Refraction | Rethinking the Value of Music in Web3

If you take nothing else away from this article, remember this idea: In a capitalist economy, artificial scarcity creates the conditions for discovering culture’s true market value.

For Water & Music's inaugural collaborative research report, over 40 of our community members across industries, geographies, career stages and skill sets came together to try to make sense of the immense challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for music/Web3's future.

“We’ve always had this idea of music being mass-market,” says 3LAU. “It’s always been, ‘we need to get this music to the most amount of people.’ The art world has never been that way. It’s the opposite mindset: Who can afford this really expensive piece of work that I’ve spent hours and hours creating? [Hornby] is an expert at his craft, and indust... See more

The return of scarcity. One of the defining features of digital media has been limitless supply. Media has long been premised on scarcity -- look at the Upfronts -- in order to drive higher pricing. Take the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Yes, it’s strange to see adults spend tons of money on cartoon primates. But what BAYC points to with its NFTs is that i... See more