soundchain | Devpost

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Inspiration

Growing up, many of us dreamed of exploring the world of music. However, we soon discovered that pursuing this passion often requires significant financial investment in production, mixing, and additional instruments. 🎛️ Well-meaning adults frequently warned us about the instability and security concerns associated with a music career. The reality is that music can be challenging, and we want to change that narrative.

There are barriers to entry at every turn:

87.6% of all artists remain undiscovered.
Out of 1.3 million registered artists on Chartmetric over the past year, 710,000 have yet to achieve any career milestones.
Only 11% of independent artists can sustain a living through music.

Even signing with a record label doesn’t guarantee success:

Labels typically take 50-90% of the revenue generated by an artist, often with fine print that includes hidden distributor fees and overhead costs.
Remarkably, even with a major label, only 1 in 2,149 artists achieves commercial success.

With soundchain, we aim to empower aspiring artists to pursue their musical dreams independently while connecting them with a supportive community that believes in their potential. This platform is also perfect for hobbyists who have a polished piece sitting in their files, just waiting for the right moment to be released. Whether you’re looking to build a career in music or simply share your passion, we’re here to help you take that next step. 🔊

What it does

soundchain is a decentralized platform that connects aspiring artists with music enthusiasts, enabling fans to discover and support emerging talent through unbiased music playback and NFT purchases in exchange for rights. Artists and "angel music investors" are matched through our music-forward playback system.

It's actually quite simple:

Artists upload snippets of their creative process (verses, beats, melody lines, anything in between). They set SUI-based crowdfunding goals to produce their song, and issuance terms for partners.
Potential supporters browse uploaded projects. They can view goals and decide to support projects based on the provided snippets. They buy-in to the potential of the project.
The Sui blockchain records the smart contract and creates an enforceable legal parameter for investors.
If the project takes off, initial investors can now resell their rights on secondary web3 markets. 🚀

How we built it

We utilized the Sui blockchain for its scalability and performance, implementing smart contracts to handle transactions. The application is integrated/connected with google-auth and the Enoki developer portal. The platform was developed with a user-friendly interface mocked on Figma to ensure seamless interactions between artists and listeners. Our front-end is made using Next.js, typescript, and assets from libraries such as material UI.

Challenges we ran into

This project was our team's first time ever working with any web3 products. We went from not understanding what blockchain even was to maybe understanding a little bit of how blockchain works. We faced challenges in the integration of blockchain elements into our front-end application since we weren't familiar with the technology. Additionally, navigating copyright issues and establishing fair revenue-sharing models for artists required careful consideration.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We think that we came up with a bangin' 🎸 idea that can really change the way funding in the music industry works. We also ensured that this product was realistic and viable for integration in the current state of the music industry.

What we learned

SO MUCH !!!! All new ways of designing, methodologies of ideation, new technologies, and first-time experiences. We also learned the importance of community engagement in building a platform that truly serves its users. Understanding the pain points and publication process from both artists and listeners helped us refine our approach and identify key features that enhance the overall experience.

What's next for soundchain

Mint NFTs that provide a visual badge/proof of support for supporters.
Implement tags for different types of projects including Songwriting, Lyrics, Rap, and Beats.
Integrate tracking systems to measure expected revenue shares through traditional music streaming applications, allowing the smart contract to take a more active role in revenue sharing.