Since introducing the new ‘Song Share’ for artists, the founders of Bolero believe they finally have proof that Web3 music has a real future.
The French start-up’s model offers fans micro-ownership over an artist’s music, allowing them to earn a percentage of the royalties the song generates.
The platinum track “Brothers”, released by French rapper Rilès in 2016, headlined this first rollout.
“We collected revenue from the streaming, downloads and views of his music video on YouTube and other video platforms from February 1 to April 30,” said William Bailey, Bolero’s CEO. Decrypt. “This generated a return on investment of 9.2% over a year.”
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As Bailey explains, the experience confirmed the potential to invest in songs that have already been released, opening up new opportunities for artist catalogues.
Another key artist involved in the launch of “Song Shares” was Agoria, a French techno DJ and producer.
This presented a unique use case as he composed a new song especially for the event. Agoria distributed all royalties to collectors from him NFTsutilizing his dual role as a digital artist.
“Agoria’s decline was a major turning point because it was the first 100% shared master recording,” said Bailey. “Of the 2,500 shares created, 265 were sold within six hours and the rest were 80% claimed by collectors.”
Usually the artists share between 5% and 15% of the rights of the song.
Bailey is now convinced that this model is destined to flourish.
“Songshares are the most important use case in music that can drive adoption, introduce a new tool to the artist economic model, and cater to the average music consumer and music fan,” he told Decrypt.
To date, more than 30 artists, mainly from the hip-hop and techno scene, have joined the venture. It now appears that there are ambitious plans in store for the future.
“We have important announcements to make at the start of the school year, something substantial. But we can’t reveal anything just yet. However, I’m confident it’s going to mark a pivotal moment and resonate well beyond Web3,” Bailey said.
