My next step is to let the Real Friends EP exist on the blockchain. A big part of being a musician is selling your work and this is no different. I want it to be the beginning of my journey as an artist, so it is especially important for me to plant a flag in the sand with a series of collectables drawn from the first release, and what has been a defining moment for me in finding a genuine and individual place to start from.
My journey into web3 started through being a member of Water and Music through my interest in music tech research while contributing to the Music Business MA I lecture on. While discussing the future of music, I was introduced to Danial Allan’s music and $Overstim campaign which turned out to be a life changing moment for me. I was inspired and then welcomed by his discord community and have spent the last 5 months meeting people, asking questions and contributing everywhere I can, and I haven't looked back since. I don’t think I’ve ever learnt so much in such a short space of time, and the possibilities presented by creators such as BlackDave, Karma.Wav, MDCL and Julian Mudd, and communities such as Wav.WRLD, HIFI Labs and Good Karma have given me so much to think about, and the confidence to get experimenting with future releases. I have to give a special shout here to Henry Chatfield, it seems everyone has that one person who took the time to answer their first DM’s and give advice when entering the web3 world, and Henry was that person for me, I’m not sure I’d be here without him taking the time to answer and encourage me in those first few weeks. Those little things go a long way.
My roadmap for my next steps for me in web3:
Pt.1 - StemsDAO
I have been working through web3 trying to find something that felt right to me and taking my time. There were early stages where I was encouraged to jump in, but being me I needed something creative that connected with me and the concept behind the music. After some time I started to develop some ideas that I felt would be interesting to me, and noticed that there was always the theme of collaboration and interaction within them. Discussing ideas and pitching them in discord finally led me to meet the team at StemsDao.
It takes just one idea to get me started and now I had finally found the right way to start my journey. I didn’t want to mint just for the sake of it, and the collaborative ideas behind what StemsDao were creating fitted perfectly with the ethos of my recent release, and the community spirit that welcomed me into web3. What better way to start the Real ‘Frens’ adventure than turning the song into collaborative samples and stems for others to create with!
We will start with a remix competition that has a ETH prize where members of the StemsDao community (and anyone else who wishes to join) will be invited to to create a remix using at least one of the stems/loops from the first Sound of Fractures Artist Series sample packs on StemsDao. The winning NFTS will then be minted into a limited collection.
The future of the StemsDao collaboration will be a Sound of Fractures Artist Series loop packs and stems which access will be gained to via Stem NFTs for each song, collecting one of these NFT’s will unlock access my artist series collection and future collections via the StemsDao platform that is set to be launched this summer.
Pt.2 - NFTS
1) Editions 25/25: Using MintSongs I want to offer something affordable for both new collectors and my current fans so they can participate and get involved. I plan to mint 25 editions of each of the tracks on the Real Friends EP.
2) Editions Pt.2 3/3: - The visualisers for the Real Friends EP (Traces, Life Hacks, Always Wanna Run) were a collaboration with visual artist and director Jackson Ducasse (Dua Lipa, Jc Stewart, John Legend, Blondie, RITUAL). These NFTs will be the equivalent to me of a limited editions prints, there will only ever be 3 of each, and as both mine and Jacksons careers progress they will increase in their value.
3) Real Friends Video:
The ‘Real Friends’ video for me is a work of art, it stands alone both emotionally for me, but also as the marker of what the whole project stands for. The video is a collaboration with director and animator Guy Gooch, and encapsulates everything that makes this project what it is; his hand drawn collage style reflects the way my music is put together communicating the beauty in imperfection, which for me is at the heart of everything. The plan is to build up to the point where I will do a drop with Glass.xyz in April this year, with the aim of giving someone the chance to own this unique 1/1, and add to the funding pool for the coming releases.
NFTS/Collectors: I'm working through some ideas of how to add value for collectors and community members who invest in my music at the moment, I won’t be offering royalty shares as it has been clearly demonstrated time and time again that streaming income does not pay enough, and for the value of the work to rise and my career to grow then the more money and time I can invest in the music the better it is for everyone. Some ideas I do have are things like: access to unreleased music, insight into the creative process, planning process, choosing the visual treatments and collaborations for future releases, exclusive chats/tutorials and music that will only ever be released to NFT holders.
Other ideas for the future:
My own Artiva platform
Remix Tokens
Building my own app that allows listeners to build their own versions of my tracks