That’s a decent segue to your new venture. In very simple, layman terms, why TokenTraxx, and why now?
"I got into crypto back in 2016. You start reading about the tech, and you start understanding that this is, for the first time in human history, technology that’s been built that really can’t be controlled by human beings. It’s machine-led. And as a consequence, you realise that there’s a possibility to structure a new system that is clearly different to the current system.
"I mean that on a political level. On a financial level. But I really mean it on a creator level. Because the creator level is a mess in music. We are in the best time for discovery of music. Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, YouTube – I can find a track in two seconds and share it with you in another two seconds. From a creator point of view, that is an incredible place to be.
"Unfortunately, because of the system, this is not the streaming platforms’ fault. It’s not the majors’ fault. It’s not the publishers’. It’s not the archaic contracts or the laws or whatever. It’s not the artists’ fault. It’s everybody’s fault."
Meaning what?
"We’ve allowed a system to come about that’s not working for creators. Creators need support, emotionally, and financially. And it’s not working because they’re not getting either. Streaming algorithms are weighted towards the majors – because the majors have all the big artists that apparently everybody wants to listen to.
"And it was when I discovered NFTs about two-and-a-half years ago that I realised that that was the technology that was going to be the revolution that the music industry – and music creators and curators and collectors – need."
What’s your pitch to artists?
"We invite them in and say, ‘Right, what have you got, what do you need?’ You could do this, we could do that… We‘ve got a team of people that we put around them, and we help them come up with NFT concepts that they can then put through the TokenTraxx platform.
"It’s about building communities. It’s about offering collectibles, rarities. Bringing value back into what they do, looking at different ways that you can fractionalise what you do. Looking at how you can create tiered membership schemes that bring your fanbase closer to you in a way that they’ve never been able to do before."
What’s in it for fans?
"The key thing is allow those fans to actually participate in your success, and then also trade themselves that success. With Blockchain, you can trade all this stuff. So it makes it much more of a personable experience. What you’ll see is a new system that is very concentrated and artist community-led – with communities that are fiercely loyal to those artists… because they are getting so much in return.
"I was talking to an A&R about this the other day, about that feeling when your artist has a hit. Now, anybody can have that. They just come to TokenTraxx, they find an artist that they like, they buy their NFTs early on. And then they become part of that artist’s community. They’ve helped and supported that artist. And in return, they get more love and respect, and more NFT sales. Then eventually that artist hopefully blows up. And you can trade your success."
So the TokenTraxx pitch is that, 'This is a combination of emotional investment, which is what we always go for in music, with financial investment as well'?
"Yeah. I’m sure you’ve read Kevin Kelly’s 1,000 True Fans essay that he wrote for Wired back in 2008. I’ve updated it to being 100 true partners…
"The key thing here is that as we get more into a world of automation, creativity is going to become the hub of what we are as human beings. AI and algorithms will never replace human beings’ intellectual imagination. Look at what happened when drum machines and synths came along. Everyone said, 'Oh my God, this is going to take away drummers and string players!' It just didn’t! It created something new and exciting and different. But it didn’t take away from human beings.
"That gave me a lot of hope. And I don’t see that changing. There will always be something that human beings bring to the table. With TokenTraxx, it’s the start of that journey. It’s the start of allowing creators and anybody in this world to be creative. That’s the concept."