While many musicians have used non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to connect with their fanbases, MODA DAO is using them as a governance tool for artists and their managers to control royalty contracts.
The decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) is pairing its NFT music streaming platform with its governance token, $MODA, which is set for release on multiple blockchains, the company announced Tuesday.
The DAO said it will release a portion of its token supply on Ethereum, Polygon, Fantom, and Near blockchains on Nov. 10.
While artists have released their music and concert tickets as NFTs before, governance through NFTs in the industry remains uncharted territory. The concept has caught the attention of electronic music producer and performer Deadmau5, who is backing the project as an early token holder.
“I see the Web3 ecosystem growing alongside streaming services, and eventually becoming more significant to the artists,” Deadmau5 told CoinDesk in a statement. “This new [MODA DAO] world is creating new ways for artists to take ownership of their music, but it will take a while to scare the Spotify and Apple Musics of the world.”
Owners of the $MODA token are given access to on-chain music registration in the DAO’s decentralized music economy. MODA DAO is targeting musicians and their managers as token holders, giving them a say in the royalties they receive for music released on the platform.
Revenue earned from songs published on the DAO’s platform is split three ways between the artists, the rewards pool and a token buy-back program. MODA DAO told CoinDesk that it’s also working toward creating a DeFi-esque lending program where artists can stake their NFTs to earn additional rewards.
MODA DAO also gives tokenholders access to in-house blockchain products such as its new “audio fingerprinting” technology, which allows artists to mint and sell raw audio files of songs as NFTs before they’ve been approved to be published on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
Deadmau5 has been involved in numerous NFT related projects dating to 2020, including a recent collaboration with Gregory Siff that merged physical and digital artwork at a music festival in November.
MODA DAO raised $5 million in a private token sale in October and says it currently manages over 10 billion music streams per month.
