Web3 promised a music industry revolution—it hasn't delivered (yet)

If there’s one thing I’ve seen consistently across my six years working in Web3, it’s the misalignment between product and problem. It’s a common trope in this space—and I think investors and founders are finally realizing how necessary it is to shift if we want to see any real maturity. There are plenty of reasons this misalignment exists—some of them even positive. Web3 is inherently experimental: new asset classes, new financial primitives, new models of governance. But when it comes to music—or any established vertical—users have very real needs that MUST be met for any product to be viable. That demands tight alignment. And so, I digress.

The music industry is the dirtiest f*@%!#g game around

If you look at the history of the music industry, it’s actually rooted in Web3-style principles: a decentralized network of live performers and independent publishers producing and distributing music. But with each technological leap—first the phonograph, then sheet music, radio, and records—power consolidated. By the mid-20th century, a few major labels controlled nearly every aspect of music production, distribution, and promotion, leveraging capital and industry relationships to shape public taste. And it’s been some version of that ever since.

• Universal, Sony, and Warner control over 68% of the global recorded music market, according to 2024 reports from Goldman Sachs (Music in the Air) and the IFPI.
• Live Nation controls 70% of the U.S. primary ticketing market and owns or operates 60% of top venues, as detailed in the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2024 antitrust lawsuit.
• As of 2023, only 11% of independent artists can sustain themselves through music, and just 8% earned over $50K annually from music alone, according to MIDiA Research.

What does this tell us? That music is an absolute racket.

Why Web3 hasn’t fixed music (yet)

If you skim nothing else in this piece, let this be the takeaway: Web3 can, in theory, solve many of music’s biggest problems—but it requires a nuanced understanding of how the industry actually works, deeply empathetic product design, and more than just a solid business idea. It requires fierce political strategy and precise execution.

This is what music x Web3 has been missing.

Music is sexy. It’s universal. VCs love a cool idea—especially if it gets them backstage at Charli XCX at MSG. But let’s be real: most of that money hasn’t been well spent.

For all its promises—fairer pay for artists, community ownership, frictionless royalties—Web3 hasn’t really delivered for music. Not at scale. Why? The truth is, too many teams tried to disrupt music without understanding it. They built for hypothetical fans instead of real ones. They prioritized speculative mechanics over usable experiences. And they underestimated just how political and relationship-driven the music business actually is. You can’t fix the music industry without knowing who the players are—and how the game is played.

A better way forward for blockchain music

Are we running in circles? Yes and no. There are founders and teams doing it right. Projects like Beatport, mufi, Radiate, Billfold, Trippy Labs, and Mubert are building with empathy, with lived experience, and with a collaborative mindset. There’s also PMEI, a nonprofit I work with in the Polkadot ecosystem. PMEI partners with the Web3 Foundation to unify everyone building in the decentralized music vertical—handling biz dev, tech integrations (with help from mufi), customer success, and education via our podcast, Guestlist+1. It’s a model that could work for other verticals too: Be inclusive, but curate great founders. Be independent, but supportive.

What’s next for music in Web3?

The most promising projects in Web3 aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel. Rather, they’re solving real problems with the right tools. Polkadot’s architecture happens to be a good fit for many high-quality music projects, offering modularity, seamless integration, and scalability. It’s drawing real-world use cases, using Web3 where it makes sense, not forcing clunky onboarding flows on fans, artists, or venues.

Take Billfold for example, a point-of-sale provider used in thousands of U.S. venues and clubs, like the Brooklyn Mirage. With mufi, secured by Polkadot, Billfold now powers onchain rewards, VIP access (like on-stage entry), drink activations, and soon, crypto-native payments. Fans don’t need to touch a seed phrase. The entire onchain experience is seamless and just works.

That’s the bar. Music products will adopt blockchain the same way they use any modern tech stack: because it enhances the experience for artists, venues, and fans, not because it’s trendy. Music doesn’t need more disruption for disruption’s sake. It needs grounded tools, built by people who get the stakes. The future of music x Web3 won’t come from chasing manufactured hype, it’ll come from people who know the game, play it smart, and build with empathy.

About the Author

Spencer Zabiela is a producer and product-focused builder working at the intersection of music, tech, and culture. He’s the founder of mufi, a platform powering wallets, payments, and rewards for the next generation of live events; PMEI (Polkadot Music Events Initiative), a nonprofit driving adoption of Web3 tools in music through education and strategic partnerships; and bash, a studio for rapid prototyping at the edge of art and software. With roots in rights management and a track record launching tools across Web3 and live music, Spencer brings a strategic, on-the-ground perspective to the evolving landscape of sound.