DJ Who “Turned Down Wall St.” Is On a Quest to Decentralize Music Festivals

Impartial DJ Justin Blau (identified on stage as 3LAU) didn’t precisely stumble into the cryptocurrency trade — to say so would misrepresent how a lot thought he’s put into his blockchain-based occasion community, Our Music Competition (OMF). However on the very least, his introduction to the area got here by way of a contact of serendipity.

Blau turned formally acquainted with blockchain expertise and cryptocurrencies after an opportunity assembly with the Winklevoss twins at a music pageant in 2014. The Winklevosses have been making their very own debut into the trade, as they have been within the early levels of constructing their Gemini change on the time.

After hitting it off with the up-and-coming DJ, they invited Blau again to their penthouse, a welcome various to crashing at an  exorbitant downtown resort, Blau admitted in an interview with Bitcoin Journal. That night time — and the blockchain-centric dialog that dominated it — had Blau hooked on the younger and novel tech.

“I in a short time noticed all of the methods by which blockchain may disrupt the music enterprise and all elements of the music enterprise — from digital music to dwell music to supervisor and artist relationships — disintermediating the whole enterprise as an entire. And I simply discovered myself excited about it on a regular basis.”

Enterprise moguls and monetary thoroughbreds because the Winklevosses are, the encounter could have felt slightly like wanting right into a rearview mirror for Blau. Earlier than dropping out of Washington College in St. Louis to pursue a music profession — a call inspired by one among his finance professors — he was in line for an internship quick monitor to Wall Road. As a substitute of following in his father’s footsteps for a profession in finance, he got down to trip the momentum of his early days enjoying frat events and faculty exhibits throughout the nation, a transfer that earned him the title “The DJ that turned down Wall Road” from Forbes.

So in connecting with the Winklevosses, the doorways of the monetary trade have been opened to him once more — solely this time, the door was to a distinct segment and extremely stigmatized five-year-old subject. Nonetheless, this identical door opened up the likelihood to reimagine his present occupation beneath a brand new financial mannequin.

“After I carried out my first ether switch — I paid a Dutch firm at 1:00 a.m. on a Saturday night time in ETH for some animation work — I used to be like, ‘Holy crap, that is insane! Instantaneous switch of worth. And that’s after I actually began to dive in and be taught as a lot as I probably may and ask myself, ‘How may I be part of it?’”

The reply turned clear in August of 2017. After consuming crypto-related literature with voracious curiosity and attending blockchain conferences, Blau started mixing with a number of the area’s main innovators and professionals with assist from the Winklevosses and a few of his outdated faculty buddies who had made their careers in tech.

“I simply had all of those individuals who have been very highly effective, making introductions for me, and that’s after I began diving in deeper,” he mentioned.

And Blau has discovered his place within the trade: on stage, each as host and performer, on the world’s first blockchain-powered music pageant. Coming to fruition on October 20, 2018, Our Music Competition’s first iteration will likely be held on the Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley, with German-Russian DJ Zedd headlining, and Huge Sean, Matt and Kim, and Charlotte Lawrence on the lineup, as effectively.

At its inception, OMF started as an effort to tokenize dwell music occasions. In essence, Blau defined, it’s objective was to decentralize the whole course of, giving followers a level of management over lineup curation and even a share of the pageant’s income.

However because the area advanced and tokens entered the regulatory dialog, issues turned difficult.

“I believe it’s essential for any blockchain startup to be sincere concerning the scope of the mission,” Blau mentioned within the interview. “It turned actually tough to maintain , given the regulatory surroundings. We shifted to this utility token mannequin, the place the token represents demand for the pageant as a product. After which we shifted once more and requested, ‘So how will we do each?’ And that’s the place we are actually.”

For its inaugural 12 months, the pageant will likely be blockchain-related inasmuch as followers will be capable of pay for tickets in crypto in addition to fiat. They’ll additionally subject paper Ethereum wallets to all followers as soon as they examine in to the pageant, a gesture in keeping with the tutorial perception Blau hopes the pageant’s blockchain/crypto data cubicles will supply to its attendees.

Come subsequent 12 months, Blau hopes to combine blockchain tech even additional into the pageant’s options. He needs to allow funds in OMF tokens, in addition to to launch a reward system that permits followers to earn OMF by inviting buddies to the pageant, shopping for tickets early and committing knowledge and suggestions to the OMF ecosystem.

These tokens can even be used for reductions and promotions inside the pageant grounds, and Blau even intends to leverage them to provide followers entry to their favourite artists, backstage passes and VIP experiences.

Within the far future, Blau needs Our Music Competition to faucet into blockchain expertise’s decentralized, peer-powered ethos to provide followers a say within the pageant’s lineup and a share of its income.

However to get there, Blau and his startup should purpose and reckon with the trade’s technological and regulatory rising pains.  

“We have now to adapt as we go and that’s the most important problem for any firm in an evolving area. Community scalability and regulatory surroundings are our largest challenges,” he said.

From a authorized standpoint, Our Music Competition can not supply income sharing, lest the U.S. Securities and Change Fee (SEC) sees these payouts as dividends and its OMF token deemed a safety. On the scalability entrance, Blau believes that the Ethereum community must mature earlier than the pageant can absolutely decentralize and implement extra blockchain-driven capabilities.

If the community fails for no matter purpose and somebody can’t get into the pageant, it’s an enormous loss for the expertise as an entire.

“In 12 months one, we’re solely going to begin rolling out options if we all know we are able to execute them. As a result of our largest danger is the fan expertise. If the community fails for no matter purpose and somebody can’t get into the pageant, it’s an enormous loss for the expertise as an entire,” Blau reasoned.

“12 months one is absolutely kinda a launch occasion. 12 months two, begin constructing out a number of the tech. 12 months three to 12 months 5, our major targets are giving followers possession and enabling followers to vote for the lineups for these occasions. And within the long-term, even allow them to create their very own small occasions.”

Till the long-term turns into the instant current, the pageant will “steadily decentralize over time,” Blau mentioned, espousing “a agency perception in minimal viable centralization … to convey idea to the mainstream.”

Serving to him in his efforts, OMF incorporates a stacked workforce of each music and tech trade professionals. COO Adam Lynn serves as co-founder and president of Prime Social Group, a live performance and occasion firm answerable for 900 occasions, 19 festivals and 400,000 ticket gross sales yearly. Kevin Edelson, the corporate’s CMO, has a historical past of PR work for Common Music Group and Crimson Gentle Administration, amongst others.

For sensible contract and blockchain growth, Our Music Competition leverages the work and skills of Zach LeBeau, Shreesh Tiwari and G. Thomas Esmay, the core workforce at SingularDTV, a blockchain studio that focuses on digital media and leisure.

Blau hopes that in bringing tech and artistic professionals collectively, OMF will catalyze blockchain integration into the music trade. As for Blau, he’s hoping he can function a guiding middleman between each industries.

There’s slightly little bit of a disconnect between current industries and blockchain startups and my objective is to be that bridge. To point out the tech individuals and engineers what individuals like me want, to convey the music enterprise slightly extra throughout the fence into the area. In order that’s my private objective — to be the bridge.


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