AI Is Getting Scary Good At Replicating Music

If you hadn’t heard of AI music before this week, you could be forgiven. But now — after a song using AI-generated vocals imitating Drake and The Weeknd went viral and was taken down as quickly as another AI Drake track dropped — maybe not so much.

And AI isn't even the biggest threat to musicians attempting to make a living from their songs. Coupled with the growing take rate from streaming platforms, it’s arguably harder than ever to be a musician.

Streaming giants like Spotify have become multi-billion dollar behemoths. Tech platforms like YouTube, Amazon, and Apple have millions of subscribers to their streaming offerings as well, and there are reports that TikTok is exploring launching its own platform. And while platforms are racking up billions of dollars in monthly fees from subscribers, artists are still struggling to make a living from their streaming royalties.

But what if artists had a more direct way of sharing music with fans, a way to verify songs are actually legit, and even a way of transparently seeing direct royalties? (And maybe splitting that upside with their most fervent fans?)

That’s exactly what Web3 music startups like Audius, Royal, and Sound are exploring by allowing fans to support musicians through purchasing songs as NFTs. Some artists, like little-known rapper Spottie WiFi, have been able to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in a matter of hours by doing just that — which is the equivalent of millions of streams on Spotify. Not bad for an amateur rapper.

“I was able to sell an album as an NFT collection and generate $200,000 in revenue in instantly,” Spottie WiFi tells Coinage in a new episode. “I really just need a few hundred or even a thousand fans. If I can provide enough value and enough entertainment that a thousand people are willing to pay $100 a year, then all of a sudden I'm a six-figure artist.”

Watch this week’s Coinage episode for a deep dive into Web3 music, and how it might be able to save music from AI (and artists from the industry itself.)