It's been two years since NFTs became the talk of the internet, and artists are still in the process of figuring out exactly how blockchain technology will be part of the music industry going forward. Tyler Bancroft of Said the Whale is the latest to dive into the Web3 world with List3n, a music funding organization that will invest in music NFTs and give out artist grants.
List3n is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) — that is, a member-owned community without centralized leadership that's computer-encoded and maintained through a blockchain.
It's inspired by traditional government-funding models, but with the financial structure of a cooperative. The group's mission statement asks, "Can the funding body be replaced with a cooperative group of people who, by way of tokenized ownership, share decision-making power and become stakeholders in all the funded artists?"
List3n has minted 444 NFTs this month, through which people can buy into the collective. Those stakeholders will vote on music submissions and each month, an artist will be awarded 1 ETH ($2,560.66 CAD, as of this writing). Additionally, stakeholders will have a budget to acquire music NFTs, which will be held in the List3n treasure (and jointly owned by the collective).
Founder Bancroft is a longstanding figure of the Canadian music industry, having co-fronted Said the Whale since 2007. He has also run the record label Everything Forever since 2021.
Bancroft told Exclaim! in 2021, "I try my best to discover new music as actively as possible, and I always want to know who's the coolest young artist and who's writing the best songs."
List3n is supported by Friends with Benefits and ZORA. Learn more about the organization here.
List3n is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) — that is, a member-owned community without centralized leadership that's computer-encoded and maintained through a blockchain.
It's inspired by traditional government-funding models, but with the financial structure of a cooperative. The group's mission statement asks, "Can the funding body be replaced with a cooperative group of people who, by way of tokenized ownership, share decision-making power and become stakeholders in all the funded artists?"
List3n has minted 444 NFTs this month, through which people can buy into the collective. Those stakeholders will vote on music submissions and each month, an artist will be awarded 1 ETH ($2,560.66 CAD, as of this writing). Additionally, stakeholders will have a budget to acquire music NFTs, which will be held in the List3n treasure (and jointly owned by the collective).
Founder Bancroft is a longstanding figure of the Canadian music industry, having co-fronted Said the Whale since 2007. He has also run the record label Everything Forever since 2021.
Bancroft told Exclaim! in 2021, "I try my best to discover new music as actively as possible, and I always want to know who's the coolest young artist and who's writing the best songs."
List3n is supported by Friends with Benefits and ZORA. Learn more about the organization here.
