Sixian

Li: ...I think the internet uniquely unlocks this opportunity for the next generation and all subsequent generations.  This is different from just “be your own boss.” You can do that in the gig economy. But with a gig, you’re doing really rote commoditized, kind of repetitive work, where the platform is telling you exactly what to do.  Whereas in... See more

Because we can find algorithms in the universe, because everything can be broken down into bits, our technology is simply a matter-of-course pathway — linear, like the technology tree in Civilization. It suggests too that hard work can be found in nature: If ants labor tirelessly, mindlessly, then why wouldn’t human workers do the same, under... See more

On the opportunity side, NFTs could unlock special album incentives. You could get access to certain live stream. You can get limited edition albums. That's an interesting kind idea of incremental revenue for these players, but a key role for, as we've talked about, for these labels, is also this VC element to it. Imagine if I was a mid-tier artist... See more

Viral effects are about growth of new users. Viral effects are when you get your existing customers to get you more new customers, ideally for free.

I learned this from Brad Fitzpatrick's design for LiveJournal, which allows user to list their own interests. LiveJournal makes absolutely no attempt to enforce solidarity or a thesaurus or a minimal set of terms, no check-box, no drop-box, just free-text typing. Some people say they're interested in movies. Some people say they're interested in... See more

One of my heuristics for growth is to seek out the magicians, and find the magic. Often without noticing, your progress in aspects of life or all of it unconsciously becomes linear. You made a certain amount of money last year, so you aim to make some ‘reasonable’ proportion more this year. But you are largely using the same tools to get 2x as you... See more

Collapsing under the pressure of time-flows between completed and noncompleted time, a person’s ability to imagine the future falls away. While wrestling with the past and dealing with the present, concern for the future – any future – pales in comparison to making it through another day.

...if you dig a little deeper, the reason indie labels and direct distribution have gained a bit of share is related to the fact that as we spoke about earlier, we've seen the barrier to creating and distributing music collapse.