The Ethereum-centric media studio SingularDTV is taking this ICO idea to the next level.
“Everyone else out there is doing ICOs, things that are only coins. Only cryptocurrency. But we’re actually taking functions and features and programming them into the tokens to make them more than just a currency,” Zach LeBeau, CEO of SingularDTV, told IBT about launching a new project with DJ and music producer Gramatik. “These are property tokens. These are utility tokens with applications…these tokens represent Gramatik’s intellectual property that he distributes on the blockchain.”
By distributing parts of his own IP rights among his fans, the artist shares royalty and revenue with his fanbase directly. This offers a unique incentive for fans to purchase music through the artist’s independent platform. Discover a cool band before the hipsters catch on? Buy the band’s token. By engaging online with his community fans can also earn cool rewards.
“This allows me to be fully autonomous and to relate to my fans in a way that wasn’t ever possible before,” Gramatik told IBT. “It’s going to be an experiment.”
Unlike his female indie peers, Gramatik is a newbie to the world of cryptocurrency. He was so inspired by the story of bitcoin’s anonymous creator, known by the alias Satoshi Nakamoto, that Gramatik released a song about the faceless icon last December.
Gramatik’s new album, “Recoil Part 1,” will be released on Oct. 20. Meanwhile, the token sale for Gramatik’s unique cryptocurrency will kick off during his European tour this month. However, his miniverse won’t be fully up and running until next year when the second part of his Recoil album series is released through SingularDTV’s blockchain distribution channel.
In the meantime, his music is still available on iTunes, Spotify, and all the other mainstream channels. Other artists are soon to follow. “We are launching artists in waves,” LeBeau said. By the end of 2018, a handful of artists will start building up their own blockchain miniverses through SingularDTV. It’s clear labels and platforms will still have a role in the future music industry. The difference is they will no longer monopolize control over the artist’s work and access to fans.