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Hi there everyone, TheRingMaster is back again with another Web 3.0 based blog. Lately I've been discussing the future potential of Web 3.0 and Hive in particular and the more I share, the more I personally realize the vast number of applications of this technology.

We see it in the government section, finance, business and Social media. Trust me it goes further and although we still need to improve on it, an advanced and scalable form of Web 3.0 can change the entire world literally.

The last few years have seen the emergence of Web 3.0 as a really transformative phase of the internet and you don't need me to tell you about the value of its decentralization. It gives power to users of different sectors. Interestingly, this technology is actually expected to cause a huge change in the music industry as well, especially in terms of how artists earn royalties and how music is distributed.

• Music is a very huge industry in the world, and through that we've had famous and wealthy people made. Different genres of music have had legends formed from them. However, it hasn't been a perfect ride because of one word in my opinion "Centralization"

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Decentralized Distribution Platforms

You can't just make your own music and start becoming a superstar without an effective means of distributing that music. Sadly, all the major and even minor means of distributing your music or songs are centralized. This means organizations, managers or platforms that hold the responsibility of getting your music out there have more control over the royalties and how far your music goes or even to which audience the music gets to.

They literally control the artists.

Thankfully Web 3.0 has a solution to any system, organization or business that seems to be suffering the negative effects of centralization. I believe that Web 3.0 technologies like blockchain and decentralized applications (dApps) are reshaping music distribution.

Like I just explained, by tradition, artists depended on centralised platforms including recording labels and streaming services that often controlled distribution taking a good chunk of earning from them. So what you thought artist were making from their songs, well think again, it was way more. Of course not all artists get unfairly treated but a lot did and still do since centralized platforms remain huge.

Through blockchain, however, musicians can bypass intermediaries to distribute their work directly to fans via decentralized platforms, giving them more power over their content as well as increasing earnings per stream or sale for each artist involved. Blockchain has a special way of cutting out the middle man, and getting the content of authors or artists to the right audience.

I think more artists should jump onboard the Web 3.0 movement if they seek to have freedom and earn the right amount from their own hard work. Thankfully Web 3.0 music distribution platforms are rising and this could be a great solution to the problem.

Take for example, Audius and Opensea which depend on blockchain technology where artists upload their music directly without intermediaries. When you open their sites, you're greeted with the messages of freedom and control over your content which I believe is the sound of music to all artists that discover it especially the young and upcoming ones.

Infact here on Hive we've got a handful of music platforms and I hope that as we get bigger, popular celebrities will one day join in. Imagine having Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift or any of your favorite famous singers share a 3Speak video joining the VIBES contest on Hive, If that's not going to boost adoption I don't know what will, hehehehe. Let's just see what @lordbutterfly would say about this future possibility.

Of course Vibes is not the only music community, there are so many more on Hive and it brings me so much joy when I see Decentralized music communities thriving.

The Smart contracts of Blockchain can make this possible by allowing the artist to earn their dues with no stress as the traditional methods of payment would require.

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Tokenization and Fan Engagement

I believe that Web 3.0 will bring more ways for artists to earn more money from the same songs they've been making. The concept of Tokenization on Web 3.0 or Blockchain is exactly what I'm talking about.

I think it's going to be a very important aspect of music on Web 3.0. The artists can convert their musical works or songs into Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), which will enable them to create digital assets that fans can buy or sell. That's going to create more profit while the song streaming itself generates profits. I believe this would boost engagement of their songs a whole lot more than ever.

These tokens give ownership or entitlement rights to private content, physical products or even forthcoming revenue bases from the music. There's also going to be less copyright issues from this technology, I believe.

What could happen is that the artist can give away limited copies of NFTs tied to a new album he or she just released, whereby every token holder is granted backstage passes or receives a percentage of the record’s sale. Think about it friends, it's basically Curation Rewards from your favorite artist. That way when Justin Bieber makes an album, by buying the NFTs and selling it, you as a fan are benefiting financially from his music. What a world that would be right?

I think with this concept, not only will fans be more involved in music, but also new revenue streams are opened up beyond ordinary sales and royalties. It's a win-win for both the artists and the fans.

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Transparent and Equitable Royalty

Web 3.0, thanks to Blockchain technology provides a great advantage, Transparency and this will be very good for royalty payment. We already know that in blockchain technology, there's a decentralized ledger that securely and transparently records every transaction made whether it is streaming or purchase.

So everyone both the Music organization and the artists can see clearly all transactions made. The smart contracts execute automatic royalty distributions based on the predefined terms of agreement on how much should be paid to the artists, manager, sales team and the music organization. This would ensure that all contributors to the music creation process receive fair compensation without delays or disputes or even downright fraudulent activities.

There would be less confusion and disagreement on the payments of royalties with Web 3.0 involved.

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Challenges and Adoption

Of course with a great technology comes an equivalent challenge in implementation.

I realize that the acceptance of Web 3.0 in the music industry is slowed by a number of issues like its inability to scale up, user experience, and regulatory compliance. Also the government already has it's hands deep in the music industry and so trying to involve a Decentralized technology like Web 3.0 in music is basically cutting them off and as we've seen in the news, governments hate Decentralized systems.

It is very important that these obstacles are overcome for broad-based or hopefully world wide adoption and approval by artists, fans and other industry players. All the parties involved in everyday music creation would have to be in agreement before this can happen.

Another problem is knowledge and awareness of Web 3.0. Even till today, some don't even know about the existence of Web 3.0 or Blockchain. At the moment, the only thing they may be aware of or have heard before probably in news or social media feed is cryptocurrency. But sadly most still see crypto as a trading asset and not a technology that brings Decentralization, full control to the user or owner and transparency to reduce the chances of fraudulent activities.

We would need to keep educating people about the Web 3.0 world before Web 3.0 and the music industry can merge beautifully.

I am however hopeful that this will happen sooner than later. Thank you so much for the time and as always, would love your feedback.

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