As part of our mission to empower musicians to navigate and thrive within the New Music Economy, 2140Music hosted its first educational session. With a turnout of approximately 30 attendees, the event was a mix of vision-sharing, foundational knowledge, and practical steps for artists looking to take control of their careers in an evolving industry. Here’s a recap of the key highlights and takeaways from the session.
Setting the Stage: Beginner’s Guide to Bitcoin
The session kicked off with “A Beginner’s Guide to Bitcoin,” setting the tone for why Bitcoin is crucial in today’s economy. It encouraged attendees to consider fundamental questions: “What is money?” and “How does it work?” By exploring the properties of good money—such as durability, portability, divisibility, uniformity, limited supply, and acceptability—participants were guided to think critically about the limitations of traditional fiat systems and recognise Bitcoin’s unique qualities.
As paraphrased from Andreas Antonopoulos, Bitcoin is not just an asset but a transformative global network. Its permissionless, peer-to-peer nature allows anyone to transact directly without intermediaries, creating a truly decentralised financial ecosystem.
Practical Steps Introduced:
- Understanding the basics of Bitcoin wallets and transactions.
- Exploring the divisibility of Bitcoin into satoshis (smallest units).
- Highlighting Bitcoin’s deflationary design and its implications for long-term value.
These foundational insights provided the perfect backdrop for the next discussion on how Bitcoin is reshaping the music industry.
The Evolving ‘Industry’: Introduction to the New Music Economy
Understanding the Old Music Economy
The second part of the session delved into many challenges independent artists face in the traditional music industry. These include:
- Gatekeeping: Reliance on labels, distributors, and platforms that control access.
- Lack of Transparency: Opaque processes for royalties and rights management.
- Verification Issues: Difficulty in proving ownership and usage rights.
- Broken Royalties Distribution: Complex and inefficient systems that often leave artists underpaid.
- Middleman Payment Processors: Dependence on services like PayPal and banks that charge fees and can block payments.
- Censorship: Artists being deplatformed or restricted for reasons beyond their control.
This outdated model often leaves musicians with minimal earnings, less direct connection with audiences or audience data, and little control over their work, reinforcing the need for a new approach. These issues, of which some are worse than others, in the ‘Old Music Economy’ are becoming ever more apparent and called out by modern music artists and professionals almost daily.
The Shift to the New Music Economy
By leveraging Bitcoin and blockchain technologies, the New Music Economy empowers artists to overcome these challenges. Key benefits discussed included:
- Censorship Resistance: With Bitcoin, artists can distribute and monetise their work without fear of being deplatformed or censored.
- Artists as Payment Processors: Bitcoin allows creators to directly process payments from fans, eliminating intermediaries and associated fees.
- Peer-to-Peer Payments: Direct fan-to-artist transactions ensure fair and instant compensation.
- Proof-of-Ownership: Blockchain provides immutable records of ownership and usage, reducing disputes over intellectual property.
- Community Building: Platforms in the New Music Economy enable closer connections with fans, fostering value-sharing relationships.
This shift truly embodies the “economy” part of the term ‘New Music Economy’, where artists have full control over both their finances and creative outputs.
Real-Life Success Stories
The session also highlighted inspiring examples of musicians thriving in the New Music Economy:
- Kane Mayfield: Known for releasing singles and collections on Bitcoin, Kane’s innovative approach has set a standard for artists exploring blockchain-based music.
- Violetta Zironi: Her song “No Ordinary Kind” sold alongside artwork for 1 Bitcoin (approximately $60,000 at the time), while retaining full rights to her music.
- BryThreeSixty: A Zimbabwean artist leveraging Bitcoin to bypass traditional payment bans, enabling global access to his music and fair compensation.
- Ainsley Costello: Demonstrated how platforms like Wavlake can dramatically outperform traditional streaming in revenue generation.
These stories showcase the diverse opportunities available to musicians worldwide.
Building the 2140Music Community
Beyond education, 2140Music is about creating a supportive network for musicians. During the session, we highlighted our ongoing activities:
- Free Educational Sessions: Tailored for artists at all levels, these sessions demystify Bitcoin and its applications.
- Consultancy and Support: While artists and professionals focus on their craft, our team provides guidance on the tech and community sides.
- Events and Networking: Regular meetups that foster collaboration and idea-sharing among like-minded creators, alongside opportunities to showcase music to a general audience.
Attendees were encouraged to join our Telegram community to stay connected and participate in future events.
Key Takeaways for Musicians
- Empowerment through Knowledge: Understanding the tools of the New Music Economy is the first step towards independence.
- Opportunities Beyond Streaming: With Bitcoin, musicians can unlock new revenue streams and build closer fan relationships.
- A Supportive Community: 2140Music and its members are here to guide and support every step of the way.
Performances and Showcase
For our launch event, we were joined by the great musical talents below, who provided the vibes downstairs, alongside DJ Toxic D33p and our creative manager and resident DJ Akme.
Airklipz: Part of the 2140Music artist roster, and South London OG emcee. Check out some of his catalogue on WavLake.
Andy Princz: Hailing from North London and collaborating regularly with Airklipz, Andy tore it down with a recently released bonus track at the end.
Slippy Skills: Well-known London/Italy emcee and Runt Life OG, who also runs the popular Full Clip Magazine showcasing Hip-Hop in the UK. Check out his collaboration with Akme on WavLake.
All these musicians did an amazing job entertaining our crowd on the night and are now all exploring the New Music Economy with 2140Music. Go support them all, because we certainly do!
What’s Next?
As of 2025, 2140Music has successfully hosted four events and eight educational sessions, helping musicians worldwide understand and embrace the New Music Economy. This recap is part of our ongoing blog series highlighting each session and event thus far. For more insights, visit our Session Recap Series, join our Telegram, follow us on Eventbrite, or reach out to us on our socials to be notified of our next event.
Looking ahead, we’re excited to continue building this community. Future sessions will dive deeper into practical applications, success stories, and strategies for thriving in this transformative era. Together, we’re shaping the future of music—a future where artists reclaim their rights, revenues, and relationships with fans. Join us on this journey!
