"Wen Music NFTS?"

WAGMI - A term used to promote a concept where everyone in web3 will "make it". There is only one way to actually bring this term to life. As cliché as it may sound, this way is through community. Not the typical community that's being used as a slogan to sell out projects & eventually pull the rug on its believers. I mean actual community. WAGMI is only possible if we all work together (WAWT) *shrugs*

Here's the issue (IMO). We are in an unconscious competition with one another as artists, like it or not. Why? The answers simple but I'll go into detail in a second which will conclude with a solution. The reason why this is the current state of the market for music NFTS is due to a disproportionate amount of artists flooding the space vs. collectors & investors (fans).

Another issue that I've observed in correlation with this. The eco-system that we've so far established isn't sustainable. Due to the amount of artists being onboarded vs actual collectors. We have a system of artist support artist which makes up the vast amount of money being invested into artists projects. Allow me to paint a perspective around this to make it make a little bit more sense. A market that is majority artist support artist is equivalent to opening up a business & instead of focusing on attracting more customers, your contributions come from other businesses, who like you, are also fighting to keep the lights on every month. No new money in = no growth. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of artists supporting artists BUT, this should be out of love & not necessity. I've also illustrated this below for those that, like myself, are more visually inclined :

Also, something that has been highlighted in this image above is my final issue. I mentioned in the intro this unconscious competition amongst artists which ties directly into this point. Relying on, or seeking out a couple of "whales" to generate sales. This is the top 1%. The reason why this also isn't productive when talking about 'sustainability' is :

1. Charging thousands (10+ ETH) & targeting these "whales" is counter productive to the market as a whole. This only works in a small market. The more each artist prices their work to appeal to a very small pool of collectors, the higher the collective floor price will rise. The more the masses see this, the less appealing music NFTS will be. Yes, there have been some massive sales, which I'm sure is one of the inspirations for other artists to demand a higher price point for their work. Intertwined with the chip on artists shoulders from being taken advantage of by the traditional industry & undervalued for so long. We now see an opportunity to make what we truly feel our value is, but in order to create an environment/market that's sustainable & attractive to your every day consumer, we have to be patient with our demands. We can't take out our frustrations on potential supporters, we have to keep in mind that our job isn't to only extract value as artists but also prioritize producing it for collectors as well. This isn't a WAGMI strategy. Being intentional with how we price our work & not pricing each other out, realizing that we all effect the market in some way or another, IS. We're all connected, let's not forget.

If we're going to use the success of the pfp's as an example to pick from. The most successful projects started out at a lower mint price, higher number of available work & building through the secondary over time. Not trying to hit a home run out of the gate. Building a community instead of targeting a small group of collectors should be the priority of artists, IF growth & sustainability is the artists goal.

Now that I've covered the issues that I've identified, let's talk about a solution.

On boarding

Focusing on onboarding more collectors into the space is an easy solution, but the execution isn't. The reason why pfp's are dominating & attracting a majority of the revenue is because of the attractiveness they have developed over time. The value has been seen & adopted. This has taken 2 things, time & a couple projects to blow up outside of our internal web3 community (2 sides 2 the coin, structure + appeal = mass adoption). The same is true with any other medium entering the space. Eventually each medium will even out to reflect its real word value. Once the music model in web3 makes sense to the average consumer, it will moon. We won't have to charge 10 ETH to be financially free. There will be enough of a collector base & interest, to sell at a lower price to more people. The artists win & the average consumers win also. Think about the percentage of the world that's actually wealthy or financially free, compared to the number of people that aren't. I'm sure the number is less then 5% (correct me if I'm wrong). So with this in mind, wouldn't it make sense to build out a model that is easily accessible to the larger amount of people?

Our focus shall be on refining our value & incentivizing mass adoption (onboarding).

When we find a common ground that can easily be communicated to the masses

(as the pfp model has done). Then we will see the success that we desire. Before any major breakthrough must come collective thought & intention. More then just showing up everyday & trying to make an individual sale, but showing up every day as a team & building out the table so that everyone can eat.

This requires time, trial & error, patience, intention, thought, strategy, selflessness & actual community building. We're stronger together. We don't have to stretch ourselves providing endless utility, when done right all we'll have to do is answer one question. Why are music NFTS a better option than any other available way to interact with an artists music? Once we can simplify the answer & make it make sense to the average person, that's 'Wen' music NFTS. We don't need to target whales & try competing over a couple major sales. Just like the internet had to make sense before the average user adopted it, so will music NFTS. We're talking about changing peoples habits & beaten paths. That requires time, patience, consistency & strategy.

Furthermore on this point, as artists, we'll naturally always see value in our work. We have to be willing to leave our shoes & put ourselves in the consumers perspective in order to get them to see the value as well. We get caught up in thinking web3 is the solution. It isn't, proof of this is the number of artists still starving, with a small amount of artists at the top. Even those artists share their platform with only immediate community. Web3 is a 'tool' that can be used to create the solution. We don't just have freedom handed to us, we have the freedom to create freedom for ourselves & each other. The work must first be done, the groundwork & foundation must first be laid before any building can be built, or any people can occupy the building. We're in the blue print creation stage, then comes construction (even though we're constructing as we go). Wen moon? After the spaceship is built, given fuel, tried & tested (along with it's pilots), given a destination & then launched.

Here's an addition of actionable steps to the solution.

Focus on refining your onboarding process more then your craft. Being an artist has never been enough, soon it will be, but in order to get there we must create that privilege. We think of getting into the space as the finish line, when it's only the beginning of a new race. We're pioneers, not adopters. That comes with a heavy responsibility. Those that do the work in this way will see the rewards. Our future generations will enjoy the freedom from our sacrifices.

As artists we can become delusional, feeling entitled to sell without first creating value. In any market the more value you contribute, the more you're compensated. As long as we rely on consumer behavior to pay our bills, this will be the only way. What holds most artists back isn't lack of creativity in their work, it's the lack of creativity when developing strategy & communicating that value to the market. In order for people to be motivated to buy into something, they need a reason WHY.

Right now we're at WACMI (we all can make it), in order to get to WAGMI, everyone has to be willing to contribute more than just their art. Art has never been the problem so its not the solution either. Even though we may treat it as such.

In conclusion

In order to see the space that we all desire & speak of, we have to build it. Let's refine our onboarding process, let's create & agree on a clear point of value. In other words let's come up with a clear & concise answer to WHY MUSIC NFTS? Let's be thoughtful when setting price points. Let's come together with intention & attention to detail. Let's create not only an amazing experience, as well as opportunities for ourselves. Let's create it with everyone in mind, that's how we'll not only attract people into the space but more importantly maintain retention.

*These are all my thoughts & opinions. Feel free to share this post. Share your thoughts as well. If interested, we can hold a twitter space & have a live discussion. All in all, let's keep building!