Wavlake: Empowering Musicians With Bitcoin Payments
Wavlake @wavlake is a music streaming platform that enables musicians to collect Bitcoin payments from their fans.
How does Wavlake work and why should you upload your songs there as a musician?
Traditional Streaming Platforms Only Favor the Most Famous Artists
The music industry is known for preying on the artists on which its existence depends.
On major streaming platforms only the most famous musicians can make a comfortable living.
Some artists have come up with a subscription model through e.g. Patreon, but conversely, this doesn't favor music fans.
I don't want to pay a monthly/weekly subscription in case I just want to hear 1 or 2 songs by an artist.
Bitcoin Lightning Network Micro-Payments
With the value-for-value (V4V) model that Wavlake is using, listeners can ditch the subscription model and tip (zap) micro-payments directly to an artist with Bitcoin Lightning Network while consuming music.
These optional payments can be fractions of a cent, or more.
Most listeners won't pay, some will pay a little, and the hardest fans will pay more.
Even small amounts will add up over time as more people will listen.
Easy Onboarding on Web and Mobile
Wavlake was co-founded by musicians and producers Michael Rhee @rheedi0 and Sam Means @ltngstore.
The app is open-source and available on web, iOS and Android.
At least the iOS version is still on Testflight as of April 2024.
As an artist, you can set up your account using an email, X (Twitter) or Google.
After that, you can upload tracks and wait for the sats to start coming in to your in-app Lightning wallet!
Uploaded content will be available on open protocols like RSS and Nostr.
Fans and listeners don't even have to set up an account.
I can just zap an artist profile or a song, and choose the amount of sats I want to tip with e.g. my Alby @Alby wallet.
The iOS app seems to be more directed towards fans, because I couldn't find an upload feature on the app.
You don't have to create an account to use the iOS app either.
You can always register later.
Nostr for Interoperability
Creating an account on the iOS app is done with Nostr credentials.
In fact, the Wavlake iOS app is a Nostr client!
Nostr is a cryptographic data protocol that allows e.g. creating permissionless and decentralized social media apps.
By using the Nostr protocol, Wavlake users' data (e.g. follower count) can be interoperable with other Nostr clients using the protocol.
An artist could log in to a new music video streaming platform built on the Nostr protocol and import all his followers and earn sats!
No more walled gardens!
Nostr "nsec" is your private key that gives access to your account and "npub" is your public identifier on apps built on the Nostr protocol.
With Wavlake, your Nostr npub can become like your email address for royalty payments!
Instant Payouts on the Lightning Network
The transactions on Wavlake are facilitated by the Bitcoin Lightning Network, which makes them instant and very low-cost.
Artists can get paid instantly without waiting for days, weeks or months
for payouts like often on major streaming platforms.
Payouts can also be instantly withdrawn to your own Lightning wallet.
In fact, you can add your own Lightning address directly to Wavlake, so you can have the option to self-custody your income from the get-go!
Collaborators Will Get Their Share
Artists must own the copyrights to the music they upload, and all music on Wavlake is royalty-free.
Wavlake charges a flat 10% fee from transactions to cover development costs, hosting and payment management.
Wavlake enables granular payout "splits" e.g. in case there are collaborators on a track, or if samples are being used.
There are also music podcasts on Wavlake, and podcasters can switch the direction of payment streams to artists whose music they play on a podcast.
With Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC), you can add a Lightning wallet that supports Nostr events (e.g. Alby) to Wavlake, and you can "auto-zap" without copying Lightning invoices or scanning QR codes.
Why Wavlake?
Why is Wavlake worth considering for musicians?
✅ There is no minimum amount (every sat counts)
✅ Everyone around the world can send musicians sats with low cost, fast speed and instant settlement
✅ Musicians finally have the tools to own the fruits of their labor.
Positive Feedback Loop
Receiving sats on Wavlake can instantly create a positive psychological feedback loop for an upcoming artist.
When you can see in real time that listeners are paying for your songs, it encourages you to keep on honing your craft.
Better Signal to Rank Content
"Zapping" (tipping sats) can also be used as measurement to rank content.
Micro-payments can be more "high-signal" than likes when measuring user behavior, and could be used to build more efficient music recommendation algorithms.
Copyright, the idea that everything has to be locked behind paywalls hasn't been very beneficial for artists.
Only the large platforms have profited off from the copyright system.
Just because content is available online doesn't mean that the artist loses rights to it.
Good for New Artists
Singer-songwriter Joe Martin @joemartinmusic made more money in 30 days on Wavlake than in 5 years on traditional streaming platforms.
Wavlake is an excellent place for new artists to get discovered because there are not too many artists yet.
Artists can reward listeners with fan-exclusives, creating a more direct and intimate artist-fan relationship.
In Wavlake's "Party Mode", a radio playlist will play songs and next to the song information there is a QR code that send sats directly to the artist.
Great for bars and parties!