Singer Vérité’s fan-first approach to Web3, music NFTs and community building – Cointelegraph Magazine
Carving out a sustainable career as an independent musician is no easy feat. The competition is fierce, support can be hard to find, and earning a living without the financial help of a major record label is an uphill battle. Yet, for those who are able to build a loyal fanbase, the freedom of complete creative control can be liberating.
Technology has long proven to be a potential friend to those musicians willing to embrace it, and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are the latest innovation that many tech-savvy artists have begun incorporating into their careers. But NFTs remain both controversial and experimental, especially among the mainstream, and music NFTs are still relatively niche.
One artist who has cracked the code to maintaining a successful career as an independent musician is American singer Vérité, who has racked up hundreds of millions of streams without the support of a record label since releasing her first single, “Strange Enough,” in 2014. After finding success and touring internationally, Vérité became one of the earliest musicians to experiment with NFTs in February 2021. Since then, she has built a strong Web3 community and had several successful high-profile drops, including releasing 1/1 NFTs, selling the master rights to her music, fractionalizing song royalties on the blockchain, and giving NFTs to concert attendees.
But how does one walk this fine line and successfully integrate Web3 into their career without alienating their existing, perhaps skeptical, fans? Vérité shares her insights in an interview with Magazine.
Vérité believes it is important for artists to have diversified revenue streams and marketing strategies and not rely solely on Web3. While Web3 can bring people together, she warns against limiting oneself to only utilizing those tools and communities. Instead, she advises artists to focus on building a career that can withstand trend cycles and push for better systems.
When it comes to her existing fans, Vérité emphasizes the importance of protecting and respecting them. She made it clear to her fans that her experimentation with NFTs was just that—an experiment. She actively encouraged them not to participate unless they were fully educated and willing to take on the risks. Even now, she tells her fans that they should never feel pressured to participate in anything Web3-related.
Vérité acknowledges that not everyone is sold on the power and potential of blockchain. Many of her fans have little interest or even skepticism towards the technology. She advises framing it as utilizing tools rather than jumping on a technological bandwagon. The key is to make the Web3 element optional, providing a door for fans to enter if they choose to do so, without it being burdensome.
An example of this approach is Vérité’s collaboration with IYK to release “The Vérité Crewneck,” a tech-enabled sweatshirt with an embedded NFC chip. Fans who bought the sweatshirt received premier access to her new records and other perks through scanning the chip with their phones. While the sweatshirt offered a Web3 activation option, the main value proposition was not Web3, but the fan experience.
Ultimately, Vérité’s success in integrating Web3 into her career while maintaining her non-Web3 fanbase lies in her fan-centric approach. She puts her fans first and ensures that they are not pressured to participate in something they have no interest in. Her long-term hope for the future of blockchain and music is to demystify the black box of data that exists between artists and their fans, allowing artists to communicate directly with their supporters and reward them in long-term scenarios.
In conclusion, the success of the music-Web3 revolution relies on putting fans at the center of it all. By offering optional Web3 experiences and prioritizing the fan experience, musicians like Vérité can explore the potential of blockchain technology without alienating their existing fanbase.
