Is Web3 our savior? What the new world of music could look like
The music industry, and how we produce, consume and distribute music, is inevitably changing. The naysayers will be left behind, and may die an inglorious death. Are we ready for a musical Web3? Is Web3 ready for us? What will it take for the music industry to undergo its much needed transformation? Let’s take a look at the music world before and after the chaos.
The calm before the storm
Except for the ways we now record and listen to music, these past decades have not seen much change in the global music industry. Everything follows a structured and orderly process. For example, most of the superstars of the last generations have all been built up by major labels the same way. Then, from the studios to the consumers, radio stations and charts (ie. Billboard) have proven to be reliable allies to increase sales. On the other hand, making a living as an independent artist, was almost impossible — the industry’s system was tightly knit and the honey pots were reserved for a selected few.
And then? Then the Internet came along and turned the industry upside down — chaos followed. As we all know, we need chaos to start rearranging things. This statement can be projected onto the current situation in the music industry. The current situation is rather chaotic, indeed. And it’s a good thing. If you’re interested in rearranging things. As opposed to the radio era, the streaming one provide an almost infinite choice of music, this can overwhelm people.
In the radio era, we were served pre-filtered music. There was a manageable yet sufficient selection. At least, there were no such things as too little musical output. Those who wanted more, gladly went on a journey, spending hours in record stores, discussing and listening to a wide variety of albums from all around the world. In short, people talked about music. It was a natural multiplier from a distribution point of view. Of course — let’s be honest here — many great works have remained hidden from us, and that is certain!
Not only did the Internet change these idyllic times — fundamentally — it eliminated them. And it became chaotic.
Chaos, the Enabler
Today, some people are still escaping this chaos and happily remain in the old world of music. A member of my team at AMUZED recently told me that he still buys music on iTunes and doesn’t use a streaming service. There are people in 2022 who do not care to use the accessible, and almost endless media library! Why? One good reason might be the omnipresent overload mentioned above, with such a constant availability of songs.
Searching for new music used to be a sport; it was fun to dig through record stores, find new gems and share them, triumphant, with your circle of friends. It may have also been about the object itself, which you can’t hold in the digital world. Today, this sport has become a burden for most of us. The amount of data is too large, with no end in sight, and this is both demotivating and tiring.
Filter 2.0: Nothing new, mostly recycled
With playlist features and curators, streaming app providers offer little improvement to the public. Basically, we get a “radio filter” 2.0. So, despite the huge selection, there are people pre-selecting music worldwide. The problem remains the same: honey pots are once again reserved and well-guarded. The selected few get their spots on the big playlists thanks to the help of major labels. There is nothing humanistic about it, it’s all to maximize profits. All right, fair enough.
But how sustainable can this be? Didn’t they just spray a shiny — poisonous — green coat of paint on top of that old wooden radio? Isn’t it only a matter of time before the music made for playlists gets rejected by the collective? Isn’t the new streaming business hardly allowing time for creative quality so that it can meet its quantitative target?
The increase in older music being recycled is proof of that thesis. The advantage: these tunes have already proven to be efficient financially. The downside: the space for new music is getting smaller and smaller, and the industry is now robbing the past to keep its machinery up and running.
For the labels, this evolution is a double-edged sword. Indeed, it has never been easier to find new talent (TikTok has now become a scouting tool for A&Rs), but young artists, at the start of their careers, often wonder why they should seek the help of major labels. As a consequence, labels have progressively fought against one another for those rough diamonds, but also indirectly against the internet.
Therefore, it is only a matter of time before we experience another revolution, which could solve the problems of artists. A revolution which Web3 could provide answers to. Inevitably, there will also be losers.
This is what the new order in Web3 could look like
Decentralization is a popular response from neo-industrialists. In the interest of the artists, it should solve the problems related to unfairly distributed funds. In a nutshell, it allows a direct distribution between the artist and the fan without intermediary payments to distributors or platforms. That sounds positive at first: the artists should receive most of the income. But does it work in practice? And what role do the fans play here? After all, they’re the ones spending money.
Yes, it already exists. You can find various Web3 music platforms, such as sound.xyz or Royal.io. On sound.xyz, you can buy individual songs from your favorite artists as NFTs and thus support them. Royal.io relies on an investment model. Artists sell shares in their songs and fans get a share, providing the songs become successful.
Looks like the new and improved world of Web3 is just one step away. It’s not that simple, though. This evolutionary step cannot be taken by artists, fans, labels, or tech companies alone, nor is it based solely on monetary aspects. The transformation requires unified cooperation. This can only work if all parties have a clear benefit.
Time for revolution
In theory, with this opportunity for fair monetization, the benefits the artists would get are obvious. For the fans, the whole thing is a bit different. We need to keep their interest in mind first. That is, they need to be able to listen to as much music as they want at a reasonable price. Then, the user experience comes into account. It is important to many users that the chosen app suggests the right music, and that they can pay for the service monthly (using a credit card or Paypal). And then, only then, the artists come into account. That’s the hard truth.
In the — still small — music NFT scene, people speak up about how every artist could sell their music as NFT and escape the evil system. This does not make complete sense, though. There are indeed some people who buy music NFTs to support artists. But is that scalable? Will the 422 million Spotify users switch to NFTs anytime soon? And even if this were to happen: would artists even be able to profit from the switch? After all, the competition would inevitably increase and, once again, not every artist can become a superstar like MJ. Clearly, we need to talk about redistribution since a radical leap into the new Internet will not necessarily solve all problems.
What we really need to make that leap happen (for fans and, by extension, the entire industry) is a perfect onboarding. The industry needs to work on simple solutions. The enjoyment of music on Web3 projects must work as intuitively as it does on Web2 applications. In other words: we should build some sort of Web2.5. To manage this, the following basics are essential:
- Checkouts, just like online stores, with FIAT payment.
- No network fees for fans.
- Technical jargon should be avoided: where Web3 is, Web2 should stand on.
What about the majors?
In order to strive in the future, it is important for labels to start collaborating with Web3 projects. As a matter of fact, it will most likely be difficult to implement the majors’ business model into the decentralized world. In other words: it’s time to rethink the way things are. By the way, dear label bosses: contrary to the narrative implying that Web3 hates big majors, there are many projects out there ready for such collaborations. For this to happen, however, you must adapt to the Web3 spirit and not try to exert influence or carry old methods into the new world.
Co-creation is the magic term here, and those who cling to their power will inevitably lose it. Now, the way forward is for labels to find a new role. On the bright side, decades of expertise can help them do so. Yes, the foundations are already in place. The year 2023 will test us on many occasions, and it will undoubtedly accelerate development progress again. After the chaos, of course.
