African American rapper Snoop Dogg ain’t just a rapper, he’s a businessman, and his latest investment in the Web3 music platform Sound shows he’s got his eye on the future of the music industry. But why would a successful artist and entrepreneur put his money into a relatively unknown platform? Well, it seems the hip hop icon is on a mission to support artists and put more money back into their pockets.
Snoop has been vocal about his concerns when it comes to streaming revenue and how artists aren’t seeing the financial benefits of their billions of streams. By investing in Sound’s $20 million funding round, Snoop is putting his money where his mouth is and backing a platform that aims to disrupt the traditional revenue models and give more power back to the artists.
Sound is taking a different approach by turning artists’ songs into non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and giving them a fairer share of the revenue earned. And it seems to be working, with the platform already generating $5.5 million in sales for artists since its beta launch last year.
According to Sound Co-Founder David Greenstein, the focus is on giving all talented artists a chance to make a career from their music, regardless of their background or financial status. And Snoop appears to fully support this philosophy, as he recognizes the importance of supporting fellow creatives and ensuring they’re fairly compensated.
As Snoop himself said during the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference, that it makes no sense to “get a billion streams and not get a million dollars” while adding “That’s the main gripe with a lot of us artists is that we do major numbers with streams but it don’t add up to the money. Like, where the f-ck is the money?” However, in the ’80s and 90s, artists sold hard copies. Now, artists rely on streams. It seems he’s found his answer in Sound, and wants to help others do the same.
As streaming continues to dominate the music industry, the million-dollar question is: how much are artists earning from their hard work on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music? Unfortunately, the numbers have raised concerns. According to a report by Business Insider, artists only earn between $.0033 and $.0050 per stream on Spotify.
That means it would take a whopping 300 streams just to earn $1. Meanwhile, USA Today reports that Apple Music pays twice as much per stream at $0.01, it’s still a far cry from what artists used to earn through album sales and traditional distribution channels.
While music streaming has its advantages, such as wider distribution and reaching more audiences, it’s clear that the industry needs to do more to ensure that artists are fairly compensated for their artistry and creativity. By investing in the platform, Snoop is not only showing his support for their mission, but also positioning himself as a forward-thinking artist who is willing to embrace new technologies and revenue models for the benefit of the music industry as a whole.
Whether Sound will be successful in shaking up the industry remains to be seen, but Snoop’s investment is a strong vote of confidence in this disruptive platform.
