The bitcoin/nostr space needs to be easier to understand for a normie musician, because I completely understand when people get overwhelmed and don't understand what's going on when they first log onto Fountain or Wavlake. But all the devs of these apps are super aware of that problem, and everyone is all working on ways to make the space for accessible and understandable right from the get go.

It's very cool! It feels a lot like reddit in a good way to me which i think there is a total market for within the bitcoin/nostr community!

v4v is the ethos thats been missing from the traditional music industry for a long time, and it fosters connection with your fans in a way that we don't really see anymore. Fan connection has been unattainable because of how all the major gatekeepers in music are the ones who own your audience and not you, and the new apps like Fountain and Wavlake give you back the access to your audience!

Also my go to 80s/90s bands are WHAM! Big Country, and The Alarm.

The most talented person i've ever met???? omg there are too many, but I would say my friend TJ Wong who is an artist in this space is phenomenal. He's like 12 feet tall, has the hair of ariel the little mermaid, and he shreds like john mayer. Plus he's also a wonderful human being and he was the first person to recognize me off the street when I was 14 going to NAMM for the first time. We've written a bunch of songs together, and I think he's working one up that he wrote together last time he was in nashville in the studio right now!

tbh i am not on the hot chicken train myself, but I've heard that even though Hattie B's is the main hot chicken place, there are a bunch of little hole in the wall places that do it better. besides it's always a madhouse at hattie b's

BAH!!! Yes ben it was absolutely yours because we're both PNW kids and you knew my dream venue to play was the gorge before i even said it

I'm so excited about it too! Our first guest episode will be out next week, and it's featuring my first friend in Nashville, and one of my best friends JoJo Scott! Dream guests would probably be an Ashe or a Hunter Hayes, two artists I love who have had mainstream success but that are now independent, and who would have the capability to put their music up in this space!

A tiny bit yes!! When i was still in school and in the thick of my music history classes, I dipped my toe into different cultures versions of classical music and I just think it's so cool how you can see that musical lineage get passed from generation to generation, and how it still inspires lots of music today, especially the music that is prominently written for film and TV. I think it's very cool music and I will be adding more of it to my never ending instrumental study/working playlist!

facts

That's so awesome! Tell your wife I said hi!!!

I first came across Bitcoin in July of 2023 at Bitcoin Park here in Nashville when Wavlake was holding a demo of their new streaming service! I put up one song, it became the first song in the value verse to hit a million sats, and I've never looked back!

Where to begin! I grew up listening to a ton of Sara Bareilles, Norah Jones, Allison Krauss because my parents have great musical taste, but as I started getting older and finding my own music I liked to listen to, of course I loved Taylor Swift, Tori Kelly, Kelsea Ballerini, but then I moved to Nashville and fell in love with bands like Paramore, The Band Camino, Kings of Leon, and Carly Rae Jepsen!

Thanks to @stackernews for building cool things!

Thanks for having me! I think my biggest hurdle getting into this space was the stigma around Bitcoin, accepting that fact that success is never going to come the way you originally planned that it would, and how overwhelming it can feel when you're originally researching it, because it feels like you could go down a rabbit hole and still never learn everything there is to know about it.

Making it easier and less scary/overwhelming for new musicians who will enter the space is a big topic on my new podcast The Snap that I do with my bestie Katie! Our first episode is out tomorrow!

Hey Car! When in comes to AI, I realize that it's helpful for a lot of things, but I think if AI begins to play a role in producing music, it takes the humanity and collaboration out of the sacred act of making music! I've seen so many ads for AI services that will create demos or worktapes for songwriters who want to pitch their music, and while I think its a good idea in theory, i also feel like thats taking away jobs from session musicians, vocalists, producers, etc. I think AIs impact on music is already here and we just have to be very careful around it. Not to mention the can of worms you open with how to credit an AI robot when it comes to royalties and what not.

Do you mean mixes like DJ mixes of other people's music, or just your originals? I would say for the time being, it's best to upload just original music, because if you upload a cover and get a million zaps on it, none of that money will go to the original creators in the traditional world. Which even though this is a new space setting out to fix old problems, we still want to set the precedent of the original artists and songwriters getting paid.

TBH there isn't an easy cold message to send to people to onboard them, yet. Every time i've had to explain the space to someone its a three hour long coffee conversation. But I have no doubt we will get to a point where its easy enough to send a couple sentences explaining what the space is and is about.

Wowza, okay definitely going with my baby, my semi hollow Gretsch Broadcaster with Bigsby pickups, this Telefunken from their custom shop I saw on the internet a few weeks ago that has taken up SO much space in my mind, for the room, probably the Wheelhouse studios in Nashville which is where I recorded my new song EXLESS that just came out, and my lovely friend Steven as my mix engineer! He has come with us to all of our past big events and he is great at what he does!

The most surprising thing I've learned making music is how vastly different so many of my co creators processes are! When i first started writing with other people, I always thought I had to come in with three different ideas, and fully fleshed out hooks, and the idea of not doing that terrified me, and still does! But so many of my friends in nashville are able to walk into a write with no ideas prepared at all and still walk out with amazing songs. I only have one person in the world i can write like that with, my friend Emily D'Ranged (who you can hear her music on fountain!!), but I want to be able to challenge myself to write like that with more people, just see what happens.

haha, at least when it comes to what the traditional music industry thinks, that lightning enabled, direct relationships to fans, and platforms like wavlake and fountain are the way to move forward, because it cuts them out. But the only people who would disagree with that are the execs who are making money off the backs of indie artists on music row, every artist I've told about this space and my success in it instantly gets it, and i think its just a matter of time before the fans, who are really the heavy lift, catch on too.

That'd be awesome! I'll check it out when I'm done here!

I'm doing good! I had a matcha latte this morning and announced my new podcast today so I'm feeling on top of the world

Thanks for joining friend!

Probably just the pushback from people who are so set in the ways and beliefs that the traditional music industry is the only way to make it. We're never going to get anywhere if people don't open their eyes and be open to new possibilities.

I completely understand how overwhelming it seems to upload your music on the new platforms, because it already takes so much capacity to be an indie artist in the traditional music industry, but just start by uploading one song that either you wrote and produced by yourself (so you don't have to worry about crediting collaborators who want nothing to do with this), or that you wrote and produced with someone who is willing to be compensated through lightning micropayments, but make sure to set the precedent of doing the right thing and not cutting your collaborators out over here just because the ethos revolves around not having middle men. Get them set up with wallets and put them in the split just like you would in your PRO or distributor. Your co creators aren't middle men, and they deserve to be recognized, compensated, and given the time and grace to understand this new space!!!

that is an impossible question!!! i have so many favorites, i would say some of my top favorite songs are manhattan by sara bareilles, desire by ryan adams, just married by kelsea ballerini, ship to wreck by florence and the machine, midnight in harlem by Tedeschi Trucks band, The Sound by the 1975, Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits, i could go on and on!!!!

Favorite artists would be No Doubt, Leon Bridges, George Michael, Paramore, The Band Camino, and Carly Rae Jepsen, but again there are so many more that have been so integral to my own music taste and artistry!