Decentralizing the Music Industry
It goes without saying that most companies operating in (and around) the Music Industry operate with a for-profit model and are in the “business of music”. It also goes without saying that many an Artist has had the displeasure of being exploited, cheated and abused in countless ways due to a lack of business ‘savvy’. Where there is a need for “ownership” there will always be the “owned”, and in the case of Record Labels the world over, this dynamic continues to play out today.
“Industry Rule #4080, Record Company people are shady”- Q-Tip
When I was younger and just getting my feet wet in the industry I was always at odds with this power dynamic, and despite my experiences with the Major Labels my roots in underground Hip Hop always kept me on the path of the Independent Artist. I wrote, produced and released my first album before the days of ‘streaming’, utilizing tools like MySpace and CD Baby and did it all with my own money, time and effort. I’d even started my own indie label called Urban Camper Ent. and inked a distribution deal with EMI in Malaysia.
It wasn’t until 2010, when I shifted to helping other artists and built a new Indie Label (The MoveMint), that Ibegan to learn what really made the Industry tick. I was managing Artists, organizing shows, hosting competitions and releasing music on a whole new level, but the traditional model still didn’t quite resonate with me. I experienced MIDEM in Cannes, France twice in 3 years yet I still wasn’t satisfied, like there was something missing. And there was.
Hip Hop The Blockchain
Fast forward to late 2019. I’d been dabbling in Crypto and Blockchain already for around 3 years, experimented on Steemit with a number of projects including Hip Hop The Blockchain and was watching the evolution of streaming platforms such as Musicoin, Choon and most recently Emanate. It was great to see the development in the space, yet I still wondered how they could ever compete with the powerhouses like Spotify. It’s like a piece of the puzzle was still missing to what I was supposed to do in this space. Then it finally hit.
After attending a DAO workshop I left intrigued and joined the community, quickly I came up with DAO of WU, pitched it and (just a few days ago) conducted my own workshop that was awarded funding from the DAO. The the ideas kept flowing but they also kept bringing me back to the music, and the reason I got into Hip Hop in the first place - to disrupt, create, participate in the community and to turn my hustle into something sustainable and rewarding.
Introducing DAOrecords
Although the world isn’t quite ready for a fully 100% decentralized Record Label (not yet) I decided to start with a hybrid model that incorporates the traditional business approach but with the company acting as a ‘social enterprise’ that engages primarily in digital distribution. Attached to the company is a NGO, which acts as a ‘Trust’ and distributes funds to the DAO, where artists and their communities can receive funding.
This is totally a work in progress, a controlled experiment that I hope will lead to something beautiful and empower creative communities around the world to become more sustainable, inevitably leading to the creation of some amazing content.
So, over the next couple of weeks I will (slowly) be releasing new information about DAOrecords and sharing with the community the many different ways they can get involved. It’s an exciting time to say the least and I truly believe that we can shift an oppressive industry model into a more free and democratic one that is transparent and fair to everyone involved!
Do reach out if you want to know more, get involved or support in any way.
(PS our website is still in progress so the links are all to our social media accounts for now!)
One Love,
Vandal
