{"id":61974,"date":"2023-10-03T17:30:35","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T17:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/?p=61974"},"modified":"2023-10-03T17:30:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T17:30:35","slug":"singer-verites-fan-first-approach-to-web3-music-nfts-and-community-building-cointelegraph-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/?p=61974","title":{"rendered":"Singer V\u00e9rit\u00e9\u2019s fan-first approach to Web3, music NFTs and community building \u2013 Cointelegraph Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Carving out a sustainable career as an independent musician is no easy feat. The competition is fierce, support can be hard to find, and earning a living without the financial help of a major record label is an uphill battle. Yet, for those who are able to build a loyal fanbase, the freedom of complete creative control can be liberating.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Technology has long proven to be a potential friend to those musicians willing to embrace it, and nonfungible tokens are the latest innovation that many tech-savvy artists have begun incorporating into their careers<\/a>. But NFTs remain both controversial and experimental, especially among the mainstream, and music NFTs are still relatively niche.<\/p>\n

One artist who has cracked the code to maintaining a successful career as an independent musician is American singer V\u00e9rit\u00e9, who has racked up hundreds of millions of streams without the support of a record label since releasing her first single, \u201cStrange Enough,\u201d in 2014.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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was about to sign to a major label. they backed out last minute. now i’m an independent artist with 200 million+ streams, own my masters & publishing, create & release whatever the fuck i want & run my own business. rejection is always for a reason. #ShareYourRejections<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 V\u00c9RIT\u00c9 (@Verite) August 17, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

After finding success and touring internationally, V\u00e9rit\u00e9 became one of the earliest musicians to experiment with NFTs in February 2021. Since then, she has built a strong Web3 community and had several successful high-profile drops, including releasing 1\/1 NFTs, selling the master rights to her music, fractionalizing song royalties on the blockchain<\/a> and giving NFTs to concert attendees. She has done all this while still retaining her dedicated non-Web3 fans, many of whom have little to no interest in crypto.<\/p>\n

How does one walk this fine line and successfully integrate Web3 into their career without alienating their existing, perhaps skeptical, fans? Magazine sits down with V\u00e9rit\u00e9 to find out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t over-rely on Web3<\/strong><\/h2>\n

For many musicians, Web3 is an exciting frontier<\/a> filled with new possibilities for fan engagement and revenue generation. However, V\u00e9rit\u00e9 believes it is important that artists have diversified revenue streams and marketing strategies and don\u2019t fall into the trap of assuming that the hype surrounding anything, especially NFTs, will last forever.<\/p>\n

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(V\u00e9rit\u00e9)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Building a music career in Web3 is \u201ca bit of a double-edged sword,\u201d V\u00e9rit\u00e9 tells Magazine. While it can help bring people together, \u201cit becomes a negative when maybe artists limit themselves to only utilizing those tools and only existing within those communities, not really having the foresight that there was a hype cycle that then broke and these paths to monetization closed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cMy focus is \u2018How do I build a career that can withstand trend cycles, that can refocus on the foundation of my career while trying to push forward to build better?\u2019 because we recognize that a lot of these systems are extremely broken.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Protect and respect fans<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Not every fan wants to join their favorite artist on their Web3 journey, and that\u2019s fine, according to V\u00e9rit\u00e9. When she first started releasing NFTs, she heavily emphasized that she was simply experimenting with the technology. \u201cI was very, very clear that I don\u2019t care if you come with me on this experiment \u2014 this is an experiment for me,\u201d she states.<\/p>\n

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V\u00e9rit\u00e9 actually took it one step further, actively encouraging fans not to join her. \u201cA lot of my communication with them was, \u2018Don\u2019t buy this. Don\u2019t participate unless you are fully educated and willing to fully educate yourself and take on the risks.\u2019\u201d Even now, she still tells her fans that they should never feel pressured to participate in anything Web3-related.<\/p>\n

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Web3 has a scalability problem. It doesn\u2019t resonate with non crypto native audiences. Sentiments are vitriol, skepticism, distrust & lack of interest.. We are building solutions that audiences aren\u2019t asking for in hopes to create better monetization structures for artists.<\/p>\n

\u2014 V\u00c9RIT\u00c9 (@Verite) March 15, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cMore than monetizing, it\u2019s really protecting the people who have supported my career for the last eight years,\u201d V\u00e9rit\u00e9 emphasizes.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that not everyone is sold on the power and potential of blockchain. The bear market certainly hasn\u2019t helped the space\u2019s reputation either, with the collapse of crypto exchange FTX making mainstream media headlines<\/a> and the prices of even blue-chip NFTs crashing 95% from their bull market peaks<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go on my Discord \u2014 and I do tag everyone and say, \u2018What do you think about crypto and NFTs?\u2019 \u2014 people are not jazzed. Most of them, honestly. It\u2019s just general disinterest,\u201d V\u00e9rit\u00e9 explains. But it\u2019s not necessarily that her fans actively hate crypto. \u201cI\u2019m finding that people don\u2019t have a desire to do something new because they don\u2019t see a problem, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

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According to the singer, \u201cNFTs, Web3, how it\u2019s been marketed out to the masses is also wholly unpalatable really to non-tech-native fans.\u201d Instead, she offers the following advice:\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cI would more so recommend people to frame it as utilizing tools because it\u2019s a weird market, and it\u2019s hard to justify some of the scams and the negative aspects that can cause real harm to someone who isn\u2019t knowledgeable or educated on those things.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Offer an option, not a requirement<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Instead of forcing fans to join her on-chain, V\u00e9rit\u00e9 instead focuses on building experiences with a Web3 element that is present but optional. She describes her approach as offering a \u201cdoor\u201d for fans to enter, one where blockchain functionalities can be unlocked to further enhance the fan experience \u2014 but where fans will still enjoy the experience regardless of whether they open the door:<\/p>\n

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\u201cDo you need to jump the technological hurdle in order to have the experience, right? Or is it just a door? If it\u2019s a door, you can talk about it because it\u2019s not a burden.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s really trying to consider, \u2018What is the experience that we\u2019re offering, what are the actual viable use cases of blockchain technology that we can tack on that aren\u2019t burdensome?\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

One example is \u201cThe V\u00e9rit\u00e9 Crewneck,\u201d a tech-enabled sweatshirt the singer dropped in late 2022 in collaboration with IYK, a company working with brands, artists and creators to develop phygital experiences. The sweatshirt has a near-field communication, or NFC, chip embedded in the sleeve, which can be scanned to access exclusive content and unlock an NFT representing a certificate of authenticity.<\/p>\n

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The V\u00e9rit\u00e9 Crewneck. (V\u00e9rit\u00e9 on Mirror.xyz<\/em>)
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V\u00e9rit\u00e9 explains that fans who bought the sweatshirt received \u201cpremier access to the next era of my records.\u201d Buyers could scan the chip with their phones and get early access to music and perks such as behind-the-scenes content. \u201cThat was the main value proposition \u2014 not a Web3 activation, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

But the landing page also features an option to verify the garment, through which curious fans can receive their NFT.<\/p>\n

Fans are at the center of it all<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Between straight-up telling fans not to purchase her NFTs to offering them experiences where the Web3 option is an added bonus, V\u00e9rit\u00e9\u2019s fan-centric approach has undoubtedly played a significant role in her ability to push boundaries \u2014 and see success \u2014 in Web3 while still maintaining a loyal non-Web3 fanbase. Or, in her words, \u201cMy fans come first, and I don\u2019t have fans just so that I can sell them shit all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding her long-term hope for the future of blockchain and music, V\u00e9rit\u00e9 says her vision is that \u201cwe can demystify the black box of data that exists between artists and their fans, that is held by social platforms, ticketing companies, etc., and that blockchain actually does have the ability to make that information transparent so that artists can communicate directly to the people who support them and reward them in long-term scenarios.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the hype is to be believed<\/a>, this dream may one day come true. But based on V\u00e9rit\u00e9\u2019s experience at the forefront of it all, it seems the only way the music-Web3 revolution will be truly successful is if fans are placed at the center of it.<\/p>\n

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Jonathan DeYoung<\/h2>\n

Jonathan DeYoung is the senior copy editor at Cointelegraph and co-host of The Agenda podcast. He is interested in how decentralized technologies can strengthen communities, and the ways blockchain can empower independent artists and creators. In his free time, Jonathan raps and produces under the name \u201cMADic.\u201d<\/p>\n