The Internet went from being mythical – here’s Bill Gates describing Web 1.0 to David Letterman in ‘95 – to intrinsic, with Social Media and mobile technology shaping our current Web 2.0 world. Now, the third digital revolution, Web3, is upon us.Online experiences, blockchain technology, and the Hyperverse (that’s all the metaverses, btw) are developing at light speed. As exciting as it is, Web3 is far from figured out.Myths are being conjured and principles are being determined, but not everything is as it seems. Web3 is not fully decentralized (nor could it be) and it’s governing bodies, even the DAO’s, are rarely without governance (nor should they be).In my opinion, there need to be regulations in place to help best serve the public. Even though the backbone of blockchain, Bitcoin and Ethereum, are decentralized with no governing body, the businesses, DAO’s, marketplaces, and organizations being built on the backs of those currencies are not.Jack Dorsey called it out recently in a barrage of tweets. Web3 is being built not by the people, but by the LPs and VCs. Outside investment is crucial to building brands that are going to define a new generation, but it’s a controversial wake-up call for a lot of idealists and purists roaming the blockchain.I think a hybrid approach is needed, like the one we’re seeing today with Nas and Royal’s drop. Buyers own a portion of it, but it’s managed by a smart, VC-backed company with an idealistic mission to revolutionize the music industry by deepening the relationship between fans and artists. I will be interested to see how fans who now own a piece of a Nas song make the economics work in their favor and, perhaps, breathe new life into catalog music.It’s an exciting time to build new brands in music, tech, entertainment, and culture. It’s also an important time to do new things the right way.
BEATS
26 Thoughts On The Coachella 2022 PosterWhether or not you have any designs on attending the festival, the Coachella poster is always a fascinating bit of business because it lays bare the hierarchies that otherwise tend to go unstated within the music industry. (Stereogum)
What if 2022 isn’t the year of Music NFTsIt’s hard to move in the innovative side of the music industry at moment without having it rammed down your throat that this coming year NFTs are going to be everything. In fact, even outside of music it’s increasingly becoming the rallying call of Crypto Twitter. Music NFTs are going to “have their year” in 2022. (Dan Fowler)
AmazeVR Completes $15 Million Raise, Preps Series B and Megan Thee Stallion ConcertVR concert platform AmazeVR has officially raised another $15 million from investors including Seoul-headquartered VC Murex Partners and Partners Investment. (Digital Music News)
Onboarding: The Key To Long-Term Sustainable CommunitiesThe key ingredient that makes community work is engagement. When engagement drops in your community, it withers. The same goes for subsections of your community. (Music X)
Ethereum Voices: Do NFTs matter for classical music?On March 31, 2020, the Metropolitan Opera suspended paychecks for the musicians of its orchestra as its productions ground to a pandemic-induced halt. Some performers left New York City, refinanced their mortgages, or took early retirement. Others survived on a combination of Zoom lessons and unemployment. (Van Magazine)
Secondary Ticketing Firm Stubhub Wants To Go PublicThis may not go down well with the music industry: the parent company of secondary ticketing services StubHub and Viagogo, StubHub Holdings, is reportedly exploring going public via a Spotify-style direct listing. (Musically)
How Relevant Are Awards In The Age Of Spotify Wrapped?One of the overwhelming cultural challenges is that most awards are designed to celebrate mainstream success - to make nominees and winners the talk of the town - yet in the streaming era ‘the mainstream’ has itself become just another niche. (Midias Research)
‘We’re Fed Up’: Inside The Chaos And Confusion Of Live Music In 2022After a glimmer of hope by the end of summer 2021, the UK’s once-thriving live music scene was plunged into chaos by the Omicron variant of Covid. Roisin O’Connor speaks to artists, festival organisers, venue owners and experts on the obstacles they face this year. (Independent UK)
Plugged In: What TikTok’s NFT Failure Says About Big Brands Getting In EarlyThe Grammys, the NFL and Live Nation have also tried to get into the game with varying results. Are mainstream NFTs ready for prime time? (Billboard Pro)
Kendrick Lamar’s PGLang Company Sets First Feature, Teams With Matt Stone and Trey Parker for Live-Action Comedy at ParamountGrammy-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar’s PGLang company has teamed with Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s Park County banner to produce a new feature film for Paramount Pictures. (Variety)
Dr. Dre Is a Knight, Kendrick Lamar Gets Abstract and Billie Eilish Is Chaos in Interscope Records’ LACMA ExhibitionInterscope Records is launching its 30 th anniversary celebration in an imaginative manner with more than 50 artworks at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) called “Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined.” (Variety)
Meet Sony Music’s New Global Merch Arm: Ceremony Of RosesToday (January 19), Sony Music Entertainment has confirmed that it’s made a strategic investment in Ceremony of Roses (CoR), a “boutique” merchandising company founded by music and fashion entrepreneur Brad Scoffern. (Variety)
This Web3 Music Startup Mints ‘Producer NFTs As The Future Of FandomNFTs entered the mainstream through the art world, as collectors paid headline-grabbing sums for digital works. And now there’s a growing number of Web3-first startups, including Catalog, Royal, and Sound.xyz, betting on the music industry carrying the next big NFT wave. (Fast Company)
Budweiser Partners With 22 Emerging Music Artists on New NFT CollectionOver the past few months, Budweiser has been making a clear effort to break into the NFT ecosystem. After selling out of their first NFT drop almost immediately, the company has now announced its next non-fungible endeavor, Budweiser Royalty. (NFT Now)
See This Year’s Super Bowl Performers In Slick New Trailer For Halftime ShowIn the video, the five music icons play characters in an action movie of sorts. Eminem, Snoop, Blige and Lamar are seen doing their own thing before being summoned to a pre-performance pow-wow by Dre. (Today)
How Royal Can Redefine Music RoyaltiesOn Thursday, January 20, Nas will sell future royalties for his music on royal, the marketplace that offers collectors ownership in songs via NFTs. This drop was originally scheduled for January 11, but the demand broke royal’s servers! Technical issues on launch day are a product manager’s worst nightmare, but the heightened demand is a good sign. (Trapital)
BYTES
Host Alex Ragir is joined by music marketing dealmaker Jesse K and Insta-famous news veteran Mosheh Oinounou. They discuss the ins and outs of the music creator economy, Nas' NFT royalty sales, and NYTimes purchase of Athletic.
The movie is a musical, with songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Jamal Sims choreographed the characters’ movements to Miranda’s songs, and was assisted in that by Kai Martinez, who went on to work with the animators as an animation reference consultant as they worked off Jamal’s filmed references to ensure that the choreography translated to screen with authenticity and accuracy. (Disney News)
Over the past couple of weeks, corporate Twitter accounts have increasingly started pandering to the former demographic, seizing on the love-it-or-hate-it game’s unique format and consumers’ obsession with it, to drive their brand message home. (AdAge)
Music is an art form everybody consumes in one way or another that has the power to change lives and uplift spirits, BUT the music industry is completely broken. Although we’ve seen a second golden age of music in the past decade with the rise of streaming, the model rewards the institutions (labels and streaming platforms), and exploits the artists who only make $0.003 to $0.005 per stream. (Mirror)
This week's newsletter was carefully curated by the Nue Agency staff and our editor Rachel Meisner. If you think we missed something this week or have any suggestions/comments for next week's newsletter, let us know!