AIP-58: Framework for ApeDAO Records and the BAYC/MAYC Soundtrack - Ecosystem Fund Allocation

Withdrawn AIPs
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AIP: Framework for Apecoin Records and Ape Tape Vol. 1 [The BAYC/MAYC soundtrack]

Category: Core: Ecosystem Fund Allocation

Abstract : Creation of ‘Apecoin Records’ decentralized record label, and framework to recruit artists to create a BAYC/MAYC soundtrack titled ‘Ape Tape Vol. 1’. The proposed soundtrack will consist of 10 tracks inspired by BAYC, and 10 tracks inspired by MAYC. The Apecoin DAO will vote to approve/recruit 10 musical artists, each providing one track for BAYC and one track for MAYC (ideally relaxed for BAYC, a little more insane for MAYC). Upon completion, the DAO will own all rights to soundtrack, and all revenue from the project will flow into the Apecoin DAO.

Motivation : A new release from an approved artist meeting the below standards would gain mainstream media attention and help onboard people outside the NFT space into the BAYC/MAYC/Apecoin world, specifically people interested in culture, music and the arts. The soundtrack will function as a sort of cultural dog whistle. It will also likely prove to be a commercially popular/successful release. Upsides from this project include: (1) significant mainstream media attention generated from the new music releases, (2) significant number of people onboarded from the artist’s fanbases into BAYC/MAYC/Apecoin culture, (3) revenue from digital streaming services, (4) revenue from physical album sales, (5) top musicians cosign BAYC/MAYC/Apecoin by lending their talent, (6) we get a cool soundtrack that adds to our culture, and we get to vote on what it will sound like.

Rationale : BAYC/MAYC gets a soundtrack, and the ApecoinDAO gets all related revenue and owns the soundtrack IP. Regarding the reason to use BAYC/MAYC over Apecoin for the soundtrack theme, for now I think it makes the most sense to capitalize on the popularity/familiarity of the BAYC and MAYC IP for onboarding and other reasons. If successful, we can do an Apecoin soundtrack as a second release and follow the same framework. Overall soundtrack cost is justified by the related free marketing, media publicity, cultural relevance, and mass onboarding potential by having musical artists of this caliber work on an Apecoin project.

Specifications (standards for musical artists) : artists should meet the following standards: (1) popular, (2) timeless, (3) critically-acclaimed, (4) cross-generational appeal, (5) does not release new music often. even better if we can get bands to reunite or artists to come out of retirement. Artists will create songs inspired by the collection. Ideally nothing really on the nose, and would prefer to give artists a lot of creative control. The goal is to stay away from heavily branded music with song titles like “I feel like a Bored Ape”, and rather focus on genuine songs with loosely-related themes (i.e. a song titled “Crazy Eyes” for BAYC or “Mega” for MAYC; specifically, a song that someone might listen to on its own, only to later discover it is from the BAYC/MAYC soundtrack).

Examples of artists likely to be approved
-Kanye West
-Kanye West x Jay-Z (collab track)
-Kendrick Lamar
-Frank Ocean
-Daft Punk
-Radiohead
-Billie Eilish
-Daft Punk
-Beyonce
-Sia
-Aphex Twin
-Rage Against the Machine
-Metallica
-Nine Inch Nails

Revenue : The soundtrack will be streamed via digital streaming services with all revenue flowing into the DAO, and physical limited-edition vinyl copies will be made for sale, with all profits flowing into the DAO. Distribution methods are subject to change/revision via DAO vote, and additional distribution methods can be added via majority vote on separate unique AIPs.

Steps to Implement : Individual AIPs will be drafted, and the community will vote to approve 10 artists for recruitment. An artist can only be added to the recruitment list if approved by the DAO. If approved, the DAO will set aside approximately $1mil in Apecoin per artist to record/secure the required song(s) as well as all rights therein. ApecoinDAO members will contact/recruit approved artists using the allocated funds. If specific artists request more funds than the amount allocated, additional funds can be allocated upon majority vote by DAO via separate unique AIP(s).

Overall Cost : Zero. This proposal simply provides a framework for future related proposals, to see if the community approves of the overall concept. All future related proposals with cost basis will be voted on before approval.

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I love this idea, great job.

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May I suggest a slight twist to the model here to bring it in line with Web 3? Work with Tidal or Spotify (really any mainstream streaming platform, I have hunch that Tidal be will looking at some version of this model – no actual inside info) to recognise music NFT’s.

The NFT could be a new ERC-XX standard specific for music, in which each person who contributes to the song (sound engineer, singer, producer, writer, band etc …) would contribute a Public Key to the Smart Contract. Every time it streams, the streaming service would issue a transaction to the contract to pay everyone involved (in real time). This would help cut the traditional payment rails (banks) out of the equation (cost savings), deliver immediate payment to everyone involved with production in real time, minimise distribution companies administrative / operational overhead, make every play on any platform very transparent (each play could be stored on chain and related to the person playing it) and finally allow indy bands to directly see (and connect with) their audiences.

A music NFT could change the music streaming game. Finally, if no major streaming service is willing to enable this functionality, you could work with Napster (just bought by Algorand)

Of course, all of this should be powered by ApeCoin since ApeCoin has the greatest and most loyal community in crypto

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Very cool! It may provide some epic tracks.

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The idea is fantastic! But I believe you also need to find those who will organise all the process and allocate a budget for that. Don’t think that the ApeCoin team have time to do so, but they have funds to reward those who can manage the process and deliver the product independently.

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Appreciate the feedback! This is a very cool idea. The distribution end of this AIP Idea is pretty open-ended; the streaming service and limited edition physical vinyl copies are more of a jumping off point than a set/finite plan.

For the sake of this AIP Idea, I think it may make the most sense to limit it to the general framework for creating the album itself, and for voting on artists, so we can see if the overarching idea of “creating a soundtrack voted on by the DAO” gets approved. I would definitely support and encourage separate AIPs re: distribution methods for the album if/when we have the idea approved, the artist voting framework laid out, and start making some progress in recruiting artists/recording tracks.

Also if anyone has contacts at major streaming services, and has any additional information on use of music NFTs by streaming platforms in this way, feel free to share!

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I think we may actually be lucky enough to have a few DAO members who are in a position to help, and are willing to do so voluntarily (once we have the framework up and running) based on prior AIPs, but we will see!

That said, no one has explicitly volunteered to help with this for free, and I agree that we may need to allocate a budget for the actual recruitment end of things. Any budget allocations/changes would be voted on via unique AIPs by the DAO; this is more to see if people like the general idea and to get the ball rolling on the artist voting process.

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Also the ‘ApeDAO Records’ and ‘the BAYC/MAYC Soundtrack’ titles are not set in stone. I’ve been thinking about other potential names. We can vote on those as well if people would like.

Leaning toward “Apecoin Records” for the label name, and “Ape Tape Vol. 1” for the album title.

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One hint, I would reccomend you to use as little votes as possible for the proposal. One of my proposals was rejected with the reason: “The Special Council deemed that the proposal as written would overwhelm the community with regular votes. Over time, ApeCoin DAO will transition the proposal and voting mechanisms into a full, on-chain platform in a form determined by the community. However, for the time being, we ask the community to rethink certain AIPs which would likely overwhelm the community with regular votes”

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Good to know! Definitely something to consider. I will try to include a framework in the proposal to limit the number of proposals that emerge from the idea, so we aren’t getting tons of proposals every week.

Maybe the community could delegate to a council for the project who can make early decisions to limit the number of things that reach the proposal stage, especially for artist selection (i.e. so we don’t get everyone submitting their friend’s band for approval). Open to ideas!

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Really cool idea as a longer-term aspiration for this project. +1 to OP for pointing out that we don’t need to decide distribution to show support for the creation of the music. I like where this is going.

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I love this idea and also hate this idea because as stated it leaves those of us out who only hold coin. Maybe you could offer them to holders of more than xxx amount of coin to encourage investment and also give equity to those of us who are first adopters of the APECOIN. If you want to be enclusive then please dont just have ideas that benefit a few of our members that imho already have been blessed with more than others here. Hope this didnt come off too crass. It is a good idea big picture imho.

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I think there might be a misunderstanding. Anyone who holds Apecoin would be involved in the entire process, including voting on all artists, the distribution method, etc.

The only BAYC/MAYC-specific involvement is the use of their IP as the thematic basis for the album. All decisions would be made by the ApecoinDAO, all revenue from the album would go to the ApecoinDAO, and the ApecoinDAO would own the album and all rights therein.

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“The proposed soundtrack will consist of 10 tracks for BAYC, and 10 tracks for MAYC,”

??

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That’s in reference to the theme of the album/tracks. It’s a two-sided BAYC/MAYC thematic album based on the IP, with 10 tracks inspired by BAYC and 10 tracks inspired by MAYC.

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Thanks for claification. ! I read it like to be given too.

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After reading this proposal and comments I am voting YES on this! Just a personal story I have spent 10+ years trying to sell just 1 $9 CD of my music and had no luck I now have sold thousands of my $9 Waifumon NFTs t and now have over 102,000 owners that have just one of my songs on this. I have learned that NFT tech has created the art renaissance of our time to quote Palis. So yes would love to continue to see BAYC lead the way in this.

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Congrats on taking the time to write up your idea in such detail.

Based on some of the feedback, perhaps coming out with a single could be a good first step? Get some traction, attract some creatives, etc – maybe even come out with the theme song for ApeCoin.

Just my 2¢ – good luck --:metal:t4:

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Seems like the perfect component for the whole metaverse. Especially on the eve of the Otherside rise. Good songs unite people and can make ideas become strong enough to engulf the real world and the meta one.

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Can we bring the Gorillaz back: Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood (Official Video) - YouTube

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