocurrency tokens for taking certain in-app actions, such as inviting their friends, downloading the mobile app, daily listening streaks, uploading their songs, and much more, those actions do not incentivize listeners to jump out of their music comfort zone and scout those unfamiliar names.
Another big player, Rocki, said it would try to financially reward listeners who find and promote the music, but it is still taking the traditional subscription model that Spotify and Apple Music are doing, which makes it hard for artists to control the portion of streaming revenues they are willing to share with those who spread the music out. In other words, its payment model will be an obstacle on the distribution stage.
Thus, Web3 might be the Saviour of the music industry, but it would fail if we kept doing exactly how we are doing now. Sonorus aims to provide a new model to make both discovery and distribution easier and thus, benefit both artists and listeners. If you want to know more about what we are coming up with, welcome to join our Discord and follow our Twitter. Our journey to revolutionize the music industry is also yours.
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