Sonorus, a Web3 music platform founded in 2022, announced last week that it has gained 160,000 users in six months, 400% growth of the previous user base. While the cause for the jump remains unknown, the company credits the rise to its inventive approach to music sharing, which it believes will revolutionize the music industry.
The platform, which is still young, uses a mix of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens to give power back to music creators and listeners, something the company believes is lacking in the current music landscape. Through the Web3 tech, music listeners can “vote” on which songs are the best, allowing them to gain traction on the platform’s charts.
The listeners also receive rewards depending on how many “Record NFTs” they hold, a kind of token yield where the tokens in question have utility. For music creators, Sonorus provides a “Music Launchpad” where artists can nominate their songs for inclusion in the platform’s catalogue.
Sonorus’s business model is designed to disrupt the music industry, which the company believes has a set of widespread problems, including the lack of adequate payment to artists and the lack of power of listeners to influence the success of certain songs. According to the Sonorus press release, the music industry has too many middlemen and current platforms involve a passive, rather than active, listening experience.
The concept of Sonorus is not new. Other companies like TheNextBigSound and TastemasterX have tried out the business model, only to see it fail over time. But Sonorus is one of the first companies to do it in the Web3 space, using cryptocurrency, NFTs, and tokenomics, which may have more widespread appeal.
Certainly, with a user base growing at that rate, the company is doing something right.
Web3 Offers Opportunity for Music Industry Revolution
There are many industries that Web3 can disrupt, including art, finance, and automotive. But few have as much potential as the music industry, and that disruption has a good purpose as well. As we have covered previously, musicians are often underpaid and face an uphill battle for recognition, with big labels and middlemen controlling the game.
Here are three stories covering how Web3 is already changing the music industry and restoring power back to musicians and listeners.
First, a month ago, Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist dropped an NFT album on Gala Music, a decentralized music platform. The 11-track album gives holders the opportunity to view behind-the-scenes content and receive exclusive merchandise. Holders can also win a chance to appear in a music video.
Next, eight months ago, Rihanna entered Web3, releasing a track called “B*tch better have my money.” The track came courtesy of AnotherBlock, an NFT music platform, and holders of the NFTs can earn royalties when the song is played. It is a way of giving more power to music enthusiasts and represents the two-way street that can exist between artists and fans.
Lastly, 10 months ago, 3LAU and Steve Aoki created a Supergroup called Punx. Naturally, the group was inspired by the CryptoPunks NFT collection, of which the two DJs are holders. 3LAU said at the time that the use of their Punks for visual imagery was just the beginning.
As today’s story shows, Web3 is continuing to disrupt the music industry, even though the pace may be moving a little slower than some stakeholders want. Rarity Sniper has reached out to Sonorus for comment on this article and will update it if the company responds.