From ownership to opportunity, Web3 is still on a mission to reshape music

As streaming platforms dominate music distribution, artists have increasingly found themselves sidelined and earning fractions of pennies per play, all while relying on centralized platforms to reach fans. 

However, in a corner of the digital world, a new wave of creators, developers and platforms are exploring how Web3 tools can offer an alternative. 

Decentralized music platforms 

Decentralized, Web3-native music platforms have emerged in recent years to offer artists more control over their content, more direct access to their audiences and better monetization models. 

Many of these music-related use cases are not just theoretical and are already in the community at work. 

Instead of uploading songs to a platform that owns the data and controls the algorithm, artists’ options are expanding to distribute their music through decentralized platforms, like Audius, or token-gate content and even offer collectible versions of tracks that fans can own and trade.

In an interview with Cointelegraph in late 2024, Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, who co-founded the Web3 music platform SongBits, told Cointelegraph: 

“Web3 allows us to ensure complete transparency in how these funds are handled, giving fans and contributors peace of mind that their support is making a real difference.”

Leading by example

Now, Cointelegraph is joining the experiment. To mark the recent launch of its new daily X show Chain Reaction, Cointelegraph has partnered with Audius to launch a remix contest to find the show’s official theme song. 

Related: AI can compose good music, but humanity still holds the creative baton 

Artists from all corners of the web are invited to use the remix feature on Cointelegraph’s base track on the Cointelegraph Audius profile and upload their original theme song to Audius with the tag #CTChainReactionTheme.

The winner’s music will be featured daily as the intro and outro to the show, and they’ll also be invited for a brief guest appearance. For full contest info and prize package, visit the event page.

It’s a small contest, but it reflects a bigger shift: Decentralized creator ecosystems have real-world applications that work and can thrive, not just as marketing stunts, but as a way to engage more directly with Web3-native communities.

As music, content and culture become increasingly intertwined with onchain infrastructure, the creative economy may finally be heading toward something more equitable and more fun.

Magazine: Move to Portugal to become a crypto digital nomad — Everybody else is