✘ We need new music economies

And: Stop mentioning genre; TikTok artist accounts; Who owns a voice; Cultural diversity in EU streaming market; Scenes

The year is winding down so I’ll keep it fairly brief [actually not so brief] but as we wind down 2023 it feels imperative that we start to establish new music economies. Here at MUSIC x we enjoy thinking small or moving with minimum viable communities. But we also want artists, and labels, and collectives, and scenes to be able to build their own economies. If we combine all of this, we have a natural antipode against the streaming economy. There’s no denying the success streaming has had, and still provides for major rightsholders. However, there’s a general downturn this year and music streaming companies are no stranger to this. From Spotify to Soundcloud, there’s been a number of lay offs in 2023. Scale only scales until it doesn’t, to put it simply.

One of the things streaming has done, is provided a new breed of middle-class artists with an income. These are the artists that fit the more lean-back, algorithm and playlist driven methods of distribution that streaming offers us. Others, however, operate in different worlds. For them, it feels like their music isn’t valuable anymore. On the flipside, these are exactly the artists who can amass communities that could become their own self-sustaining economies. They may know some of them because they’ve dm-ed with them on Instagram, or because they’ve bought their music on Bandcamp. Relationships have been established, they just need to solidify a bit more.

From community to investment

A community can be a great way to bootstrap a project. And artists can do great things when they are bootstrapped. However, the larger world building projects might need more investment than a community can cough up. Let’s say it would be possible to prefund a $5k project, but what about if it’s a $50k project? How to move beyond the community and express and find value? This is where in the music-tech start-up ecosystem a founder would be looking at a kind of pre-seed fundraise. That’s the kind of money that this is. In other words, there’s investors in the world for whom that $50k would not be a lot. So why would they invest? And, is ‘investing’ the right word? Or, can we start talking about a return on culture as much as a return on investment?

The question is basically, how do you sell this to someone who would expect a 10x or 20x return on an investment. What could an artist, their community, or a scene offer to reflect that. Here’s a first thought: let’s look at this as a way to test technologies. Of course, this would only work if the artist/community/scene involved will build their world around some form of emerging tech. But if you use AI, AR, avatars, blockchains, etc. you’re in the game. A first approach could centre around investors who have previously invested in music-tech companies whose tools you might want to use. Many of these companies are crying out for use cases.

Another approach could revolve around redefining value. First, this means that it’s not just a spreadsheet that shows fantastic growth. Second, this means that we need to consider music as a product beyond its IP. We know the system built around that, and it’s not working for the type of artists/communities/scenes that I’m talking about here. For example, once the world is built, perhaps it could be licensed out to other creative groups. Or, the ongoing running of the world will generate revenue. Or, the companies involved on the tech side of the world being built can scale up due to a success story. While this might not 20x, not every investment does, and a solid bet on a final project that will at a minimum be used and retain its place in a music ecosystem might be safer than hoping a company will become a unicorn.

Return on culture

Music drives our lives, we all know this. And yet music gets continually devalued. It’s there, and then - due to its sonic properties - it dissipates. When we are able to capture music in a solid form, it can retain and grow its value - see first edition vinyls, or unique items such as guitar picks or merch. An element of scarcity comes in that simply doesn’t exist in pure audio experiences. But, we cannot live without music just like we can’t live without oxygen. Creating something culturally significant can matter, and it can provide investors with cultural and social capital in the sense of Bourdieu. Even the largest investors often have an impact investment fund. Let’s speak to those, let’s find out what drives them and if a world-building project fits.

There’s ways to do this and make this a reality. I’m going to formalise my thoughts on this over the next two or three months. If you’re keen to talk to me, please reach out. Or, if you’re just happy to listen to my ramblings about this and be a soundboard, also please reach out.

---

LINKS

🛑 Why artists should stop mentioning their genre (Carlo Kiksen)

“Artists could write a concise, one-paragraph biography devoid of explicit genre mentions, emphasising cultural identifiers and community engagement.”

✘ So much is being said at the moment about genres, because Spotify keeps adding more and coming up with new ones. I like Carlo’s approach here. Just forget about them and tell the world which scenes you’re a part of instead.

〰️ TikTok pushes further into streaming with new artist accounts (Sheena Vasani)

“Many of the new features seem inspired by Spotify, reflecting TikTok’s larger push into streaming after launching TikTok Music — its subscription-driven streaming service — earlier this year. The Music tab, for instance, is similar to the Music tab in Spotify’s artist profiles. Being able to highlight new music up to 14 days before its release is also similar to how Spotify’s Countdown Pages let users preview upcoming albums.”

✘ In the future every app will be the same, and the future is now. There’s so little to distinguish one app from another. All DSP apps look the same and if one of them had something that set it apart, rest assured they’ll adopt all the other features in the near future. It’s a truth of the world we live in, and platforms will be platforms until they lose ground to another one.

🗣️ As AI grows, artists & labels consider: who owns a voice? (Elias Leight)

“Artificial intelligence has dominated the hype cycle in 2023. But most signed artists who are enthusiastic about testing out this technology will have to move cautiously, wary of the fact that preexisting contracts may assert some level of control over how they can use their voice.”

✘ This is one of the big questions around AI, and a real opportunity for artists. As this is playing out, it’s so important that they keep a seat at the table and will get to negotiate their own vocal rights. If you care about this - an ethical approach to AI and voice models - check out Voice Swap, who have just signed three of my all time favourite Chicago House voices.

🏳️‍🌈 Cultural diversity and the conditions for authors in the European music streaming market (Kristiina Milt & Oliver Renard)

“Indeed, the overall ‘systemic changes’ from which streaming derives and to which it responds are not yet fully understood and have not been addressed beyond the common individual user-centred approach.”

✘ This is a fantastic overview of the current state of our streaming economy and a treasure trove of reading links. It’s now led to a new bill being accepted in European parliament, and that is basically all about metadata and a need for further investment into the digital transformation.

🎬 SCENES (Sound of Fractures)

“The interactive album invites fans to contribute their favourite memories and photographs in response to each song, which are then turned into a unique gallery of “Scenes.””

✘ This one is close to my heart, and I’m on board with this project as an executive producer. This is world building. This is reimagining what an album is. This is changing the way we engage with music beyond the final track. Do check it out - the music is great, too.

---

MUSIC

Further to the last link, have a listen to the first single of Sound of Fractures’ Scenes project. It’s a song built around his daughter’s heartbeat. You don’t have to be a parent to feel the emotion in this track.