Case Study

Develop a Solution for Royalty Transparency and a Payout Model Project

A very common problem, many independent artists are looking to create sustainable income. That was the case for our client, Labelcoin.

OBJECTIVE

Labelcoin’s mission is to end artist poverty by making songs investable to the average fan. Essentially, this acts as a “stock market” for songs. According to Labelcoin.io, “Labelcoin is a revolutionary song exchange that lets fans invest in the next big song.”

Mark Miller, CEO and co-founder, has been in the music industry for twenty years. Ten of those years he was a music artist. Through much investment and effort he was able to build a six-figure business.

SUMMARY

The Problem

98% of musicians in the U.S. make below minimum wage for their music.

The Solution

Make songs investible for the average fan
Build on Web 3.0 infrastructure.
Consult with Rewired.one.

Results and Benefits

Current value at 25M.
Raised 625K in investment.
Avoided the mistakes of others in the Web 3.0 space.

THE PROBLEM

According to Mark Miller, 98% of musicians in the U.S. make below minimum federal wage for their music. In 2016, he started an artist agency in Nashville, TN, working with highly talented artists from places such as American Idol and The Voice. These artists had hundreds of thousands of followers. Mark recalled, “I was shocked to discover that we were out-earning almost all these artists with our 3,000-follower fan base. The difference between them and us was that we learned how to build a music business. There are 213,000 artists on Spotify who have at least 10,000 monthly listeners. These artists should be able to make a living on that.”

For Labelcoin, the primary use case that came forth was royalty transparency and transaction models, and building a foundation for the future. Additionally, NFT’s are also in the plan. Mark Miller explains,

“Over the past few years there has been a huge emphasis on NFTs, music NFTS, and collectibles. We always want to tie more to real value assets. What I mean by that is something is not valuable because someone else says it’s valuable, but because it’s making money in and of itself.

We needed a solution for royalties. Every time someone listens to a song on Spotify, there’s a payment that goes out. It’s collected. When you’re selling those royalties, it’s a real-world asset. That’s why we focused on selling those royalties at first. We wanted to have that foundation because we recognize that there is still great value in collectibles, especially those that have tangible benefits.

Where we’re going in the future is being able to mint NFT’s based upon song ownership, or different avenues, that provide tangible assets such as access to certain tickets, backstage access, merchandise discounts, etc. There are several avenues that can bring value and benefits to people in addition to collection and just proving status.

We knew that while we weren’t going to engage in a full buildout immediately, we needed to be set up for that. We needed to have that foundation while we’re using the blockchain now for royalty transparency and a payout model that has integrity. The music industry has not been known for that.”

THE SOLUTION

In order for Labelcoin to create sustainable income through song investing for musicians, they need to use blockchain technology. In 2021, Mark Miller met Torben Anderson, CEO of Rewired.one, in Redding, CA. Rewired.one became the ideal partner for creating the Labelcoin platform.

In an interview, Mark was asked “what revealed that working with Rewired.one was the right partnership?” Mark responded:

“The depths of experience and integrity. We are looking for character first in our partners. I saw Torben’s global experience in the blockchain space and in bank regulation. He brought a lot to the table. There are many people in the blockchain space just because of the money This is challenging. Will you find someone who is going to stick with you on a project or is just there for a paycheck, and might not be able to deliver results? Finding someone who won’t cut corners and has integrity is really important.”

There are 213,000 artists on Spotify who have at least 10,000 monthly listeners. These artists should be able to make a living on that.

RESULTS & BENEFITS

According to Labelcoin.io, “To date, Labelcoin has raised $625,000 of investment. This has provided the capital needed to design, operate, and develop the iOS and Android app. An additional $3M is being raised to formally launch and scale Labelcoin.” In addition, they are “currently valued at 25M.”

Labelcoin is on it’s way! The benefits of Labelcoin are available due to the benefits of the partnership with Rewired.one. Mark Miller recalls, “I was impressed with how thorough the process was. Concerning project management, we would have long conversations, and suddenly, we would be given a beautiful document that made everything make sense. Also, it was exactly what we needed.”

In addition, Rewired.one was willing to challenge the client to build what was needed, not what was simply wanted. Mark remembers, “They could have just built us what we were asking for. Instead, they helped us avoid landmines that a lot of people stepped on over the last few years. That would have been us had we not had consultation with Rewired.one.”

“It’s hard to find highly experienced people with integrity in the blockchain space, who will not just build you what you think you want, but they’ll build you what you actually need.

In addition, these same people are able to take complex thoughts and conversations, and put them into an actionable plan that you can run with. I think rewired.one excels at creating plans that give a vision. This plan lays out the journey, the team, and gives you what you need to show your investors.

I’m grateful that we get to partner with Rewired.one early. It saved us from a lot of what could have been disaster by just following the flow. They provided foresight to not just do what’s trending now, but to see the implications of a decision? What’s the implications of this plan? And, what’s it going to mean five-years down the road? Companies that work with rewired.one, will be set up, not just for short term success, but to be sustainable and protected in the future.”