web3
Why decentralization isn’t the ultimate goal of Web3
The transition from Web2 to Web3 is inevitable. Yet, as the demand for decentralization gains momentum, several important questions are being raised about the current state of blockchain technology and its promised “decentralization.” Vitalik Buterin responded with a confession that “a lot of it comes down to limited technical resources and funding. It’s easier to build things the lazy centralized way, and it takes serious effort to ‘do it right.’” Or, Jack Dorsey’s recent tweet where he claimed that it’s actually the venture capitalists who own the networks that exist today. You don’t own “web3.” The VCs and their LPs do. It will never escape their incentives. It’s ultimately a centralized entity with a different label. Know what you’re getting into… — jack⚡️ (@jack) Decembe...
What is the role of a decentralized autonomous organization in Web3?
A DAO empowers its community members with voting rights and allows investors to send, receive and store value globally, automatically and anonymously. For years, automated systems have been viewed as a way to reduce annoying hurdles to humans, such as dealing with lengthy and burdensome traditional bureaucratic systems. A DAOs’ purpose is to primarily to help resolve such issues and encourage humans to focus on better productivity and other more rewarding aspects of an organization. A DAO’s automated system does not require a traditional central management, which is more vulnerable to failure, human error and manipulation. In terms of real-world applications, what can a DAO do? The lack of hierarchical management allows the organization to have different...
The Ledger: How Big Is the Potential Music NFT Market?
The Ledger is a weekly newsletter about the economics of the music business sent to Billboard Pro subscribers. An abbreviated version of the newsletter is published online. It seems everybody is getting — or wants to get — in on the NFT business. It’s reminiscent of the late ’90s when companies rushed to launch websites because, well, there was money to be made and everybody else was doing it. Many companies stumbled out of the gate, but the internet turned out to be a pretty good business opportunity. The jury is still out on NFTs but there’s obvious potential. It’s no surprise that people spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on digital tokens that confer rights to anything from digital art to fan club-like perks. Some fans spend dearly to support their favorite artists. And with NFTs, ...
This Software Lets You Design Trippy Visuals of Your Music—Then Mint Them As NFTs
We know—NFT this, metaverse that. But before you grumble at this umpteenth blockchain tech platform, consider its value for music producers. VOID is a Web3-based platform that allows musicians to generate and customize kaleidoscopic visuals with their own songs. Created by Dutch developer Triptcip, the sequencing software essentially takes your music and spits out a trippy, beat-reactive mosaic. Triptcip’s visual synthesizer, VOID. Triptcip VOID, which Triptcip says is the first of its kind, aims to arm music producers with an easily accessible visual synthesis tool. Visual designers have enjoyed the spoils of the digital art revolution, but many musicians have found themselves stuck in a new kind of limbo. Without a budget to join forces with a capable designer or a trusted partner au cou...
After Rocky Launch, HitPiece Is Trying to Recruit Artists to the Platform
After sparking music industry outrage over a plan to auction an NFT for every song in the world — without first securing rights holders’ permission — NFT platform HitPiece now reaching out to artists’ teams in hopes of forging official partnerships. Co-founder Rory Felton also tells Billboard the company has hired Gary Greenstein of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati “to represent the company in discussions with rights owners and to advise HitPiece on legal matters.” After HitPiece’s beta launch in caught the industry’s attention in February for pulling artwork and other information off of Spotify without artists’ permission, the backlash caused Felton’s company to pull its site offline. Days later, the RIAA — on behalf of the major labels — threatened a lawsuit against HitPiece and...
1Password integrates security API into Phantom Wallet
Digital security service 1Password has announced a collaborative partnership with Phantom Wallet to enable asset holders to amalgamate their vast accumulations of public key addresses, seed phrases and other corresponding security details into a single ‘Save in 1Password’ system. Operating primarily in the traditional financial sector at this time, 1Password has over 100,000 corporate clients from a panoply of industries, including well-recognized brands like IBM, Slack, Shopify and Under Armour. The application programming interface (API) of 1Password aims to simplify the user experience, enable asset sovereignty and assign portfolio responsibility to help investors sufficiently manage their cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) held on the Solana blockchain. A centralized entity...
DJ-Themed DJenerates NFT Collection Partners With Moonwalk to Deliver Premium Dance Music Experiences
Dance music’s famous faces have been immortalized through the immutable power of blockchain technology. DJenerates, an NFT collection supported by many of dance music’s biggest names including Benny Benassi, Carl Cox, Maceo Plex, and Paul Oakenfold, is turning the likenesses of superstar DJs into NFTs. The collection of 10,000 avatars additionally incorporates algorithmically driven concatenations of hundreds of unique potential traits to develop a host of unique, nightlife-inspired characters. Following the collection’s season one release, which completely sold out in just four days, DJenerates is taking major steps to build community and utility around their tokens, starting with a partnership with Moonwalk. Moonwalk provides the digital infrastructure for NFT crea...
Universal Music Group Partners With Curio for Future NFT Projects
Universal Music Group and NFT platform Curio will partner together on future NFT projects from UMG’s labels, subsidiaries and artists worldwide, the companies announced Thursday (Feb. 17). Curio, which has released over 75,000 NFTs since last February, will launch its first project through the agreement with Capitol Records artist Calum Scott in March. “With Curio, our labels will have a secure and dedicated platform to host these premium projects and provide new opportunities for collectors and fans from around the world to acquire unique pieces, inspired by their favorite artists and labels,” said Michael Nash, UMG executive vp digital strategy, in a statement. “UMG is focused on developing new opportunities in this space that place our artists and labels at the forefront, working to ens...
Love in the time of crypto: Does owning cryptocurrency make daters more desirable?
Cryptocurrency has become one of the most widely discussed topics of 2022. As such, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that mentioning “crypto” in an online dating profile may generate additional attention. A newstudy from brokerage firm eToro found that 33% of Americans who were surveyed would be more likely to go on a date with someone who mentioned crypto assets in their online dating profile. Out of the 2,000 adult residents in the United States between the ages of 18 and 99 surveyed, more than 40% of men and 25% of women indicated that their interest in a potential date is stronger when crypto is written on a dating profile. Crypto: What’s love got to do with it? Callie Cox, U.S. investment analyst at eToro, told Cointelegraph that the findings from eToro’s inaugural “Crypto & ...
New Music Industry Content Moderation Service Helps Take Down Unlicensed Metaverse NFTs
The music industry’s prominent rights-holders are rapidly taking action to protect their assets in the world of Web3. In the wake of an explosive NFT scandal involving the sale of unlicensed musical content, Digital Content Protection, an anti-piracy group, has launched a service to help ensure the rights-holders are protected from copyright abuse in the metaverse. Web 3.0 technology, including NFTs, has the ability to revolutionize the creator economy. However, in its current form, the field remains an unregulated Wild West. As Torrent Freak notes, Digital Content Protection is currently working alongside major labels Sony, Universal, and Warner in order to facilitate takedowns of unlicensed digital content. “DCP uses a pool of experienced professional...
YouTube sees ‘incredible potential’ in NFT video sales despite backlash threat
YouTube is looking at NFT integrations to provide new methods for creators to engage with fans and develop additional revenue streams. The news comes just a few weeks after YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki hinted that the platform can use Web3 “as a source of inspiration” for growth and possibly adopt NFTs on the website. In a Feb. 10 blog post, YouTube’s Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan outlined a long list of new products, tools and features that the firm intends to roll out in 2022, with Web3 tech, blockchain, NFTs and the Metaverse all getting mentioned. Mohan stated that YouTube is actively seeking out new ways to provide additional support and options for its two million partnered creators after receiving feedback from the community. After referencing that creators often struggle wit...
Man United onboards Tezos as its official Web3 and training kit partner
Manchester United, one of the oldest soccer clubs in the world, has confirmed its partnership with blockchain firm Tezos as the official training kit and technology partner. The soccer club aims to introduce its fans to the decentralized Web3 tech amid growing focus from mainstream firms and brands. The team would make its first appearance in the new kit on Saturday against Southampton. Manchester United’s previous sponsorship deal with Aon expired last month, and Tezos will be paying 33% on top of the previous agreement at $27 million yearly. Tezos will help the soccer club gain more exposure to Web3 technologies and might play a key role in launching various digital fan merchandise and collectibles soon. A majority of global sports brands are experimenting with blockchain- and Web3-cente...
