Streaming services have been praised as the great equalizers in music, providing a platform for any artist to publish their music and potentially reach millions. However, these platforms are not without their drawbacks, as their algorithms can inadvertently influence creative decisions. Let's uncover the hidden influence of streaming on music creation.

CONFORMING TO THE ALGORITHM

Streaming platforms like Spotify use algorithms to suggest songs to listeners. These algorithms favor certain song characteristics, leading artists to tailor their music to fit these preferences. This can lead to a homogenization of music, stifling creativity and experimentation. 🎧

SHORTER SONGS

To increase the number of streams, and therefore revenue, artists are creating shorter songs. Shorter tracks mean more streams, as listeners can listen to more songs in a given time period. This shift has led to the decline of longer song formats like progressive rock epics and lengthy jazz improvisations.

SKIPPING THE INTRO

Spotify's algorithm counts a stream if a listener plays a song for at least 30 seconds. This has led to the death of the slow build-up, as artists now compose songs that grab the listener's attention immediately. The result? Fewer intros and quicker hooks. 🎵

I've started songs from the chorus because that's what Spotify's algorithm likes. - Billie Eilish

FEWER ALBUMS

With streaming platforms, listeners are more likely to listen to playlists or individual songs rather than full albums. This shift in consumption has led to a decline in concept albums and a rise in single releases.

OVERPRODUCED MUSIC

The streaming algorithm favors high-quality production, pushing artists towards an overproduced sound. This leads to a lack of raw and unpolished music, limiting the diversity of the music landscape. 🎛️

LESS DYNAMIC RANGE

To make a song stand out on a playlist, artists are mastering their songs to be louder, leading to less dynamic range. This trend, known as the "loudness war," can result in a loss of audio quality.

THE DEATH OF SILENCE

Silence, used effectively, can be a powerful tool in music. However, in the race for attention, songs on streaming platforms rarely incorporate silence, fearing listeners might skip their track.

LOST GENRES

Streaming has led to a surge in popular music genres like pop, hip-hop, and EDM. Less mainstream genres like folk, bluegrass, or classical have struggled to adapt to the algorithm's preference, leading to their marginalization.

I keep my songs under three minutes because that's what works on streaming platforms. - Lil Nas X

THE FUTURE OF MUSIC CREATION

While streaming platforms provide artists with immense opportunities, it's important to be aware of their influence on music creation. As artists, we should strive to maintain our creative integrity and not be swayed by algorithms. As listeners, we can make an effort to explore and support diverse music. 🎶

If you're an independent artist looking for a platform that values creativity and originality, check out DNS.xyz! Follow us on Twitter and join our Discord community for more discussions on music and creativity.

Once the realm of science fiction, cyberpunk and cypherpunk aesthetics have permeated our reality, influencing everything from fashion to technology. Their fingerprints are especially visible in the realm of music, where they have spawned a new genre: crypto music. Let’s take a deep dive into this fusion of art and technology, exploring its roots, its pioneers, and its potential for the future of music.

DIGITAL COUNTERCULTURE

The inception of crypto music can be traced back to the origins of cyberpunk and cypherpunk – two countercultures born in the digital realm. Cyberpunk, a subgenre of science fiction, imagines a future where society is dominated by computer technology. Cypherpunk, on the other hand, is a movement advocating for the use of cryptography and other privacy-enhancing technologies as a route to social and political change.

These countercultures have had a profound influence on the music industry, disrupting traditional distribution models and empowering artists to take control of their work. The spirit of these movements is alive and thriving in the world of crypto music 🎵.

HACKING THE SYSTEM

Atari Teenage Riot and Alec Empire are prime examples of artists who have embodied cyberpunk and cypherpunk ideologies. Their music, often described as "digital hardcore," merges punk, techno and noise, creating a powerful soundtrack for a dystopian future.

These artists have not only used their craft to critique the system but have actively sought to subvert it. By adopting blockchain technology, they have taken the power from corporations and placed it back in the hands of artists and fans, shattering the traditional music industry model 💥.

A NEW WAVE OF CREATORS

The advent of blockchain technology has enabled a new wave of musicians to take control of their destiny. By distributing music as crypto assets, artists have the freedom to dictate their terms of engagement, bypassing traditional gatekeepers like record labels and streaming platforms.

This isn't just a passing trend. As more artists and fans become aware of the opportunities offered by blockchain, the crypto music ecosystem is set to grow exponentially. The future of music is decentralized, and it's happening right now 🚀.

THE SOUND OF THE FUTURE

The sound of crypto music is as diverse as its creators. From the hard-hitting beats of Atari Teenage Riot to the ambient soundscapes of Imogen Heap, there's something for everyone. What unites these artists, however, is their shared commitment to harnessing technology as a tool for creative liberation and fan engagement.

Crypto music is the sound of the future – a symphony of human creativity and technological innovation 🎹.

BEYOND THE MUSIC

Crypto music is about more than just songs – it's a whole new way of thinking about creation, distribution, and ownership. It's about giving power back to artists and fans, creating a music economy that is fair, transparent, and inclusive.

This is a revolution, and like all revolutions, it will not be easy. But with every new artist and fan that joins the movement, the future of crypto music becomes brighter ☀️.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

Are you ready to join the crypto music revolution? At DNS.xyz, we're dedicated to making this exciting new world accessible to everyone. Whether you're an artist looking to break free from the constraints of the traditional music industry or a fan in search of your new favorite sound, we've got you covered.

Start exploring today at DNS.xyz! Discover the future of music and join the conversation on our Discord and Twitter. Let’s build this new era of music together 🎉.

The realms of gaming and cryptocurrency might seem worlds apart, but in reality, they share many striking similarities. Notably, the web3 universe closely mirrors the mechanics of a roguelike. It's a journey filled with quests, random rewards, character build-ups, community unlocks, and a steep learning curve. Let's delve into how these worlds intertwine!

A Daily Grind

Much like a Binding of Isaac, Spelunky or FTL, web3 presents users with a never-ending challenge. Every day, you're immersed in a quest-like adventure, trading, hunting for new rewards, and embarking on thrilling quests. The constant hustle and bustle keep you on your toes, much like the frenetic pace of your favorite game 🎮.

Web 3 is a Skinner Box

Web3 mimics the mechanics of a skinner box, where you don't know if your run will yield positive or negative results. Will your transaction go through? Will the item you've been eyeing be in high demand? It's an unpredictable game of chance, much like your favorite roguelike.

Character Stats

In web3, your transaction history mirrors your gaming stats, providing a history of your journey. Your NFT inventory is your item inventory, showcasing your achievements and epic finds. Every transaction, every NFT you collect, contributes to your character's growth and uniqueness.

Hard to Master

Web3 and roguelikes share a challenging learning curve. From using wallets, navigating web3 platforms, to researching the latest trends, there's a lot to master. But like any good game, the learning process is part of the fun and satisfaction 🔍.

Next Time!

Both web3 users and gamers share a common belief: the next drop, the next transaction, or the next run could be the big one. It's that glimmer of hope that keeps the grind exciting and the anticipation high.

Random Events

Just as roguelike games are filled with random events that offer surprise rewards, web3 platforms offer unexpected opportunities. Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse events can provide valuable information or surprise rewards, keeping the game dynamic and unpredictable.

Hint System

In Elden Ring (not a roguelike, but work with me!), players leave notes and hints for one another. The same happens in the web3 space, where users share tips and insights through tweets. It's a communal effort to navigate the game's challenges, fostering a sense of camaraderie 🤝.

Random Drops

Coin airdrops in web3 are like randomized reward chests or NFTs in a game. Each one holds the promise of something valuable, keeping the anticipation high.

Guilds

Just as certain keys in games unlock gated communities and guilds, some NFTs in the web3 world can grant you access to specific communities and groups. It's a thrilling mechanic that adds a layer of excitement and exclusivity to your journey.

Permadeath

Last but not least, losing your wallet in the web3 world is basically the same experiencing permadeath. It's a hard reset, a sobering reminder of the stakes at play.

The parallels between web3 and a roguelike game are striking. Each offers a unique blend of excitement, unpredictability, and a communal journey. So, whether you're a gamer or a web3 enthusiast, remember: the next run could always be the big one. Or not.

Join our community on Instagram, reach out to us on Twitter, and discover great artists on dns.xyz!

Burning Man is built on 10 principles that encourage and foster creativity, independence, and inclusivity. A radical shift in the way to think about art, community, and creativity. Its 10 guiding principles offer insights that can illuminate the path for musicians and creators. Let's have a look at what we can learn from them.

RADICAL INCLUSION

Burning Man welcomes anyone willing to participate. Creators can ensure their art reaches, includes and welcomes people from different and diverse backgrounds. They can find ways to include people in the creative process. For example, Twitch Plays Pokemon included thousands of people participating live in the creative process. Freddie Mercury made sure We Will Rock You was easily supported with claps from the audience. What will you do to include people?

GIFTING

Burning Man operates on a gifting "economy", if you wanna call it that. Goods and services are given freely without expectation of return. As creators, the simple act of sharing music can be a gift that enriches the listener's life. It's a potent reminder that art itself is a gift. When done genuinely rather than for self-promotion, it'll feel unique, and memorable. It could be as simple as free music and free mints, but what about making something inspired by a moment or people in the spur of the moment? 🎶.

RADICAL SELF-RELIANCE

Burning Man encourages people to rely on their inner resources, both physical and mental. The idea is to be able to carry your own efforts, build resilience and create value for those around you.

RADICAL SELF-EXPRESSION

The festival provides a platform for individuals to express themselves in their own unique way. As a creator, honoring your unique voice and style, even if it doesn't conform to popular trends, is a powerful form of self-expression. Remain true to yourself, and your authenticity will shine through.

ACTIVE PARTICIPATION

Burning Man is about active participation, not passive consumption. As a creator, immerse yourself fully in the act of creating. Let the music take you where it wants to go. Be in the moment, and let your art be a reflection of that presence.

Burning Man's principles serve as a guide to a more meaningful, creative, and sustainable way of living and creating. Art is not just something we make or sell. Its process is what builds community, connection, and change.

If you're curious, come join our Discord, reach out to us on Twitter, and discover great independent artists on dns.xyz!

In the age of the attention economy, all forms of entertainment are in competition. Memes, music, videos, tweets - each vies for the same precious seconds of audience attention. The line between entertainment types has blurred, forcing musicians to adapt to the current state of things🤔🎧.

Social media has turned attention into a valuable commodity. With so many options vying for our eyeballs, the competition is fierce. Music, once a standalone form of entertainment, now has to compete with everything from viral videos to cat memes. This has fundamentally altered how we engage with music and entertainment. Here's why and how:

THE SCROLL CULTURE

Social media's infinite scroll culture has shortened our attention spans. There's always something new to discover, making it harder for one form of entertainment to hold our attention. Music might have the power to move us, but can it compete with the instant entertainment of a hilarious meme or an attention-grabbing headline?

Visual content such as videos and images often perform better on social media because they're quickly and easily consumed. This puts music at a disadvantage, as it requires more time and attention from the audience.

THE SHARING PHENOMENON

Memes and videos are often more shareable than music. They're designed to be relatable, funny or shocking - qualities that encourage people to share with their networks. By contrast, music can be a more personal experience and less likely to be shared in the same way.

To survive in this attention economy, musicians must adapt. This could mean creating visually appealing album covers, sharing video clips of performances or behind-the-scenes content, or even creating memes related to their music. It's about finding ways to capture attention in the same way that other forms of entertainment do🎸.

"The new role of the artist: to make people pay attention to the world." -Brian Eno

THE POWER OF COLLABORATION

Another solution may lie in collaboration. Musicians can team up with influencers, meme creators or video producers to create engaging cross-media content. This not only broadens their reach but also helps them tap into the power of other entertainment forms.

MUSICAL MEMES

We've also seen the rise of musical memes - viral song clips or dance trends. These show that music can compete in the attention economy, provided it's packaged in the right way.

THE VALUE OF AUTHENTICITY

Despite these changes, authenticity remains key. Audiences can sense when a musician is trying too hard to fit into a particular mold or trend. The most successful artists are those who stay true to themselves while finding creative ways to engage their audience💯.

Navigating the attention economy as a musician is challenging but not impossible. It's about understanding the new rules of engagement and finding innovative ways to compete with other entertainment forms.

Curious to know more? Join our Discord, reach out on Twitter, or explore some amazing independent artists on dns.xyz!

Pre-saving a song before it releases seems like a great way to support musicians. It's a simple click that promises streaming numbers and visibility on release day. But are these clicks really driving the meaningful engagement artists crave? Or are they just another hollow metric? Here are 10 reasons why pre-saving doesn't necessarily support musicians in the ways they need.

THE ILLUSION OF ENGAGEMENT

Pre-saving a song gives the impression of fan engagement, but it's often superficial. The act requires minimal effort and commitment from the listener, meaning it's no guarantee they'll actually listen to the song or engage with the artist in a meaningful way once it releases. Pre-saves can inflate an artist's sense of their own popularity without providing real fan loyalty😞.

THE DISENGAGEMENT CLIFF

Once a song is released, the pre-save hype often fizzles out, leading to a sharp drop in engagement. This 'cliff' can be demoralizing for artists who are riding high on pre-release excitement, only to see their streaming numbers plummet after the first few days. This rollercoaster effect isn't conducive to building a sustainable fanbase.

THE TIME-CONSUMING PROMOTION

Promoting pre-saves can be time-consuming and distracting for an artist. It diverts energy away from creating music and towards marketing tactics. This focus on pre-release promotion may also overemphasize the importance of a song's initial impact, rather than fostering long-term listener engagement.

THE DATA DISCONNECT

While pre-saves might give an indication of a song's potential popularity, they don't provide much valuable data for the artist. They don't reveal who the listeners are or how they engage with the song once it's released. Without this data, artists can't tailor their approach to their audience or gain insights into their fans' behavior🕵️‍♀️.

THE PLATFORM PRIORITY

Pre-saves primarily benefit the streaming platforms, not the artists. They generate user activity and help to populate playlists, increasing the platform's engagement. However, they do little to help artists establish a direct relationship with their listeners or gain meaningful feedback on their work.

THE HYPE HANGOVER

The hype surrounding pre-saves can create unrealistic expectations for an artist. They may feel pressure to deliver a hit, leading to creative stress and burnout. Instead of focusing on creating music that they love, artists can become overly fixated on numbers📊.

THE FAN FATIGUE

For listeners, the constant barrage of pre-save requests can lead to fatigue. This may result in fewer pre-saves over time, as fans become more selective about which tracks they commit to. This could reduce the effectiveness of pre-saving as a promotional tool.

THE ARTIFICIAL BUMP

Pre-saves can artificially inflate a song's streaming numbers, leading to a distorted representation of its popularity. This can mislead artists and their teams about the song's success, leading to misguided decision-making about future releases and promotional strategies.

THE UNFAIR ADVANTAGE

Major labels and established artists often have the resources to push pre-saves more aggressively than independent artists. This can create an uneven playing field, where the rich get richer and emerging artists struggle to compete.

THE FOCUS ON QUANTITY OVER QUALITY

Pre-saves encourage a focus on quantity over quality, prioritizing the number of clicks over the depth of listener engagement. This can detract from the real joy and purpose of making music: connecting with listeners on a deep, emotional level🎵.

When it comes to supporting musicians, there's no substitute for genuine engagement. Listen to their music, share it with your friends, attend their shows, and let them know what their work means to you. That's the kind of support that really makes a difference.

If you're curious, come join our Discord, reach out to us on Twitter, and discover great independent artists on dns.xyz!

Gunpei Yokoi is the visionary creator of the Game Boy. Creators have a tendency to look to new frameworks, new shiny tools that stimulate the imagination and open new opportunities, then apply them to existing problems. It is the exact opposite to Yokoy's philosophy. He summed it up as: "withered technology, with lateral thinking".

Back when technology was focused on creating premium experiences, he had a vision for a low powered device. It'd have no colors, run on an ancient CPU, require battery changes every 10 hours. You'd play it during breaks, on your commute, in the bathroom. It was a wild contrast with the premium experiences at the arcade or on home consoles, where you'd be sitting comfortably with your friends and enjoying beautiful games.

As Tina Seelig from Stanford explains: creativity is a methodology. Yokoi's take is similar to the idea that constraints breed innovation, but it goes further. Withered technology isn't about settling for the outdated; it's about finding hidden treasures in what's already available.

Once you let go of the constant need to chasing the best and latest, five new upsides become obvious:

Affordability: Skip the cost of learning new tech. Yokoi's approach cuts costs without sacrificing innovation.

Reliability: Old tech has endured the test of time. It's a sturdy foundation to build upon, avoiding the glitches of the new.

Green: Embracing withered hardware contributes to sustainability by reducing electronic waste.

Familiarity: Yokoi's Game Boy took cues from a calculator. Similarly, draw inspiration from unexpected but familiar sources to craft unique and engaging apps.

Simplicity: Fewer moving parts means less cognitive load, and a more focused experience. User-friendly interfaces win hearts.

Working with well understood limitations is a way to avoid surprises and leverage something you already excel at. It's how TheProdukkt made a full FPS game in 96kb, or Furbies gradually spoke better English simply because they had more uptime (fooling kids into thinking their constant care was the reason why they got smarter).

Rather than a clinical take on development, find ways to remove convention. In the worst case, you can always fall back to it!

The bear market started just over 500 days ago. As expensive JPEGs decline, music NFTs are seen as the next idea capable of bringing new energy to the space. It's been a mixed bag. Let's take a look at what's happening, and what can be done to make them shine.

Publishing

Music NFTs let you distribute your song on your own terms. You upload it on IPFS, create your own contract, and the song is here forever. No more deplatforming or playing games with the big streaming platforms! (in theory)

Most web3 music platforms won't play ball with that: they only feature songs minted on their platforms. By doing this, they effectively become publishers who cherry pick the next artists. The whole point was to move away from that! Featuring should be independent of where the item was minted.

Discovery

The top two platforms are Sound.xyz and Audius. They only play, buy/sell songs from their own platform. It's all their contract, on one chain. It's as if Sony had a store that only sold Walkmans, which only play Sony artists.

You should be able to mint anywhere, and then list for sale anywhere, and let people play from anywhere.

Lack of standardization

Free from the constraints of Spotify, creators are getting experimental: short 10-30s clips, promises of revenue splits or fractionalized ownership, PFPs inspired by a musician. It’s very diverse but makes it hard to define standards. There are no singles, EPs, albums.

It’s a series of ad-hoc releases, with no way to identify true source creations. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that minting happens on several chains, all of which have their own ways of working. The openness is great, but there needs to be some communication on who gets what rights, and what you are getting.

Difficult for newbies

Want to buy my song? Get some ETH on Coinbase, make a wallet, move that money there, sign up to this page with your wallet (but don't click any links), and you're set. The current way feels like a meritocracy: only the most curious and engaged people are here.

But not everyone who wants to just hear your song is going to want to put up with this. We need something that feels closer to Soundcloud or Bandcamp, where you can just sign up and listen or collect without prior experience.

Overworking creators

Want to sell your NFT? Promote on Twitter Spaces every day (but don't shill), come up with good rewards, maybe a 1/1 or merch and concert tickets, perform in the metaverse, give out Discord roles. Easy. The silver lining of self-publishing is that you have to do everything.

If creators could engage their community straight from their profile and player, they'd be able to work with the community to make this easier. There would be a lot less guessing of what people want.

Too focused on superfans

Most of these perks are rewards for being very engaged. Zoom concerts, token-gated communities. There is very little for casual people who just want to listen to music and maybe drop a message. It's the way people use SoundCloud. It's difficult to be demanding of time, attention and money from a large group of people. Even brands like Rolex have entry level models, so more people can get on the hype. We need ways to cater to newbies.

Centralized graph

Creators are still primarily on Twitter, Telegram and Discord. This makes it pretty convoluted to know “this user bought my NFT”. Also, if you are shadowbanned, your community suffers.

Similarly to how we need to own our creations, social media posts and follower graphs should be ours as well. This will allow doing airdrops to owners, or even just reach out to them.

Value

If $10 gives all of music streaming, why pay $500 for a music collectible? Sure, it's "rare", but you can still play the song for free most of the time. It feels like the justification for prices comes from high gas prices, or because people are used to $1000 JPEGs.

Sound.xyz's answer is perks: buyers can comment, enter a raffle for a 1/1, download the song. It'd be nice to see expanded. Maybe unlockable songs, maybe behind the scenes stuff? There's a lot to learn from Kickstarter and Patreon.

Obsession with ROI

According to recent research, only 15% of fans are interested in ROI, and only 7% would sell their item. Still, much of the discussion goes: "Buy this and it'll gain value, we're early". Compare this with Soundcloud rappers who will just release their song and be happy if you leave them a like and comment. When you look at the Twitter Spaces, people are still very focused on selling out, or managing their floor prices.

When you look at the bigger picture, any NFT sale is going to make you more money than streaming would. Obviously if every platform is primarily aimed at selling out drops, people will focus on that. We think growing a community and coming back for interesting content should be the focus.

Saturated Buyers

According to @TheNFTMusician, the total music NFT sales for May were 20ETH. There were 94 new collectors. Across all the major platforms, on secondary and primary.

It's rapidly decreasing, which is a concern: the quality of the music is going up, and there are more musicians. The sales are not driven by quality, but by crypto prices. So maybe stop worrying about sales anyway!

The future is DIY

To some, web3 is a way to replace currencies, governments. To others, it’s a way to get rich, learn finance. To some, it’s about censorship resistance, being able to publish on your own term. Since the bear market, the financial skew has been slowly eroding away.

The space is ripe for innovation, waiting for eager creators to ship awesome music, build their own albums and EPs, push them onto new platforms. Maybe a Pepe album will be the next hot thing? Maybe it’ll be a collab, in a way that just can’t be done on Spotify. Unlike web2 publishing, it won’t be a simple packaged offering. It’s a DIY future, it’ll take work, but it’ll be pretty awesome once we build it 😊

In our previous post on Social Rollups, we caught up with Marigold developer Daniel Hines (since publication, Daniel announced he is leaving Marigold and will be starting his own project). During that chat, we discussed account abstraction and smart wallets. The notion of identity encompasses a lot more concepts than just a wallet address. We'll dive into what account abstraction is, why it's important, and how we've incorporated that into what we simply call Smart Wallets.

Wallet creation is intimidating. You're given a giant seed phrase you're told to remember and keep safe forever or else you're going to lose all your money. People with more experience keep saying things like "not your keys, not your crypto" so managed, custodial wallets sound terrifying.

With account abstraction, you can make it easy to create a user friendly experience for wallets that are easy to remember and mange. They can add multiple wallets to their account. You can help first timers make a safer, cold wallet and an active hot wallet. Everyone can get a username that covers all their wallets.

My current wallets work just fine, why change?

Right now in Web3, many people run with the notion that your identity is the wallet address. However, using it as an identity breaks down at every step you interact with it like that.

You are more than just a wallet

When you create a wallet, you get an address you can't even remember. Imagine if our names worked like this. No one can remember the addresses and these are supposed to be their identity. Of course you could buy a Tezos domain, to make it easier to remember your wallet address, but the reality is doing that is still an extra step and you're likely to have more than one wallet. What do you do then, buy multiple domains? Which domain is really you?

"On Tezos one private key equals one account" - Daniel Hines

Every web3 service treats each wallet as a separate account

The next problem is each time you want to use a blockchain service, you have to log in with this wallet, but these blockchain apps and services assume you're just that one wallet. If you have to juggle things between wallets, you have to do that on your own and probably incur gas fees. This is a huge hassle because logging into one wallet is hard enough. You already have to use additional tools like browser extensions and phone apps to even sign in and manage your wallets because you can't remember the seed phrase you need to use to sign in. Why would people choose this if they have alternatives?

Treating wallets as separate accounts doesn't work for the majority of users because the average cryptonative has 3 wallets. They're managing between cold storage and active wallets for their crypto and NFTs. Often they hold crypto across different blockchains and not all wallets work for every chain people might use. People will spin up burner wallets whenever they're testing out services as it's a best practice to avoid potentially malicious contracts that would have drained all of their assets.

You can't use wallet addresses like names

If you want to send some crypto or an NFT to a friend, you have to remember their wallet address. But no one knows their addresses, so you have your friend copy, paste, and verify it is an exact match through some other texting app. You don't want to accidentally send valuables to the wrong address; you can't undo it because it's immutable. That was the whole point of blockchain in the first place, right? Everything is jumping through a bunch of hoops so only the most dedicated people stick with it.

Wallets and ledgers of transactions don't work socially

Regular people set up accounts on Venmo, Paypal, or Zelle to pay each other. On Venmo I can send money to @Shokunin, but on crypto it's not so simple. Regular people trust payment apps because those accounts have been set up using an email or phone number, the bank accounts have been verified, and profiles people understand. On those profiles, they show the user's name in the app, contact information they recognize, and usually a profile photo. People don't have to bogged down with any of the technical details in order to do what they came to do.

The way we treat wallets as identity right now would get you labeled crazy in real life. At a very basic level, wallets resemble your bank account statements, and we understand using your bank statement as if it were an ID card doesn't fly. Just like a bank statement, with wallets there's a string of numbers and letters you can barely read and never remember, and then a ledger of transactions. You would never go up to someone in public waving around the bank statement saying: "This is me! You know who I am based on all these transactions. Send money to this account and routing number and know when you get money from this account number that it is me!" If you actually did this, you might get social workers called out for a basic welfare check. This is not going to work for onboarding more people into blockchain.

Wallets make everything about finance when it shouldn't be

Crypto is hyper-financialized because all of our things are mixed in with our finances. - 0xDesigner

Wallets make it sound like they're only about finance. You send money. Receive money. Buy and sell NFTs. YOLO into yield farming. It's no surprise that so many of the apps people make right now support basically trading and selling, and they look and behave like eBay. This doesn't work because people already use wallets to also store digital items and data as well as money and the use cases will only continue to expand. There's little to no ways to deal with things that aren't money in wallets. No one is viewing that Bored Ape NFT from inside the wallet.

What should we have instead of just wallets?

Account abstraction enables building the user experiences people already have in online services and will expect in Web3. Further, it makes it possible to create an on-ramp for the crypto curious to get started, and upgrade their set-ups as they build more confidence and knowledge of how it all works. If we want to onboard more people into blockchain, it's necessary to satisfy the spectrum of needs from the most sophisticated cryptonatives to grandma trying it out for the first time.

Account abstraction gives us what users already expect

Abstracting the concept of wallets into a more encompassing notion of an account resolves the issues that wallets as identity give us. Account abstraction, as it's called, lends itself for more natural, user-friendly categories for the content these wallets can contain. For example, music can be contained in libraries, galleries for art, profiles for social, inventories for in-game consumables, and wallets for financial products and currencies. This informs and aligns the product designs with the needs of users because it focuses on the intent: wallets are for spending, you preserve valuables in collections, and express through galleries.

Here's what it looks like if we rethink wallets as accounts:

Empowers users with more control

"It is frustrating when you want someone to operate something on your behalf. Smart contract wallets make that easier” - Daniel Hines

Account abstraction enables features for users to take control of all of their stuff and experiences across different web3 sites. They can assign and grant permissions to others to manage their funds and NFTs. Users can easily separate out funds across wallets from one spot if they have personal wallets and business wallets. If they want to make galleries out of their wallets, they can easily organize their NFTs across wallets. Account abstraction enables developers to make a single sign-in simple across the ecosystem. No more juggling multiple apps and wallets. Further, with accounts and user sessions, we can have saved settings across apps and web3 enabled websites. One day, we might never have to click on website cookie settings again.

How does DNS Smart Wallets improve the Web3 experience?

“If I’m new to crypto, I just want to sign in with Google and buy the NFT I came for. As I learn more, I want the ability to broaden and harden my base of trust. Say my wife buys me a hardware wallet. Ok let’s move my key to Ledger, and add social recovery. … But I need an easy onramp. Magic.link is a great onramp but there’s no offramp.” - Daniel Hines

At it's core, we've made it as simple as possible for people trying out blockchain for the first time, and integrated it all together as a seamless experience.

• It's trivial to combine multiple wallets under one smart contract
• We give users a single unifying ID with a Tezos domain: [username].dns.tez.
• Social login for simple creation of non-custodial wallets
• Cross device login for access to your account from anywhere, anytime
• Gas-free wallet actions with tickets and permits

Users get total control with Smart Wallets

Our Smart Wallets are built on smart contracts that users own and can give permission to control any number of their wallets. It contains logic for mint, transfer, and updating metadata, which takes a message from an account you control, polling it every 10 minutes. Because users own the contract, they can upgrade and rewrite the contract to make it do whatever they choose.

Simple, Non-Custodial Wallets

You can easily spin up a wallet with a Twitter or Google account and have the account level data persist whether logging in from your iPhone or laptop. That social login wallet is non-custodial, and as users level-up their crypto-know-how, they can export the key to any wallet of their choosing. They can continue using this wallet regardless whether or not that social account is still active.  

If you're curious, come join our Discord, reach out to us on Twitter, and sign up for the waitlist and get your own Smart Wallet!

Rollups have been a major point of interest focus of development in the Tezos community, but they're not well understood yet. We did a Twitter thread on using new Tezos technologies such as rollups and account abstraction- what they are and how we did ours.

This article is the result of the follow-up discussion with Daniel Hines, developer at Marigold leading their smart rollups initiative. We discussed with him what we built, the smart rollups they’ve been developing, and how to drive adoption.

Layer 2 & 3 Rollups? What’s this all about?

The problem with rollups is that there are no official definitions of what a Layer 2 is. Some roll ups are simply for NFTs, some include smart contracts, and some are more esoteric. Because of this, definitions and expectations are all over the place.

In the Ethereum world, some people have started using new terms to differentiate their efforts. For example, the Lens Protocol has had a number of stories of developers looking to scale its social actions with rollups, rather than being limited by the throughput of Polygon (see addendum at the end of the article).

We built our own rollup for social actions on DNS.xyz. You can create posts, which are minted as NFTs on Tezos (layer 1). You can post likes and comments, which are added to our rollup and on IPFS.

How the DNS rollup works

When a user likes an NFT or comments on the NFT:

• The like and comment appears instantaneously on the site
• The action gets added to a large list
• The list is bundled, and added to IPFS every 10 minutes
• We also make the actions visible in our GraphQL
• The resulting additions to IPFS are added to a Tezos contract every 10 minutes

You get the best of both worlds: web2-like user experience, but web3 openness. You can like hundreds of posts and leave comments seamlessly. You don’t have to wait for the blockchain. You don’t have to pay for gas. You can see everything on IPFS, and on the blockchain.

When you make a post (upload an image, write some text…), it’s still a regular NFT on Layer 1. So there’s no need for a bridge. However, for comments and likes, you don’t need to make Layer 1 NFTs. With this approach, you can leave likes and comments on any Tezos NFT, and still end up with the data available to everyone

Q&A with Daniel Hines

edited for clarity

DNS:

There are all sorts of roll ups being built at the moment. What do you think they can bring in terms of User Experience?

Daniel Hines:

Right now, when you use a Tezos service, you wait 15-30 sec for transactions to finalize. It’s even longer, and more expensive on Ethereum. I’m used to sites loading instantaneously, for likes, comments, and even purchases being instantaneous.

If you go back to the Bitcoin whitepaper, the primary purpose of a blockchain is a decentralized timestamping service. Bitcoin is the purest, rawest implementation of blockchain. Web 3 was built by decentralization visionaries, but it's just database technology. The way people build on blockchain right now is: it's always technology first.

DNS:

What do you think is a better approach?

DH:

The problem with building technology first is that it forces you to fix things in hindsight. You could cut a lot of corners, and capture a lot of the value of decentralization, by building differently.

Your team is building an open, decentralized social media platform. You don’t need to implement every aspect of a Layer 2 into your product: you could go extremely far by just timestamping hashes of your data, or timestamping IPFS hashes on Tezos. It’s the approach your team took.

It's arguably more open than a platform like Twitter. Anyone with access to those IPFS nodes, can download not just the entire state, but the entire history! Now users can easily download data from DNS, while on Twitter, you have to pay their API fees. Since you’ve made all the posts NFTs, there’s a direct model we can shift towards, in contrast to how platforms like Twitter serve ads but users don’t get revenue. I think it's great.

DNS:

We decided to build our own rollup specifically for likes and comments. What are your thoughts on this approach?

DH:

With an L2 like Arbitrum, people are routing to a centralized sequencer. This is the dominant pattern for L2s, but nothing is stopping anyone from routing transactions through some kind of sequencer on their own to get instant results and then settling on an L1 later. Doing this on an L1 like Tezos, where it's cheap, and verifiable on Michelson contracts makes a lot of sense and you're the first people to do this to my knowledge. And because you’re running your own sequencer, you can still manage content moderation.

You’re processing sequences of transactions (the likes, comments, and replies) using the Tezos L1 for timestamping. Basically, you reimplemented tzstamp for social by computing off-chain and posting the results. Now your server logs are public information where anyone can audit your data it canonicalizes the data. You might tamper with it on your server, but not once it’s posted, because changing that requires a ⅔ attack on Tezos.

DNS:

What are the pros and cons?

DH:

You guys are leveraging a space where publicly verifiable data is valuable to users, even if your particular smart contract can't compute over that data. For example, you couldn't write a smart contract where each time an NFT gets a hundred likes, some counter on the chain increases or or the user gets like 0.1 XTZ. You couldn't do that fully on chain, but you now have an interoperable standard, and with strong standards, if someone wants to make a role-playing game, where the weapons are twitter-like posts, you can now.

There’s a joke about how in Star Wars, R2D2 somehow just knows how to interoperate with the Death Star. Yet, in software it takes 5 years and $2m to make an integration point.

The key insight here is the value to users in linking data to an L1, and that this value does not completely overlap with computation on L1. There’s a space in between having everything centralized and having fully decentralized magic computers. There’s a middle ground with off-chain centralized compute, but the data is transparent and timestamped, thus open and available for anyone to operate on however they wish.

ADDENDUM: Coverage of Lens Protocol and their Layer-3

Web3 Social Media Protocol Lens Introduces “Layer-3” Network

On April 26th, Web3 social media protocol Lens launched the “Layer-3” network dedicated to scaling various blockchain social media apps.

BitDegree.org Crypto Learning HubGile K.

Lens Protocol Launches Optimistic Layer 3 Scaling Solution Bonsai Project

The solution intends to accelerate the adoption of decentralized social networks and open up new avenues for content monetization.Introducing Bonsai, an Optimistic L3 scaling solution,

Lens Social Media Protocol Unveils Layer 3 Scaling Solution

‘Momoka’ Will Enable Content To Be Stored Off-chain, Reduce Transaction Costs

The DefiantSamuel Haig

Before we kick off another busy week, we'd like to do a brief recap on what's happened since we launched the beta waitlist. Make sure to grab your free NFT and claim your username before the beta opens up!

Previews, Reviews, and New Drops!

When we launched the waitlist, TaoZao gave an in-depth insider's review from the creators' perspective. We deeply appreciate the kinds words and we're grateful to work closely with artists and musicians while we build the best possible platform we can.

A few days later, Mycodecrafting discussed dns.xyz and focused.art with Tezos Commons.

The next day, Tezos Commons previewed the site and gave it a great write-up!

Beyond Spotify- An Insider’s Look at DNS’ Next Generation Music and Social Platform

A dive into the upcoming social platform from DNS.xyz and the Season Zero waitlist.

Tezos CommonsWilliam McKenzie

In the middle of the growing excitement for the platform, we decided to drop previews of our Soundmojis. Because building social on tezos, smart wallet contracts, and the most advanced media player in web3 wasn't enough-- we're doing PFPs too!

Then, Chris gave a live sneak-peak demo with Tezos Commons, while breaking down our approach in building social on Tezos and empowering creators.

Community Outreach

Since NFT.NYC, we've continued helping with exhibitions and competitions for Tezos artists and musicians. We see the boost it gives entrants and it's a great way to keep meeting great people.  Shoku joined the judging panel for this round of the TezTones Exhibition. You can check out the recorded Twitter Space linked in the follow up in the thread.

As we launched, Tezos has seen a surge of new interest while Ethereum experiences high gas fees again. We took the opportunity to join the Tezos community in helping introduce new adopters to Tezos. Shoku hopped on Jadyn Violet's Twitter Space on Layer 2 to break down why Tezos has the best technology for hackers and artists. Overall, Tezos makes it faster to develop on, cheap to use, and easier to build engaging experiences.

Later that week, Shoku joined @steph_guerrero, @xandforshort, and @isadorenoir, in another Twitter Space for Tezos community onboarding sharing what sets the tech in Tezos apart from other blockchains.

Breaking Down the Technicals

As we launched, we continued sharing and breaking down how and why we built on Tezos. We tweeted a thread breaking down our work on the Layer 3 we created for social on Tezos. By making rollups for likes and comments, users will own their social data on chain and we can make this free for users.

Daniel Hines, who is leading account abstraction efforts with Marigold, gave us a lot of love online for our Layer 3 rollups and smart contract wallet implementation. We've been able to help lead the charge for account abstraction, moving from theory to practice. We can't wait to see him drive further development and adoption of this transformational tech across Tezos.

Wrapping Up

We've done the rounds for podcasts and Twitter Spaces, gave a demo, unveiled Soundmojis, and shed some insight on Layer 3 tech on Tezos. This upcoming week, we'll be sharing new drops and a detailed look on how our Layer 3 rollups work.

From an early age, Shaddow was captivated by music. He was immersed by Ronnie Laws, Al Jarreau, and Stevie Wonder from his parents' collection of recordings in their Arlington, Texas home. Music provided comfort and solace during a challenging childhood and in return, Shaddow comforted others with music. As a veteran of the US Army, he served in the US Army Band and has collaborated with groups across genres and around the world.

Today, he continues to be inspired by these early experiences and remains dedicated to creating music that touches the lives of others. He blends elements of music, fashion, and import car culture to create a fresh soundscape, using music as a means to inspire and empower others.

The Sound of Shaddow

Shaddow aims to inspire listeners to recognize their own potential. He focuses on evoking positive emotions, encouraging the process of self-discovery and growth. Through his unique blend of jazz and culture, Shaddow is steadily carving out a space for himself in the Web3 musical scene:

"I’m a Jazz artist. I want to change the listener’s perception and experience of what Jazz is all about. My goal is to positively impact music culture and the lives of others. Ultimately, I want to leave a global legacy, a historic footprint in music for generations to come and one that people can be proud of forever.

I want to create a movement that people of all ages, genders, and ethnicities can draw a positive energy from."

I Saw 10,000 People, Maybe More

Through his travels and mission to spread the joy of music, Shaddow has collaborated with a variety of groups: from the Korean funk bad Windy City, DJ Dorothy of Arirang Radio, Japanese R&B group Ready Soul, the Dallas-Fort Worth rock band One Nite Stand, and the hip hop group Kuul-La & Groove Village. Shaddow has also made appearances on We Talk Radio.

He also two officially released singles - "Worldwide Party" and "Don't Stop Just Let it Ride," along with the unofficially released Prelude EP (2013). He is currently working on his next major project, titled "Night Falls Suite". His latest work has been with the TezTones project, a community oriented collaboration of 6 different teams working together to create music in a friendly competition with guest judges.

His inaugural TezTones collab is titled "Feeling Blue" and features Bases and Vi the Law. There are still a few editions left on the primary market at 25 XTZ.

Visions Softly Creeping

Shaddow is an exceptional artist who has carved a unique space for himself in Web3 music, drawing inspiration from a variety of genres and experiences. His journey that began during childhood and took him across the world has helped to form his eclectic blend of styles and helped solidfy his artistic identity. We look forward to seeing Shaddow's positive impact on listeners during the years to come.

Who else should we feature in our series of deep dives? Let us know on Twitter or Discord.

Don't forget, you can submit artists directly to us using this form, and we encourage as many submissions as you can.

There's a vibrant music scene within the Tezos community. It's home to a variety of genres and it's got a deep talent pool when it comes to hip hop. In this post we're presenting some of the most essential tracks representing Tezos hip hop.

Perfect Cell by Cannon Jones

Cannon Jones declares Perfect Cell  as, "One of the most ferocious hip hop diss tracks to ever come out of Newark," and he delivered. Cannon's lyrics hit hard, delivered with crystal clear precision. You can hear the mastery he wields over his voice. It's raw with a sense of polish, much in the way the Tezos blockchain itself often feels.

Perfect Cell- Cannon Jones973

One of the most ferocious hip hop diss tracks to ever come out of Newark New Jersey..from Cannon Jones973 the artist/battle rapper dissing a artist named Pharoah Cindian..which comes with alot of history of how long they knew each other..5th grade..but..this is pure madness..one of the purest f…

DNS.xyz

Tezos - Decentralization by Jovan Smith & KustomBeats

This track is special because it is an early example of music about blockchain and features Jovan Smith, one of the most respected bakers, or validators, on the Tezos blockchain. He was notable for the sheer amount of bakers he helped get started, including his educational video guides like his Proof of Jack series. Jovan passed away in August of 2022 and his music and legacy live on with Tezos.

Tezos - Decentralization

Tezos Decentralization written & Produced by: Jovi & Kustommike created = 18 May 2018

DNS.xyz

House Made of Glass by Jburn & TAN-TAN

House Made of Glass is a brilliant pairing of music with equally enticing visuals. Jburn's collaboration partners treat the artwork with the same care as the audio, making this piece with TAN-TAN an extremely strong piece no matter which way you cut it. Jburn's consistent quality and output makes him arguably one of the most well rounded musicians in Web3, not being afraid to explore more of the R&B side of hip hop in a lot of his work. His range and production values are among the elites in Web3.

House Made of Glass

“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” - Carl Jung Produced by Grant ForeWritten, performed, and mixed by JburnCover art by TANTAN

DNS.xyz

Black Powder by Kane Mayfield

"Black Powder" from Kane Mayfield is a tribute to one of his heroes, legendary Black Panther H. Rap Brown, whose voice is sampled throughout the song. Kane's delivery and lyrics are in a league of their own, punching their way into existence every rhyme. He has a reputation amongst his peers as one of the most brilliant lyricists you can find, using complex rhyming schemes that often reveal deeper meaning the second and third times through. He's your favorite underground rapper's favorite underground rapper.

Black Powder

This song was originally meant to serve as the outro for an EP. It moved me and anyone I played it for... I became consumed by it and it became the premise of my first debut album The Return Of Rap. The return.. is of legendary Black Panther H. Rap Brown (Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin) who is imprisoned i…

DNS.xyz

Stolen Adidas by Slyme  

Slyme's craftsmanship and attention to detail is evident and showcased brilliantly in Stolen Adidas. It begins with a delightful piano intro, after which it switches up into an entertaining song celebrating shared joints and pilfered Adidas with friends. This is a great, approachable introduction to hip hop on Tezos.

Stolen Adidas

‘Hotel Chill’ is an EP created by the hip-hop duo A Couple Brothers, RaShaun & Slyme. The Cover Art photo was captured by Jacqueline Nicole ( @xoxojackieee ). “Stolen Adidas” Produced by: RaShaun & SlymeMixed by: SlymeMastered by: SlymePerformed by: Slyme Purchasing a copy of “Stolen Adidas”…

DNS.xyz

Actions by Slyme, Jburn, Rocknitty, SDN Gabi, & MazamizArt

Actions makes the cut here for a few reasons - it's got a very strong group of musicians with Slyme, Jburn, Rocknitty, and sdn_gabi writing and performing in the track and mazamizart doing the animated cover. With some of the best voices you can find across the Tezos ecosystem, the Tezos Hip Hop group showcases how easy and how often Tezos community members will band together for the good of the squad. Tezos fosters genuine community. While the Tezos Hip Hop group was a relatively short lived experiment, we look forward to seeing them again and for others to crop up.

Actions

‘Blah, blah, blah.. talk is cheap.’ Produced by LethalNeedleWritten & Performed by Jburn, Rock Nitty, Slyme & SDN GabiCover Art by Mazamizart

DNS.xyz

Session Wrapped

Hip hop started as a DIY underground phenomenon in the 1980's out of Brooklyn. DJs and emcees had to grind it out, running on pure conviction to hone their craft and hustle to make a name in the local scene. In the 1990s, "reality rap" birthed the golden age gangsta rap many of us grew up on, further drawing on that need for authenticity. Soundcloud rappers and independents today show creators don't need major labels to find and connect with fans and community. The Tezos hip hop scene brings all of this together with that original DIY spirit and a community building ethos of direct relationships with fans and other artists. Hip hop has always required commitment, focus, and sheer will, and Tezos artists suceed because the community recognizes determination and talent.  

What songs would you include on your Tezos music essentials? Let us know what you think on Twitter or Discord! If you think there's artists and musicians we should feature, tell us about them.

This week's Freshly Squeezed Releases are ripe for the picking. Grab your headphones and settle in as we go through this week's featured songs.

GOOD Life by hello_carmello

GOOD Life by hello_carmello (Twitter) outlines all kinds of great rules to live by in 6 minutes, delivered by a robot voice. It certainly delivers "valuable guidelines to living providing a way to save us from the physical deterioration and mental frustration that can result from our modern way of life":

• Natural, wholesome food eaten, prudently and in proper quantities.
• Work slowly and carefully and work with pleasure, concentrating on what you are doing all the time.
• Aim for an integration of a healthy body, a tranquil mind and inner strength

Lazy Leonardo #001 - LEO Trotsky by @IFCKINGLOVEKIWI

3jkew's "Lazy Leo #001 - LEO TROTSKY" is a lo-fi beat paying homage to Leon Trotsky, a Russian revolutionary and politician who developed the Trotskyite school of Marxism. This track is perfect for fans of lo-fi music looking to explore the intersection of history and contemporary soundscapes.

Dreamer by TripDizzy

"Dreamer" by TripDizzy (Twitter) features dark, chill instrumentals with dreamlike vocalizations, giving it a distinct Kid Cudi type of vibe. As the song progresses it takes an unexpected turn answering the question "If my dreams are unrealistic, then why am I living them?":

"A beautiful dream? Nah, I'm more like a vet."

Suzanna in the Clouds by eduardopolitzer

"Suzanna in the Clouds" by eduardopolitzer artfully blends intricate pixel art with captivating retro-inspired melodies. This combination creates a sensory experience that takes listeners on a short journey into his iconic dreamscapes, making this another instantly recognized work from Ed.

Andante con ansia by Napoleon

Backed by music from the Beats by Jburn collection, Napoleon wields his trombone as if it had a voice of it's own, paying his respects to modern pop music in "Andante con ansia." In his own words, Napoleon describes this song as:

"A slow tempo, rhymically intense movement that attempts to evoke the feeling of longing."

Wrapping Up

We're excited to share music every week. Stay tuned for a musician deep dive later. Until then, let us know what you think of today's music selections either on Twitter or Discord. 📢