How Music Fans Can Use Crypto in 2025
How Music Fans Can Use Crypto in 2025
If there is anything cryptocurrency has an abundance of, it’s use cases. Far from what the critics might have predicted, cryptocurrency has been applied in a myriad of sectors and for a myriad of purposes. One of these is the music industry, which has embraced cryptocurrency significantly in the last few years.
If you are a music lover who wants to tap into the power of cryptocurrencies, there are several ways you can go about this. While this is not exhaustive, here are some of the most common ways cryptocurrency is used in the music sector:
Table of contents
Investing in Startup Projects
Crypto tokens are valuable not just for themselves but for the ways that they grant access towards investment vehicles. Some of the best altcoins this year are those that allow buyers to essentially own a portion of the project and profit from it. The music sector has very much embraced this, and many upcoming projects are tokenized using cryptocurrency.
This essentially means that everyday, people can buy shares of ownership within the project and reap the rewards once it turns a profit. This is especially leveraged by independent artists who want to gain support for their projects from fans while side-stepping the typical industry gatekeepers. If you’re someone who wants to support independent music businesses, you should definitely look into crypto for this purpose.
Paying for Goods and Services
As much as crypto is an investment vehicle, it is still a currency and can be used to pay for goods and services. And as a music fan, you can very easily use it for this purpose. There are several platforms that accept cryptocurrency for products, and many of these also sell items such as CDs, vinyl records, artist merchandise, and more. Platforms like BitPay also allow customers to buy gift cards for brands like Apple, the Google Play Store, and many more.
This essentially means that you can pay for your songs using cryptocurrency. You can also pay for your streaming bills using similar platforms that convert crypto to fiat currency and allow you to pay for things like Spotify. If you use a crypto-backed credit or debit card, you can make payments as easily as you would with cryptocurrency for things like concert tickets, merchandise, and much more.
Fan Tokens for Engagement
Corporations within the entertainment industry have noticed how cryptocurrency can be used for community engagement, and many of them have tapped into this. Musicians like Snoop Dogg and Grimes have released their own official crypto fan tokens that you can take advantage of.
These tokens grant access to things like exclusive communities with other fans, access to meet and greets, premium concert tickets, and so on. If you are especially passionate about a particular artist, you can always use cryptocurrency to get closer to not just them, but also other fans.
Owning a Piece of Content
We all have songs and other pieces of media we enjoy, but thanks to cryptocurrency and other blockchain-backed assets like Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), we can now own a piece of them. Artists like Rihanna and Kings of Leon have put out tokenized ownership to various songs and even albums. This essentially means that by buying the cryptocurrency or NFT, you own a piece of the royalty rights to the songs.
And as they continue to receive airplay and generate an income, you can claim your percentage of this. Some fans would like to profit from the music industry but don’t want to perform music themselves or start a company. In that case, cryptocurrency offers a low barrier to entry and a way to support your favorite artist.
Decentralized Streaming PlatformsÂ
While streaming platforms have meant that music is more accessible than ever, many behind the scenes have spoken on how the pricing model does not benefit artists a lot of the time. Luckily, there is an alternative to this in the form of decentralized streaming platforms. These essentially allow artists to upload their songs independently and bypass traditional record label requirements.
As fans continue to stream the music, the blockchain tracks the proper earnings and delivers them to the artist. This means that less money is lost to the music industry black box, which sees millions of dollars in unpaid royalties each year. It also means that artists and fans can connect directly, and the latter have more control over their careers.
Conclusion
While they might seem like opposites, cryptocurrency and music have quite a bit of overlap. As we’ve explained in this article, music industry experts have been leveraging cryptocurrency in various ways and this benefits both the artists in the studio and the final listener. Whether you want to support your favorite indie artist or want to earn a bit of extra income, consider these different use cases and try out the ones that apply best to you.
Chief editor of Side-Line â which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify whatâs actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, Iâm all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraineâs ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.
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