Photo Credit: Brandon Jean
Does the future of music lie with web3, NFTs, and virtual world technology? Maybe. Digital Music News is cutting through the hype during the Digital Music Summit at Country Radio Seminar (CRS). Here’s a quick sneak peek.
Digital Music News’ Chief Revenue Officer Noah Itman will moderate an upcoming panel during the Digital Music Summit at CRS. The live event happens on March 13 at the Omni Nashville Hotel. Titled ‘Web3, NFTs, and Virtual Worlds: Beyond the Hype,’ the panel promises to provide unique laser-focused industry insight into these next-gen platforms.
Panelists include Rahul Sabnis (CCO iHeart), David Boehme (CEO VBO Tickets), Sean Peace (Founder & CEO of SongVest), Chris McCarty (VP at Pex & Head of RME), and Zach Bair (CEO VNUE). These panelists will be sharing their unique insight into how artists can take advantage of emerging new worlds to create new revenue streams—all while building a unique brand.
Panel topics will include discussion of web3 technology as a whole as well as its parts. Have questions about NFTs? Smart contracts? What exactly is a metaverse, anyway? All of those questions and more will be answered during this special Digital Music Summit panel.
Virtual Words & Blockchain Tech Take Center Focus
Virtual worlds like those of Fortnite and Roblox have taken center stage for creating new spaces for artists to reach fans in unprecedented numbers. It creates unique opportunities for new revenue streams and continued fan engagement well beyond the initial digital concert. But how can virtual worlds be utilized beyond digital concerts? Panelists will provide unique insight into that question.
So far there has been much ado about nothing over NFT ticket sales. That’s because the technology is in its infancy and has not been without its hiccups. Coachella went all-in on lifetime NFT tickets—but they’re now embroiled in a fiasco of sorting out those lifetime tickets amid the shocking FTX bankruptcy last year. What about a simpler application of preventing counterfeit tickets using blockchain technology? Can the technology help inspire more confidence in enterprise ticketing solutions?
What about the advent of AI in the music industry? Digital Music News has covered how tech companies are building AI DJs meant to provide the same experience as local talent. Is AI-generated music itself an ethical good thing or bad thing? Many labels are now embracing virtual artists, whose image they own wholly. Does this allow them to stop paying for talent? Many of these questions will be raised and answered at the upcoming panel, moderated by Digital Music News CRO Noah Itman.
Country Radio Seminar 2023 Is Next Week
CRS 2023 is just a week away with plenty to do. Longtime attendees may remember the Streaming Summit from 2021, now renamed the Digital Music Summit. “We felt ‘Streaming Summit’ might have been a bit narrow,” says RJ Curtis. A highlight for this year is the newly created Garth Brooks ‘No Fences’ Award, created to honor “an individual in the country music industry who has boldly demonstrated innovation, creativity, and tenacity.
The inaugural recipient of the new award will be honored at CRS with a blue-ribbon committee composed of CRB board members and representatives of Brooks’ team. In addition, Garth Brooks will appear at CRS 2023 on Monday, March 13 for a conversation to discuss the collaboration with CRS and the last several years. “Garth Brooks has given unwavering support for CRS during the past 30 years by showing up to CRS annually and creating innovative ways to engage, entertain, and educate CRS attendees that perfectly match the ‘growth through sharing’ mission of CRS,” adds RJ Curtis.
Country Radio Seminar 2023 is happening March 13-15 in Nashville, Tennessee at the Omni Nashville Hotel.