The renowned Icelandic singer Björk joins the "Utopia" of the cryptocoins. The artist's website is now receiving payments in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dash and Audiocoin for the pre-sale of her most recent album, Utopia. This project became possible thanks to an alliance of the Icelandic singer's record label, Little Indian Man and Blockpool, a British startup blockchain.
Kevin Bacon, CEO of Blockpool said in an interview with Music Ally that so far people have done many things involving cryptocurrencies and celebrities, specifically artists, but this would be the first time that an artist with global fame does something of this nature. “For this project, Blockpool looked at both a checkout plugin and also used it’s proprietary blockchain integration technology to build a smart rewards system,”
Now, on this occasion, it is not interesting to observe how the community of cryptocoins responds to this, but how many artists will be interested in participating in business with cryptocurrencies for the first time?
When asked if this was all part of a marketing strategy, Bacon assured that if he were not involved in the project, it would be safer for Björk to take charge of everything, as this is her chance to be a leader in the crypto market.
Regarding people paying for the album using cryptocoins, Bacon explained that this isn't just about people making a payment. "For everyone that claims the reward, we’ll be putting their 100 AudioCoins into an e-wallet, which they’ll get, automatically, once they agree to go through this process." that means that fans who get the reward will have digital money to trade and become more familiar with the cryptocurrency world.
Among the advantages that this kind of partnership offers we can see that artists could reward fans who see their live shows, who buy their albums, stream their music, watch their videos, there are many different opportunities that Bitcoin and the blockchain offers for artists who want to create better engagement with their audience. It's about rewarding fans and followers for their loyalty towards your product and your name as a brand.
Another advantage, and what drives the adoption of this kind of is revenue. By cutting the middleman, artist and their fans benefit from Bitcoin and the blockchain. The reason behind this is simple: no extra cost is incurred. As the market currently stands, streaming services barely reward their artist for their work. Even services like Apple Music or Google Play take a cut from each song an artist sells. However, thanks to the disruptive nature of the blockchain, fans can pay with Bitcoin or an Altcoin for the songs (or albums) they want. And every payment will be made under the guarantee that the artist will receive all the profits, and, thus, they can make music for their audience instead of a random music executive.
Björk is a pioneer beyond words. Her vision and decision will show the world that the music industry is archaic and must step aside for the crypto future.
