Subtonic: Orchestrating a Harmonious Future for the Music Industry with Concordium
David Mygind
Entrepreneur - Investor - Equity Analyst - Expert on IR/Equity Stories - Strategic Thinker - Problem Solver - Futurist
The music industry stands at the precipice of a transformative era, where the confluence of blockchain technology and creative ingenuity holds the promise of reshaping the very fabric of how music is created, distributed, and experienced.
At the forefront of this revolution sits Subtonic & Music , an innovative platform that, in partnership with Concordium , a pioneering blockchain entity, is poised to redefine the dynamics between artists and fans, ushering in a new age of empowerment, transparency, and value creation.
As Feres Mezghani, co-founder and head of PR at Subtonic, succinctly puts it, "Subtonic brings back value to music."
The Discordant Symphony: Challenges in the Current Music Landscape
To grasp the transformative potential of Subtonic and Concordium's partnership, it is essential to understand the challenges that plague the current music industry. Artists, the lifeblood of the industry, often find themselves entangled in a web of intermediaries, from record labels to streaming platforms, which can lead to a disproportionate distribution of revenue. In fact, studies reveal that artists often receive a mere 12% of the total revenue generated from their creations, with the lion's share being consumed by middlemen. Mezghani highlights this stark reality, stating:
"Today only the top 0.1% of artists receive a sustainable living from the royalties."
Moreover, the rise of digital platforms, while democratizing access to music, has also given birth to new challenges, such as the complex landscape of copyright enforcement and the need for more robust systems to ensure fair compensation for artists. The current model often leaves artists, particularly indie creators, struggling to make a sustainable living from their craft, despite their talent and dedication. Mezghani illustrates this point with a vivid metaphor:
"Figuratively speaking you can imagine that Subtonic enables you to dress your artist on stage again so they are not completely naked."
Subtonic's Vision: Bringing Value Back to Music
In the face of these challenges, Subtonic emerges as a harbinger of change, armed with a clear vision to restore value to music and empower artists in the digital age. The platform aims to create a future where artists can meaningfully monetize their creations using Web3 technology, while still benefiting from the reach and exposure of current distribution models.
At the heart of Subtonic's mission lies a commitment to helping artists earn a living wage from their music, by providing them with tools to create fan-focused products that grant them complete control over their creative output and the income it generates. By leveraging the power of Concordium and Web3 technologies, Subtonic seeks to forge new pathways for artists to connect directly with their fans, fostering deeper relationships and unlocking new streams of revenue.
Features like Concordium's built-in identity layer, compliance-ready architecture, and low Euro-stable transaction costs make it the ideal blockchain for the music industry.
Challenges Addressed by Concordium
Cultivating an Exclusive Artist Community
One of the key pillars of Subtonic's strategy is the creation and nurturing of an exclusive artist community. Rather than focusing solely on established stars, the platform sets its sights on empowering indie artists who have a strong local following but may struggle to effectively monetize their content. Subtonic's approach to community building is rooted in collaboration and education. As Mezghani explains:
"We plan to grow by collaborating with local communities. From earlier endeavors, we have a good experience with live events and local communities to onboard both the artist and the fans."
The platform plans to host in-person events where artists and fans can come together to learn about the potential of Web3 technologies and receive hands-on guidance on setting up accounts and navigating the Subtonic ecosystem. This grassroots approach not only helps to onboard new users but also fosters a sense of belonging and shared purpose within the community.
Moreover, Subtonic understands that the transition to Web3 can be daunting for many artists, who may not be well-versed in the intricacies of blockchain technology. To address this, the platform is developing a comprehensive educational hub, designed to share knowledge and enable artists to fully harness the power of Subtonic to their benefit. Mezghani emphasizes the importance of this support, stating:
"We have many other tools with services that make it easier, that make it easier for them to manage their profiles so they can really focus on their art, but at the same time have a fair income return to them."
By providing artists with the tools and knowledge they need to thrive in this new landscape, Subtonic aims to cultivate a vibrant, engaged, and empowered creative community. Concordium’s peer-to-peer network and advanced next-generation smart contracts are instrumental tools facilitating direct artist-consumer interactions, removing intermediaries.
Innovative Monetization Models: From Access to Ownership
At the core of Subtonic's value proposition lies a suite of innovative monetization models that cater to the diverse needs and preferences of artists and fans alike. The platform offers three main products, each designed to represent a different level of engagement and value creation, which Mezghani summarizes as "Access, ownership, and participation."
These monetization models represent a gradual progression from access (Cultivate) to ownership (NFT Tracks), and ultimately, to participation (NFT Masters) in the music industry itself.
By offering this range of options that cater to different levels of engagement and investment, Subtonic aims to create a more inclusive and equitable ecosystem, where artists and fans can interact and transact on their own terms.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Concordium's Monetization Advancements
The Power of Partnership: Concordium's Role in Shaping the Future
While Subtonic's vision is undeniably ambitious, the platform recognizes that realizing this vision requires a strong foundation of technology and trust. This is where Concordium, a blockchain platform built on the principles of trust, privacy, and safety, enters the picture.
Subtonic chose to build on Concordium due to its unique blend of features that align perfectly with the needs of the music industry. As Mezghani explains:
"There are so many scandals and we did our due diligence, we did not want to take the risk and we are now ready to launch our product, but with all the features and tools that we have, especially about the ID, the privacy, the verification on Concordium natively integrated, this makes perfectly sense for us."
Concordium's ID verification system ensures that all participants in the network are legitimate, reducing the risk of fraud and enhancing trust between artists and fans. At the same time, the platform's privacy features allow users to maintain control over their personal data, ensuring that sensitive information remains secure.
Moreover, Concordium's focus on regulatory compliance makes it an ideal partner for navigating the complex legal landscape of the music industry. By building on a blockchain that prioritizes compliance, Subtonic can ensure that its platform operates within the bounds of existing regulations, while still harnessing the transformative potential of Web3 technologies.
Beyond its technical capabilities, Concordium also shares Subtonic's vision for a more equitable and sustainable future for the music industry. The partnership between these two entities represents a meeting of minds, a shared commitment to leveraging the power of blockchain to drive positive change and empower creators in the digital age.
Concordium’s blockchain fosters a more organic music discovery process and deeper fan engagement, setting a new standard for artist-fan relations.
The Road Ahead: Building a Harmonious Ecosystem
As Subtonic and Concordium embark on a transformative journey, the road ahead is filled with both challenges and opportunities. Subtonic's platform is currently in the process of developing its minimum viable product (MVP), with plans to launch in 2024, as Mezghani confirms:
"Our main focus right now, also, for the fundraising, by the way, please contact me anytime you have any questions about Concordium and if you want to learn more about it and how we do it, because we are building the MVP right now, and we're expecting it to be ready in 2024."
In the initial phase, the focus will be on onboarding artists and fans, gradually introducing Web3 functionality as the user base grows and becomes more familiar with the ecosystem. Transactions on Subtonic's platform will be powered by Concordium's native token, CCD, which will serve as the primary means of exchange and value transfer within the ecosystem.
Looking further ahead, Subtonic envisions a future where its platform seamlessly integrates with existing Web2 platforms, such as streaming services, creating a bridge between the traditional music industry and the emerging world of Web3. This integration will allow artists to benefit from the reach and exposure of established platforms, while still maintaining the benefits of direct fan engagement and innovative monetization models offered by Subtonic. Mezghani shares this long-term vision, stating:
"If we reach the point where this is somewhat established and people are aware of the advantages, like fractionalized master recording, we believe that established Web2 platforms, streaming platforms like Spotify and others, they cannot ignore this."
Perhaps most excitingly, Subtonic's long-term vision includes the introduction of fractionalized ownership of master recordings (via NFT Masters). This groundbreaking model would allow fans to own a piece of their favorite artist's work, participating directly in the financial success of the music they love.
By democratizing ownership and blurring the lines between creator and consumer, Subtonic aims to forge a new paradigm for the music industry - one that is more equitable, transparent, and collaborative.
Real-World Music Use Cases Empowered by Concordium
Envisioning the Symphony of the Future
In a world where the music industry stands at a crossroads, Subtonic and Concordium's partnership represents a future of hope and innovation. By harnessing the power of blockchain technology and placing artists and fans at the center of its ecosystem, Subtonic is poised to orchestrate a harmonious future for the industry - one where creativity is rewarded, relationships are nurtured, and the value of music is truly recognized.
As Subtonic evolves and expands, it holds the potential to fundamentally alter the music industry's foundation, fostering a more sustainable and equitable environment for all stakeholders. With Concordium's robust blockchain infrastructure and Subtonic's dedication to artist empowerment, their joint efforts transcend mere collaboration as a catalyst for enduring change that will resonate within the music industry for generations.
In the end, Subtonic and Concordium's vision extends beyond the realms of technology and economics as an admirable vision deeply rooted in the power of music itself.
The future promises a platform that honors the value of creative expression and fosters genuine connections between artists and fans as Subtonic and Concordium co-creates a space where the transformative power of music flourishes unencumbered by the limitations of past centralization.
Standing on the brink of this new era, it becomes evident that the future of music will not be dictated by intermediaries or gatekeepers, but by the collective strength of artists and fans, united by their shared passion for music and their desire to forge something truly meaningful. With Subtonic and Concordium at the helm, this future is within our grasp—a symphony of innovation, ready to be unleashed upon the world.