KYMXÅ

Posted on Jan 13, 2022Read on Mirror.xyz

Economy of Sound: what's the next .wav?

With NFTs, much is changing across the board in the visual arts and music industries, in a BIG, BIG way and fast! Propheta and I have been exploring the idea of an Economy of Sound for some time. Many puzzled looks later, here we are, about to quite literally morph the music industry into a decentralized Economy (and Ecosystem) of Sound, collectively in web3, all of us, together. (Highly recommend listening to the below convo from 2018/2019).

https://www.aquariantransmissions.com/practices/2020/1/27/economy-of-sound-convo-with-propheta-kym

This topic is major for me as DJ and sonic curator. Sharing music is like the air I breathe. To finally have the ability to track and value the sharing of music is important. VERY IMPORTANT. We are the #SonicCuration Generation after all. Being able to do this in a holistic way that supports and values the artists and the listeners is exciting AF! The future of #web3music is going to take some research to see where we are in this space right now and the various directions we could be heading.

It is common knowledge that the backend of the music industry is antiquated and has some catching up to do (to say the least). The small percentage of royalties paid out to artists by centralized streaming services and the fact that it has been normalized that most large record labels are known to exploit their artists’ success without taking into consideration the mental, physical or financial health of their teams is crazy and I do not use that term lightly. It is an “industry” after all - an environment designed to manufacture. But we all know music is more than something that can be produced or manufactured.

Music is harmony. Music is melody. Music is soul. It is not a product to be “manufactured” through an industry. What we are doing now is removing the influence of the industry on the creation of music. And again that is exciting AF! There is a reverence with which we can begin approaching and valuing ourselves, our music and our support in #web3. For artists, these next moves will be determined by their autonomy and contractual obligations with their labels. We are in the grey area and why it is so important to remain independent and own your masters at this time, to keep your SONIC SOVEREIGNTY and do as you wish with your sound. To understand this, a mindset shift might be in order.

Bobby Hundreds Q&A and response to “What is the TLDR of this shit? Idk what any of it means!!!” is a gem to preface where we’re about to go with this all…

https://twitter.com/TheTrueAbstract/status/1481183109299200000?s=20

So what does this mean for music?

Because finding new music, producing it, organizing it and sharing is my specialty and I spend so much of my time and energy in this space, I’m reviewing the platforms I come across for alternative options I’ve found in the world of Decentralized Music Streaming Tools (which I will now refer to as DMST, not to be confused with DMT). I’ll be documenting this journey as I search for the next options and imaginings in rotation. The protocols, platforms and plug-ins. Some things I’ll be looking for from these tools are…

  • Ease of social sharing
  • Direct access to uploading music to platform as artist
  • Direct and timely payouts
  • Easily customizable smart contract templates
  • Merch marketplaces
  • Playlisting
  • Social capabilities, messaging, see what others are listening to etc.
  • Innovative curation capabilities
  • No-code, low-code - Modular UX/UI designs
  • DJ mix and podcast streaming capabiliites
  • AI auto-suggestions/algorithmic reccommendations
  • Interoperability for royalty tracking and payouts
  • EQ capabilities for sound quality
  • Free to use, options to invest in protocol with token

NOW LISTENING TO:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1HXeyEEXm2CIvDkvUMxDBH?si=cb70be4bab284094&nd=1

That’s a wrap... for now…

Because we’ve been used to having access to enormous libraries of music immediately, there does need to be some context and patience in these beta spaces I realize (note to self). It also appears we are moving away from standardization which may or may not lead to inconsistent sound quality (ie: Soundcloud - which did also end up generating a new wave with the “LowFi” genre). Quality control will likely be determined by the curators for each database of music collections, whether it’s a free for all upload or thoughtfully refined and curated library of music - ie: the new record label. We’ll see what the options are…

It’s important to keep in mind that we are building this new world together from the ground up. What do we want it to look like and sound like? What terms are we taking into consideration in our smart contracts? If we are setting our own standards, how do we not sell ourselves short while coming together as a community to support each others creativity and generosity?

@ me on Twitter and let me know what features you’d like to see in your DMST. Share your wishlist features and let’s press play on these ideas!

Find your vibe…

Currently testing a variety of platforms and protocols. In the meantime I’ll be posting my FR3QZ of the WEEK to the KYMXÅ **YouTube ** until I decide what the next .wav in this transition to web3 is going to be. It’s a whole new wide world web now and any DMST I subscribe to is going to be home for so much of what I do. I want to be thoughtful in my selections and have capabilities that allow easy sharing and onboarding for new users or members to the community while truly supporting all contributors in the ecosystem.

https://twitter.com/kyma/status/1481715759227170816?s=20

((( 💗 )))

Twitter: @_kyma_ Insta: @_kymxa_