BP#3: Andre Benz (CEO, SoundMint) on Building Trap Nation, The Problem With Songs As NFTs, and SoundMint's Solution
Description
In 2012, Andre Benz launched Trap Nation on YouTube in order to create a playlist he and his friends could listen to while playing RuneScape. Just 15 years old at the time, the nascent channel exploded almost overnight, with Andre masterfully scaling it into one of the most successful music networks on YouTube, as well as a formidable record label which was approached for acquisition by every major label on the market.
Today, Andre is the co-founder of SoundMint, a generative audio-visual platform that believes the current version of music NFTs aren't incentivizing enough for fans...or even the musicians minting them.
To date-, the most popular incorporation of music into NFTs is to fractionalize ownership of a song and imbue it with some type of utility, whether that be giving holders a special access to the artist, letting them have input in the creative process, or discounts to merch and shows.
SoundMint believes that this format is more akin to a Patreon than a way to provide true value to holders, and they think they have the solution, which you'll learn about in the episode.
SoundMint is doing their first public drop with musician KLOUD and visual artist Alex Hooker tomorrow (01/14/22)!
Learn more at https://soundmint.xyz/
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0:00 - Intro
4:00 - Building one of the fastest-growing channels on YouTube at 15 years old by waking up at 3:00 AM every morning
18:00 - Losing $100,000 during the 2017 ICO ("Initial Coin Offering) boom and getting jaded on crypto
23:00 - Skeptically returning in 2020 and how the utility of blockchain and NFTs finally won him over for good
28:00 - The origins of SoundMint and transitioning from the music industry into Web3
33:00 - How SoundMint uses generative technology to revolutionize music-based NFTs
37:00 - Why should musicians care? Why should collectors/fans?
43:00 - How SoundMint actually works
50:00 - Should every Web3 company start as a DAO?
56:00 - The long-term vision and biggest threats to that vision
59:00 - Andre's closing thoughts on protecting your mental health in Web3
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Follow Andre, SoundMint, and its founders on Twitter:
SoundMint - https://twitter.com/soundmintxyz
Andre Benz - https://twitter.com/benzspeaks
Paris Blohm - https://twitter.com/ParisBlohm
De-Fi Brian: https://twitter.com/DeFi_Brian
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