Seven days until we launch the Indiegogo campaign for the world’s first fully open source, decentralized smart speaker! Stay up-to-date, become an ambassador over at @Volareo Ambassadors and subscribe on www.volareo.live/launch to make sure you don’t miss out on the best Volareo launch deals. Open what, I hear you say? Open source (or open-source) is a philosophy. It not only promotes the free access and distribution of a product but its modification too. Doors open to community collaboration Open-source … Read More
The vision of Volareo: an interview with the founder Nick Yap
Join our contest to win the very first Volareo speaker. Click on this link and participate! S: How did this idea became a company? N: I think we are ahead of time right now, but let’s not wait for it to be right. Let’s be the pioneers! So I sat down with Tom and started a bunch of accounts. It is actually the comments of people that kept telling us “it’s a good idea!” that gave us the confidence to go for it. … Read More
Have fun in a crowd with crowdfunding
You have a mind full of business/artistic ideas, but an empty pocket. Welcome your saviour, crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is raising finance by asking many people for a small amount of money each. This is the opposite of asking a small number of investors for a large amount of capital. Why choose to crowdfund over Bill Gates though? Crowdfunding builds a community. It creates brand ambassadors, who share your vision and believe in you. This family follow your journey and are rewarded … Read More
Blockchain musicians unite
Ideas for a new online hub for artists In the SoMe (social media) district of the internet, there appears to be a vacant shop front, ready to welcome a new music-focused hub. In such a hub, music products of all kinds would be neatly presented, instead of drowning in a sea of others. Emphasis would put on unsigned artist promotion, major label artists would not be given special treatment, and it would be possible to stream or buy on Spotify … Read More
The utopian social network
With MySpace no longer the space of many and the crowds having dispersed from Crowdmix, evidence suggests that music-focused social media put on a good show but have a hard time keeping the audience. One may then wonder if music fans really want to bond with their peers or strengthen their pre-existing bond with their artist. From Magaluf club snaps to propaganda dressed as news, social media is teeming with posts a music junkie may not care to see: while … Read More
Hooked on music: the economics of summer hits and its shortcomings
Content consumerism: the digital age economy. We are all consumers of content. Even if we don’t want it, it’s just all over the place to be ignored. Call it entertainment, advertisement, or what you want. That’s all it really is, content. Most of it it’s quite annoying and dull. None of us was ever delighted to see for the umpteenth time the Audi ad on a Youtube video. But that’s the way to get it for free. The idea is this: … Read More
That time that Michael Jackson played the ‘nasty publisher’ card on the Beatles.
Let’s talk about music publishers. They are the unknown, driving forces behind the music industry. One of the most famous music publishers is Sony / ATV Music. Their history illustrates exactly why it is time for a direct connection between artist and fan. Here’s a behind the scenes story of how a Michael Jackson became the publisher of the Beatles and ruined a friendship between pop legends. Music publishers for dummies Fundamentally, music publishers connect musicians to the outside world. … Read More
The Top 1% of Artists Earn 77% of Recorded Music Revenue
That is what Digital Music Wrote back in 2014. Since then this revenue shared has only increased leaving unsigned smaller artist with dust to chew on. This share is even larger than the share of the total worlds wealth that the 1% richest humans have (which for reference is 50%). This horrible distribution is caused by thousands of middlemen taking large revenue cuts form smaller artist feeding the ones that don’t need it. Blockchain is here to change this. Blockchain … Read More
Branding and Presence on Blockchain for Musicians
As a musician today, it is important to have a clear branding image. With all the blockchain networks that are up at this point, it is difficult to keep a consistent image. Furthermore, the amount of platforms currently claiming to be the next blockchain revelation is enormous. So which ones do you indulge in? Generally, it is recommended to be active on as many platforms as possible. The main issue with this is the promotion of your activity on all … Read More
5 Ways to get rich as a musician today through Blockchain
Let me start off by saying that blockchain by no means is a get rich quick scheme, not for a musician at least. What it can be though is a long-term value giant. With the current situation of middlemen like Spotify taking massive cuts, it is hard for smaller musicians to make a living off their passion. Blockchain removes the need to have these middlemen and thus allows a garage band size musician to start putting more time into their … Read More