✘ Web2, Web3, let's think about the spectrum
And: Rethinking community design; I am nature; The art of data; AI soundalike tools spin complex web of legal questions; The complex reality of music royalties
In the recent crypto bull market, I’ve personally often explained Web3 to people as this logical next step moving from a Web1 (websites, hyperlinks) to Web2 (platform economy, profiles) to Web3 (ownership). In that thinking, it can sound like it’s a progression and that Web3 will cancel out what came before. Along those lines, there’s an idea that we need a bridge state - Web2.5. But what does that really mean?
I’d argue that there’s no point between Web2 and Web3. Moreover, there isn’t really a linear progression that we’re going through. Instead, there’s a bunch of technologies that interlink and build out from each other. There’s still a Web1, and a Web2, and we’re building a Web3. All of this lives together, at the same time. And they overlap across the spectrum. As we move forward, I hope that certain elements of Web3, self-sovereignty, accountability, transparency, and decentralization more generally, will become important cornerstones. However, I don’t see all platforms disappear, nor do I think we’ll ditch the hyperlink (this newsletter is built around it!).
So, perhaps we should see the Web as a Venn diagram, something like this:
We can think more about how these overlap and what exactly overlaps. If you’d like to help me think this through, let me know.
LINKS
🤔 Rethinking Community Design to Build Better Communities (Mashal Waqar)
“Safety, comfort, and trust are at the heart of a good community. Creating safe spaces, speaking to people instead of at them, and making people feel included are all important as we design better communities. I know this will be an evolving conversation over time, and as more builders chime in we'll see better models. For now, finding more compassion and comfort in the unquantifiable may just be what leads us to better communities.”
✘ I’ve written and spoken many times about the need to set your own metrics, and Mashal gives us a way to think about how to engage with certain metrics that might seem unquantifiable - think about trust and comfort, for example.
💃 I am nature - somatic re-imagining and the other-than-human (Kasia Witek)
“I gave dancers a task to stay away from planning their movement and instead focus fully on the present sensations unfolding in their body. They were to observe the sensations of touch of another dancer, sense of weight of their own body and connection to their changes in breath. In this context, the dancers’ movements became more relaxed, ergonomic and efficient. They observed focusing deeply on the sensations offered to them at the present moment allowed them to surrender to these sensations without resistance. Without hoping it to be different, or forcing it to be something which was not, a wider range of possibilities became available to them.”
✘ A wonderful insight into the mind of a dancer and choreographer. The music is amazing as well. If you live in the UK, I can recommend checking out any upcoming tour for Solastalgia.
🗄️ The art of data: Empowering art institutions with data and analytics (Zina Cole, Ben Mathews, Richard Steele, Loïc Tallon)
“We studied five measures that we considered essential to assess operational and financial performance: strategic priorities, long-term-performance measures, organizational direction of travel, standardized data sets and analyses, and level of top-management support. Achieving high results in these measures could accelerate the use of data and analytics by a broad range of art organizations, from large, public museums to community theaters. Although diversity, equity, and inclusion and environmental impact issues are strategic priorities for our partner institutions, we didn’t include these measures in the inaugural stage of our analysis, because of the need for greater data maturity on these topics.”
✘ A good resource here by McKinsey for those working with the bigger arts institutions in the world. Of course, it has an American focus, but the types of data discussed (think attendance, membership, revenue) carry value globally. Equally, this thinking helps a grassroots music venue as much as it does a globally recognized museum.
🧟 Attack of the Clones: AI Soundalike Tools Spin Complex Web of Legal Questions for Music (Nick Breen & Josh Love)
“Perhaps most frustratingly for labels, companies may not have standing to maintain a cause of action based on the misappropriation of their artists’ voices, since the exclusive grants of rights made by artists to labels typically do not include exclusivity over their rights of publicity (just of their recorded performances). Artists will likely need to initiate these types of suits themselves. This divergence in rights between artist and label may also leave labels exposed. Can artists circumvent their exclusive recording agreements or re-record restrictions by releasing or licensing new versions of their existing recordings created by third parties using AI soundalike tools?”
✘ This is a very thorough look at some of the issues arising around the use of AI around music. It goes into various acts and codes, so it’s quite technical, but very useful.
🔐 Dispelling the utopian dream: the complex reality of music royalties (Virginie Berger)
“In addition to these technological solutions, industry stakeholders should prioritize data accuracy and quality. The accuracy of royalty data is essential for ensuring that royalties are distributed fairly and accurately. The music industry should focus on interoperability to consolidate and organize data, enhance transparency, and establish fair compensation models.”
✘ A good overview of the issues, of the parties involved, and of potential solutions. It’s all about data accuracy for Virginie, and she’s right. It continues to be a system where input determines output. Of course, we can also think of radically different systems that might even sit outside this complex reality, but that won’t mean that this reality will disappear.
MUSIC
If you like polyrhythms, you’ll love this. The instrument played here, the embaire, is capable of amazing sounds. The combination with first the vocals, and then the sounds of Gabber Modus Operandi and Wahono on several tracks is mindbending. Have a listen, and let me know what you think.