How cryptocurrency could help independent artists retain a bigger share of their revenue and find new ways to connect directly to fans
Regardless of where you attribute blame, it is increasingly difficult to make a living out of music at most levels. When the reared its’ beguiling head it was touted by some to offer the solution and there are certainly advantageous applications. But It’s equally true that there are a lot of far-fetched claims and wishful thinking. However amongst the hype there is a lot of hope.
In the ensuing a slew of vaporware, start-ups and think tanks trying to apply this new technology to music and improve revenue flow, grand claims were made of copyright management databases, of listener data and music based etc. etc. In all honesty though, after 18 months of trying to get my head round this as part of my PhD research, I would stick my neck out far enough to say almost none of this will ever reach meaningful fruition in terms of improving remuneration for the artists compared to the existing apparatus they seek to replace. These platforms and schemes are usually over complicated and often rely for their success on highly optimistic scenarios of total replacement of the well established and long developed (and largely functional) existing music economic infrastructure. They assume total saturation and which at this point is remote if at all feasible. Not to mention a basic lack of understanding of music consumption and production shown by some of the proffered solutions and the fact that for the vast majority of audiences (and artists) they are currently just too hard to use. They also have a tendency to espouse decentralisation, whilst themselves taking the form of a recentralising force and act as the middlemen they seek to remove.
To understand how could improve things we need to consider the existing music industry and commerce structure. I’m of the opinion that the root cause in declining music revenue is not primarily infrastructural obsolescence, failures by Performing Rights Organisations or greedy record labels and publishers as posited often by the music start ups. But a much broader collection of issues relating to spending habits of listeners and the cultural devaluation of recorded music. This is due largely to the proliferation of digital files (and their sharing) and a move away from ownership to access culture (streaming — ) causing a subsequent value shift away from recorded music and towards live music ( David, 2010, p7 Peer to Peer and the Music Industry). Which is set amongst generally more uncertain or changing economies. The infrastructural inequalities and failings often cited by the start-ups merely compound the issue and supplanting a on top of the whole thing and starting again will not automatically yield huge net gains for artists, it will likely perpetuate the existing problems in a new medium. And as mentioned before, can only be successful in their aims when the whole world runs on a . This is in no small part because the itself is still just as fallible as existing systems for intellectual property management as at the points where it inevitably has to interface with the ‘real world’ still rely on human actions. In short it is no silver bullet or mystic panacea for an ailing creative industry.
However if applied to right areas, chiefly in my opinion payment methods, in a fashion complimentary to established practices it can yield some major benefits by reducing costs and increasing efficiency, offering improvement for well established and effective methods.
The best way to look at it is like PayPal, but faster, and with (generally) much much lower transaction fees (also paid for by the purchaser not the seller) and with the capability of managing money automatically. Music commerce, at all levels, is now built on micro-transactions (), but is reliant on 3rd party card payment processors and platforms that all take a slice of the (already meagre) pie thus reducing the artists share, and this especially affects DIY artists who earn less and don’t have investment backing from larger record labels. Anybody familiar with using PayPal will be familiar with how costly it can be when reliant on micro-payments. Not to mention the lengthy accounting processes that dealing with so many tiny payments necessitates within music organisations and for practitioners themselves. This is where could offer a meaningful solution: firstly due to those lower fees and quicker processing times. Secondly automation (in the form of smart contracts) means that payments received can be automatically apportioned and paid out to relevant collaborators (particularly useful in the example of a record label dividing up lots of small royalty payments to different members of a band). Thirdly, and most interesting to me is in its decentralised and opensource nature: i.e. anyone, with a bit of research and some knowledge of web design, can set up their own payment platform and receive payments securely for almost no additional cost from their website. This also offers a route around the fees of distributors when compared to using digital stores (Spotify, Itunes etc) or existing direct-to-fan platforms such as Bandcamp, which when combined with payment processing fees usually equates to just under 20% of the total payment.
For me, this represents true decentralisation, and we should view as an opensource way for artists to sell direct to fans — I’ve taken to thinking of it as Paypal for Punks. I see it not as a complete systemic replacement, but as complimentary method that could yield some benefit to all but particular benefit to DIY artist that are less well served by the existing music industry structure and to any organisation that deals with digital products and micropayments and regularly has to calculate and apportion royalty payments (such as record labels). It is an unprecedented opportunity for music makers to seize the means of commerce from the mechanisms of capitalism.
For an example of this in action visit the record label I co-run: , where I set up a MetaMask based and our new sub-label . If you’d like to know how to begin setting something like this up, check out this video on in your website.
Digital products like download and stream seem like logical options for this digital marketplace. But what other ways can we use this to sell music? What about live streaming of performance? As I mentioned before there is definite trend towards valuing live music more as recorded music decreases in value, in both economic and cultural contexts. After organising some successful free access live streamed virtual club nights last year with (and finding it a surprisingly good way to reach new people) we wanted to test a system of paying to view live streamed performance using direct to artists and organisers. So we’ve organised a in association with featuring performances from , and to test this idea out before we go ahead with ‘paid for’ streams later in the year. This works by using free to obtain ‘’ (Rinkeby Test Network coins) in place of payment. The records the ticket purchasers, allowing them access to stream and divides the between accounts representing the artists and hosts immediately at the time of . This project hopes to demonstrate that DIY artists can set up your own payment methods, truly achieving economic decentralisation. For more information on the trial and for details of how to view the stream please read the following sections.
About the trial crypto livestream
The event will take the format of a free to view ticketed live streamed music performance featuring 3 artists and bands, with the stream viewable via a player on Kaneda’s crypto sub-label .
This stream is ticketed using Rinkeby Testnet coins (which are free), meaning it is free to view for anyone who has Metamask installed and a compatible browser (Chrome, Firefox, Opera or Brave) and is connected to Rinkeby Test Network and has a small amount of testnet coins. Coins can be requested from the via Facebook messenger or from the .
Once the participating audience member has bought a ticket (using the Rinkeby Test Network Coins), the ticket ‘fee’ will then automatically be apportioned to wallets representing the performing artists and the stream host via a smart contract, as simulation of a real-world application of automated smart contract payment processing. Once a ‘payment’ has been received the participants’ MetaMask will become their ‘passport’ or ‘ticket’: as long as they are logged into a MetaMask account that has made valid payment they will be able to access the streamed content when visiting the stream page. Payment can be made in advance via the (although the stream won’t visible until it is live, obviously).
If you are unsure what this means please watch the below video or read the step-by-step guide.
How to participate and view stream
Watch this video guide on how to participate and view the stream:
and follow these steps:
1. Install MetaMask plugin in compatible browser (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Brave). Available here on Google Play Store here:
2. Connect MetaMask to Rinkeby Test Network (open , click network dropdown menu, select ‘Rinkeby Test Network’)
3. Request Test Network coins (free). Either visit the event and message the hosts.
Or
Request funds from Rinkeby Faucet (advanced, requires social media authentication) here:
4. Access stream page:
5. Buy ticket using Rinkeby Test Net coins (click ‘click to buy with MetaMask’). Wait for transaction to complete and refresh stream page.
6. Press ‘check MetaMask’ to access stream (must be logged into the account that purchased ticket) and tune in on 05/04/2019. Tickets can be bought in advance of the Stream and do not expire
This project is organised in partnership with and . Please mark yourself as attending the for the stream to keep in the loop with announcements and discuss the project.
About the author
I am a musician (, and ), record label founder () and promoter (, among others) with over 10 years experience. I am currently a PhD student at the University of Sunderland researching applications for DIY musicians and larger music Organisations as part of an NPIF/AHRC funded PhD in partnership with the Sage, Gateshead.
Published at Fri, 22 Feb 2019 12:02:18 +0000
