Time is the most valuable asset in our world today, and I bet that sounds like an obvious statement to many. So why aren’t we rewarded by the products, brands and people we spend the majority of our time on? I’m not talking about discount codes for consumer loyalty or free coffees from Mcdonalds after we purchase ten drinks, I mean real value and ownership in the ecosystems we contribute to the most.

Before I get too far down the rabbit whole I want to clearly state that I understand scalability with ideas such as this are going to be extremely difficult but aren’t impossible.

Let’s start with gaming, when you spend a lot of time playing a video game I can pretty much guarantee that you will be rewarded with in game items, points or prestigious ranks. In our current world most of these items have no actual value outside of the specific game you earned in them, but at minimum it does grant you a level of respect or hierarchy amongst fellow players. If you’re paying attention to web3 at all right now it is pretty obvious how this is going to change.

Why isn’t the music industry like this? Value seems to only flow one direction, and it’s generally away from the consumer. We don’t even reward our most active listeners, instead artists will aggressively market them the most expensive products like fan clubs, exclusive merch or other VIP experiences… They want to increase their profit using their core supporters, what a way to say thank you.

I do understand that music is a business and artist can’t be in a million places at once, so charging more money for meet & great concert tickets makes sense. I also love clothing and want to build a brand around my music using merchandise. But my point is that I dislike the idea of rewarding my biggest fans with the opportunity to spend more money on my products. To me that would be like getting charged more for being good a Call of Duty, or helping a friend prepare dinner only for them to turn around and ask you to pay for your meal.

The fans who stream my music the most shouldn’t have to pay for merch. If someone is spending thousands of hours of their time (a deflationary/limited asset) consuming my songs, then I feel as if I owe them something in return. I imagine a world where the top listeners of specific songs take part ownership in them, or at minimum are rewarded for their contributions to that songs success. Listen and earn. My top listeners on Spotify (or other platforms) shouldn’t need to buy concert tickets, merchandise or pay admission to my fan club because they already paid with their time and time is worth far more than money will ever be.