Choon and Volareo as one

I was so excited to hear that Volareo officially partnering with the increasingly popular blockchain-based music platform, Choon.

I was excited about it for many reasons, but primarily because both parties represent something new, and wildly different than what we are accustomed to in the current music and tech landscape.

Sure, we have had smart speakers like Alexa for some time now. And we have been able to stream music “for real” since Spotify came along. But a partnership between Volareo and Choon has the potential to change how we feel about, experience, and interact with music altogether. And it can be a reality for a lot of people in as little as just a few years, seeing how fast technological innovations can become mainstream.

With a smart speaker like Volareo, listeners can consume music more conveniently at home. Effectively resulting in a higher consumption of music in the long term. When you are playing some funky music while cooking, dancing along and having a great time, saying “vo, next” when a wild Nickelback suddenly appears in your speakers, is something that will be appreciated by the masses. You might have your hands covered in fish mucus, and would previously risk affecting your device with said stink. Not any more, all with the added benefit of actually being more present in doing what you are doing. No need to even look at your phone. Thankfully.

Volareo will finally be adding convenience back to music, without the need to briefly drop out of an engaging conversation to look at your phone to add songs to your queue or playlist. If you have ever hosted a little get-together without preparing a nice playlist in advance, I’m sure you can relate to this. As we are seeing the downsides of our smartphone addictions, priming us to get more easily distracted every day, this will be a godsend for our mental state too. Because having to look at your phone to change the song will inevitably lead to checking out that notification more often than not. Thus, sucking you into smartphone land longer than intended, when you were supposed to be with your actual friends.

The benefit

of being present doesn’t stop there either. Pairing Choon and Volareo will open up for listener-to-artist interactions like we have never seen before. One of them being the ability to tip the artist playing, by simply clapping. And while you’re at it, why not leave a contextual voice comment too? After all, Choon plans to offer two-way tipping. So after you leave a tip with a voice comment about the “MOST AZM SONG EVER MADE ERRHMAGEWDS!1!!”, you will not only make the day of the artist you tip, you might even get double back as a token of appreciation. (pun intended) And every time this happens, relationships are being created. A circle of gratitude has been created, making music a more fulfilling experience for everyone involved. And as a listener, you are literally holding the power to make someone’s day, in the palm of your hands.

With this incredible new two-way interaction being facilitated, making a living from music might not just be a distant dream for talented, independent musicians. With Choon stripping away the middlemen – the same middlemen who are currently syphoning a mind-boggling 88% of revenues from the artists creating it and offering a realistic possibility of simply being a full-time composer. Without the fame. Without the need for consistent, exhausting touring. Just from the appreciation of the art, they are creating themselves. Getting your 1000 true fans has never been more achievable than now. And long-term, playlist curators will help out with discovering new artists, constantly digging for the best quality created by independent artists.  

They will do so because they are incentivized to create playlists, as Choon offers a percentage of the royalties earned through your playlists. And what better way to make a great playlist, than just listening to undiscovered music in the background the whole day, while conveniently saying “vo, add to deep house playlist” whenever you hear a great track? Our previous cooking example suddenly turned into a lucrative affair, as you can now make playlists you get paid for while cooking! Or playing Fortnite. Or when practising your calligraphy skills. Or whatever it is kids spend their time on these days.

And to sweeten the deal

even further, developers will be free to develop apps for Volareo right away, with its decentralized structure. Effectively allowing the new and great ideas coming from this powerful combination, to live a life of its own in the future. Similarly, Choon will allow developers to access their whole music catalogue and feature set when their artist incentive called “Streaming as mining” is finished. Making it possible to develop a platform just for Choon and Volareo if needed, free for anyone to make.  

So it’s easy to see why this partnership excites me in many ways. And I personally never wanted big corporations like Amazon or Google to listen to all my conversations at home. Although I actually can appreciate getting highly relevant ads, I do not want them to be based on my private conversations. Ever. So there is finally an option for me too, as I can simply turn off the voice feature when I want some real privacy. And then enjoy watching a guilty pleasure movie on Netflix while still using my Volareo, in private.  

This article was a contribution from Preben / Kryptokind.

Preben / Kryptokind is an Amsterdam-based electronic music producer, growth strategist, and Blockchain enthusiast. He is obsessed with user experience and writes about music, marketing and blockchain.

You can check out his music on Choon here. and his blog on Steemit.