Everything you need is easy to find, and you probably have most of what’s already required.  In fashion with my life as a guitarist, I’m proud to say a piece of guitar gear is what saves the day this time.

Streaming Your Computer To Twitter Spaces For iPhone

The Basics - What you need

If you’re into music production or streaming, you most likely own the major part of what’s needed to stream on Twitter Spaces. You need some cables, an audio interface, and a guitar iRig interface for the final touch.

All the gear needed is on this Image, and the links to find them are below.

• Amazon Basics 2-Male to 2-Male RCA Audio Stereo Subwoofer Cable - 8 Feet

• Philmore 6.35mm 1/4" Stereo Male to Dual RCA Female Y Audio Adapter Cable, 6", 44-215

• 3.5mm TRS to TRRS Microphone Cable, Ancable 1/8 Male to Male Coiled Right Angle Mic Cord Compatible iPhone, Smartphone, Tablets with Rode SC7, VideoMic, VideoMicro Go, BOYA and More External Mic

• Apple Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter

• UGREEN Headphone Splitter 3.5mm Audio Stereo Y Splitter Extension Cable Male to Female Dual Headphone Jack Adapter for Earphone Headset Compatible with iPhone Samsung Tablet Laptop White

• Hosa CPR-202 Dual 1/4" TS to Dual RCA Stereo Interconnect Cable, 2 Meters

• IK Multimedia iRig 2 Guitar Interface Adaptor for iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad

• Focusrite Itrack Solo Lightning & USB Compatible Audio Interface

(or any other audio interface to connect to your computer)

• M-Audio M-Track Duo – USB Audio Interface for Recording, Streaming and Podcasting with Dual XLR, Line & DI Inputs, Plus a Software Suite Included, with 2 Mic

(Alternative to Focusrite Solo)

How To Setup Your Twitter Space Stream

Step 1 -Use the male-to-male RCA cables to connect to the line outputs of your audio interface.

If you have another Audio Interface, the only difference is the back of the interface. If it's like the M -Audio, you will need the DUAL TRS cable to RCA cable.  Pictured above and shown as the second pic below.

Step 2 - Connect the other male end to the Philmore 6.35mm 1/4" Stereo Male to Dual RCA Female Y Audio Adapter Cable.

Step 3 - Connect the 1/4" stereo plug male pin to your iRig2

Step 4 - Connect your Apple Lightning to a 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter to the iRig2’s male audio pin.

Now for the “tricky part”

Step 5 - Insert the 3.5mm TRS to TRRS Microphone Cable, Ancable 1/8 Male to Male Coiled Right Angle Mic Cord to the iRig2 audio jack and connect to the other end of the Headphone Splitter 3.5mm Audio Stereo Y Splitter Extension Cable Male to Female Dual Headphone Jack Adapter for Earphone Headset as you see the image below.

Hook up one end to your headphones and the other to the audio interface, and you’re done! Now you can stream audio from your computer onto Twitter Space, Clubhouse etc.

Streaming Your Computer To Twitter Spaces For Android

If you use Android, you can use the Bluestack app on your computer.  Please see this link for a tutorial on installing Bluestack on your computer.

Windows tutorial for Bluestack: https://youtu.be/J4Bo7MDCSs4

Mac: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9v1-aq6eyM

Troubleshooting issues or additional help needed?

Follow and DM on Twitter @rivers_tez with all your questions or ask here.

Additional Resources for WEB3 Musicians

• Stream Your Music NFTS

If you want to play your music in Rivers NFT music radio show and introduce it to new listeners/collectors, DM @rivers_radio or share it in the ‘Working Musician Unite” Discord group #rivers-radio channel

• Web3 Music Network & Resources

We are a small but tight group of musicians that help each other grow on web3. All the resources & networks you need in one place.

https://discord.gg/hZNRPCJMAq

• Some Helpful Friends

If you enjoyed the article and found it useful, the best way to support us is by sharing the article, giving us a follow on Twitter at @rivers_tez & @altin_guitar & if you are a music lover, having a listen to our Music NFTs.

https://objkt.com/asset/KT1BVTmrdPAXyuDyoSe3Q9i8SKVDjHWcFWvG/1

https://www.mintsongs.com/songs/4715

How does this all relate to NFTs and the mystical concept of the moment where time freezes and you are in ‘the zone?’  The simple answer is that if we genuinely want to make a valuable piece of art that defies time, we should master ourselves first and find how to be in ‘the zone’ constantly.

It’s true that inspiration hits at mysterious times, however, put yourself in my position as a session guitarist. When the recording red light is on, I have to close off all distractions and fears and push myself to be in ‘the zone.’ Tired or not, angry or chill, there’s always a way to do it, once you know what works for you.

Through this article, I want to share my thoughts and ways how to master creativity and hopefully create more meaningful art.

What is ‘The Zone?’

I find that “The Zone” for me, put in simple words, is that moment when you just do and don’t think.

Time seems to stop as you don’t think in terms of seconds, but only emotions and flow. Decisions are made in a split second and you just ‘know’ when something sounds right. The mind is an open sponge that sucks up everything from the environment, all the sounds, and images while responding through almost unconscious action.

It’s kind of as if you know what will happen and follow the steps to achieve your vision.

If you want to share your definition of ‘the zone,’ please comment on this tweet I post not long ago.

https://twitter.com/Altin_guitar/status/1514583050218348548?t=ofAdZdB9T6g8E_OS1iVi2w&s=19

I believe timeless art is born out of that process and the highest peak of human performance is found in those ‘fleeting’ moments in time.

Even though everything sounds mystique and the common cliche of “inspiration hits at unexpected times” I believe getting in the zone it’s a skill that requires practice. It might just not be the kind of practice you are used to.

Practice, The Mind & The Zone

What I’m asking you to do plainly is trick your mind into its more creative state. We are most creative when we knock off the walls of thought and just do like a child would.

As with all skills you only get better at it by doing it. How I think it works, or at least what worked for me is tricking my brain to get creative is. There is no particular order, as it all depends on where you are on your journey. The keywords are feeling safe and letting go.

Get your chops up

The goal of practicing your craft is to be free of thinking about technique but just execute what you imagine flawlessly.

As you progress in your craft, you start to feel how much work you need before you can ‘master’ it. Not reaching some level of mastery that you think is appropriate will leave you thinking before executing, so getting in ‘the zone’ is immediately interrupted by thoughts on ‘ Oh, where is this chord?

Even though technology allows us nowadays to correct our mistakes, we won't be able to fix them before we make them. That’s why many producers use the quote “ Before Pro Tools, We Had Pros.’

This said, to be in your best creative shape, you just have to be good enough so that you have met your own self-expectation and can put your unique imagination into practice.

Surround yourself with people that make you uncomfortable

You should shape your environment, and only let it affect how you choose it. The best way to make sure you can trick your brain is to put it under stress.

We all have people that make us feel uneasy when we play. For some, it’s our parents, for others some big shot musicians.

I was (and still am slightly) uneasy when playing in front of 2 buddies of mine who have heard me play and learn guitar since I was 15. However hard I tried, I couldn’t play 100% in front of them and the bad news was they owned one of the best rehearsal spaces in town

Once I realized that I should get past that barrier I would insist on going to their rehearsal space each time I played with a band until I finally overcame the block.

After getting over that, my mind just thinks each time I play in a session, If I can play in front of my mom and those 2 buddies and feel ok, I’ll only feel pressure if David Gilmour walks in the room!

Learn how to take critiques from everyone

Once you can handle criticism in a non-egotistical way you are one step closer to not caring about others' opinions in a positive way.

When you’re the session guy, no matter how good you are, you’re going to get critiques from everyone in the room. You just learn to handle those and get your ego crushed to where it’s only useful as a motivator, not as an argument started

There’s a big difference in taking critiques, thinking about it, trying it, and then not caring than just saying ‘I don’t care what you think’ and getting offended. Accept that and accept that there are good and bad takes on art, just expressing your feelings is not enough if you intend to sell your work.

This reminds me of when I wrote my critique of the popular NFT community acronym WAGMI (we are all gonna make it) in my web3 analysis NAGMI- Not Everyone is Gonna Make, and That’s Fine.

It’s an interesting read if you, like me, are realistic on web3 and want to look back on how we dealt with other disruptive events of the past.

Break Your Patterns

It sounds funny and it is but just do the following once or twice per day. Start your craft, whatever it is, guitar, painting, or whatever, and just do everything wrong for 10 minutes. You’ll find it harder than it sounds.

What I mean is that if you improvise music using all the wrong notes, everything should sound as bad as you can. The idea behind it is to break all the possible patterns you have taught yourself and leave you open to new things.

For all of you that don't play instruments, nor sing,  but live by the life of ‘the sample,’ there’s still something special you can do, just go back in time and listen to different genres.

The point is not only to feel ‘the zone,’ but to create something extraordinary out of it, something you would have never thought of normally.

Recreate the feeling that makes you creative

Different people have different emotions or states of mind that push them to be creative. Before you think it I’ll say it, with this I don't mean drugs and not the typical ‘suffering gives you inspiration.’

Each and everyone is different on this topic and some might relate to meditation and other things I’m not qualified to talk about. For me personally, It works by focusing on one emotion and then translating it into music. The emotion that inspires me most to write is nostalgia and melancholy, focusing on those emotions is what usually gets me more ‘in the zone.’

The benefit of balancing your emotions doesn’t just lead to better art as you’ll see in the ‘weird’ example.

As everyone who has been in a Twitter space with me knows,I tend to play some guitar jams once in a while to release some tension and give everyone time to breathe. There’s a hidden reason for why I really do it sometimes though.

I have trained myself to control my emotions when I play guitar and get over the fear of judgment and mistakes. That’s the first step to entering the zone. Only those 2 minutes of first uncomfortable, then enjoyable improvising give me the confidence and balance to speak better in spaces.  

I take myself in the state of mind I want and can be creative in much more than music. Find your thing and always keep it close to you!

If I can’t play, there are a couple of musical pieces I listen to that balance me out emotionally and take me to my creative zone. If you’re curious about what I create when I’m in the zone, this is a good example.

https://www.mintsongs.com/songs/4715

Respond to what you listen/see/feel

Whenever I’m asked to record guitars for a song, it’s not me who decides what suits the song, it's the song that tells me that. Great musicians ‘Serve The Song.’

Whenever you read a book you start to feel that the characters take a life of their own and the author ‘has’ to make some decisions that are beyond him. The same thing applies to a piece of art and especially music.

The way I approach writing/recording a guitar solo for example is first to listen multiple times to the track and start singing in my terrible voice my ideas. I just respond to what the music tells me and then translate that into my instrument. The guitar is the last part of the whole process, the creativity happens before I even touch it, and when I do I’m confident and prepared to ‘just play’.

Being locked for 2 years at home  I realized I can’t affect my sounding, but I can affect how I react to them.  My collection of 'fleeting thoughts’ is my testimony of creating in the zone and challenging the circumstances

ethereum://0x7246eE3363A86c45119562D518D7e108aFD9fb85/1

Learn/experience/feel new things

This relates to much more than practicing your craft and learning new songs. Your mind and body need all the nutrients to have you in your best creative state.

Boredom is the sign that your mind needs more stimulation. I find I make the best music when I have traveled for a few days and am detached from my usual routine. My chops might not be the best from lack of practice, but my spirit is at its peak.

Watching an inspiring performance, reading a new book and meeting new people should be in your regular ‘growth diet.’ We are artists, but first of all we are people, people do stuff and then get called artists by others. It’s ok to feel special, but not as special as to detach from the pack of healthy, happy people.

Stop heavy marketing and constant shilling periodically

This is only reserved to my NFT friends. Don’t you feel drained and stuck in the past after having talked about your art or others for hours every day?  It’s ok to do it, but I personally think it’s just better to show people, not tell.

The way I perceive growth and being continuously able to go into the zone is to let go of past creations and go to the new one. What is done is done, you can remix, remaster all you wish, but it’s done. Don’t talk about it as much as to affect your next creation.

Selling and creating are two very, very different processes. The fix to avoiding getting overwhelmed is to think of marketing as a mixture of a brand and artists, not only artists. ‘Artists’ take things emotionally and personally, business people just try and fail and detach themselves emotionally.

You don’t have to be either extreme, yet don’t take anything personally of what happens in the space and take pauses if you get overwhelmed.

How do you know if your creation is good?

If a piece of art I created moves me emotionally, it will ultimately resonate with other people that are similar to me. That is the golden rule I apply to everything I release in the world.

With everything I have created or minted if I feel happy and proud while continuously playing it, it’s enough to say I did a good job. You need that sense of pride and achievement to gain control over yourself and keep creating, almost at will. If you want to take your creation to the next step, reach out to professionals and ask for an honest opinion.

Above all, enjoy the process and good things will come!

If you want to know more about me you can check out some of my work and most importantly connect with me on Twitter for some occasion chatting.

If you want to support me, collecting any of my NFT work editions or 1/1 would help me with my goals of switching from an unknown behind-the-scenes session musician to an artist and paving the way for other working musicians in the blockchain.

https://twitter.com/Altin_guitar

My objective here is to have you think about the web3 community more critically and make better decisions based on lessons learned from past disruptive events and technologies. Leading a double life as both marketeer (business person) & working musician (artist), I approach my analysis some influences from history, some bright minds of the past - and their works.

I appreciate the positive attitude and support the community has shown me and others. However, it’s good sometimes to take a step back and avoid becoming trapped in an illusion we create for ourselves.

I will not be linking any sources apart from my personal work/art here, as I would encourage everyone to do their own independent research if they are interested.

History Repeats Itself

History teaches us the repeating pattern of feeding ideologies to unhappy communities, thus creating a crowd that lives by its own rules. The unfair spread of wealth usually brings this paradigm shift. Some individuals stand out in this community, lead others, and in time dictate through their superior assets what action the ‘masses’ need to take to become ‘successful.’

Those smart people who, for whatever reason, do not stand out from the crowd don’t give up immediately. They choose the flexible way by changing their objectives over time, adapting to the situation. The world is full of examples of these, but unfortunately, the first movers and shakers in all industries become so big that they don’t leave space for others.

Politicians incite ideologies all the time with a clear purpose in mind. Communities, however, tend to do it unwillingly as they know mostly how to follow, not lead. When it all crumbles - or stabilizes - most community members are left with plenty of disappointment and empty wallets.

We aim to make big changes in the crypto world, though most don’t face reality and think of themselves in a bubble or island where the “web2” or real-life rules are not valid. I’m sure that none of us would ever walk into a store and invest 200 USD only because the owner has made big promises for the shop. However, we do that with NFT projects sometimes carelessly as it’s become a norm that everyone is doing a great job and visibility and goodwill are enough to deserve funding.

My point thus far is to nod to the natural similarities of what we call real life, “web2” and “web3.” We are yet to see if crypto and web3 will be a fundamental innovations or not. Even if it is after the NFT and crypto rush dies out and we have it figured out, only the small percentage that justifies investing in them will remain.

The best approach, in my opinion, is to see everything as an extension of the standard internet and realize that we are not inventing the wheel; we are just adapting to new technology with economic theories that existed in the past.

The Web3 Economic System

The culture of the web3 space, which is still web2.5 considering we haven't made the jump yet, has thus far shown principles borrowed from both Marxism and Capitalism. All governments worldwide have a mixture of these with an ideological bias, either leaning towards a massive difference in wealth between people or towards relative parity where shared and equal revenue are achieved.

All the signs in the crypto world are those of a revolution that people start because the spread of wealth is unequal. This same cause is why entire empires have fallen and why we protest today. Revolutions in human history though have only partly achieved the freedom or equality they aim for. A new ruling class is always formed, or another system becomes unequal over time. This might not always be caused by bad intentions, it’s a mixture of those and the reality of an unperfect world.

“A stateless system where workers controlled the means of production” is what Karl Marx aimed for. However, this was never really achieved. Implementing a system that is fair for everyone is very difficult. Neither is the capitalist market force concept truly achieved and this is especially true when you see where wealth is accumulated today.

Is web3 just another way of selling products to people (Hyper-Capitalist) or is it a way to create a sustainable decentralized economy where creators dictate (Almost-Marxist)?

The only difference between a web3 DAO (Decentralised Autonomous Organization from a Worker’s Cooperative (owned and managed by its workers) is that the rules are dictated by smart contracts and computers and not by a law that can easily be twisted. If we have community leaders and rich projects that ultimately translate in USD, it means that the gap between rich and poor in the real world where they are spending might not diminish that much.

I think we are NOT going towards a new economic system any time soon, so WAGMI is not a philosophy to hold on to. It’s a great motivator and gives people a sense of duty to leave others shill, but more than that, it does not do much.

We have also to understand that following trends of what is commonly accepted will only take us to ‘common” achievements. The same way of thinking, even though it’s positive, as the NFT community is, generally might not be a good fit for everyone.

Clear Goals and Rules Liberate Us

Some will make it, some others will not make it. It's essential to define what ‘make it’ means over time. Like Bruce Lee said, “ Be like water, my friend.”

It is not yet proven that the future norm will be that everyone will have a sustainable lifestyle by only creating art and selling art. Nor that the best artists will be rewarded with more income.

This lack of standards for quality and accountability are the main factors that tell us that not everyone will make it, but only those who make life easier for investors will. A good reason why onboarding people to web3 is still difficult is because there services on web2 are still easier and mostly better.

When there is no set standard we are left with relying on goals and rules.

We should be the ones to set goals and rules based on the lessons of the past. If not, what stops any wealthy capitalist from joining the space and buying most projects and offering superior quality?

‘The rules’ include the original ones that every smart business follows and some that I believe are right.

• Underpromise and overdeliver

• Don’t speculate without any basis

• The value should come first

• Compare yourself to the real world not only to web3 when providing value

• Keep in mind that you will be accountable in the future more than you are now in the space

There are many other things that perhaps a business or life coach would be far more experienced than I am to share. Even when a project sets out with these objectives in mind, it’s perfectly understandable it might not be able to follow them.

The following paragraph is the core of all the articles and I want to credit the person in the space that phrased it like you will read it even though unfortunately I don’t recall the name.

The primaly difference and probably the only difference of web2 and web3 is that the market is new and there is lack of competition and human error is avoided by smart contracts.

A maximum of 2% of internet users are into web3. You can replicate a project now on web3, do it 1% better than the original, and be a hit; this is how small the competiton is. If you sol music/art in web2 or ran an internet business, there is very little difference.

Failure and success in web3

Suppose your “make it” is defined by selling out your 10 000 generative art project. Statistics prove you are most likely to fail in the first years as most startups do. Even if the collection sells out, you will most likely fail to achieve your goal to go out of the market.

Should that stop you? No, what you learn from this is important.

The problem with failure in the web3 world is that we still associate it with short/medium-term results. For most people, it’s very easy to avoid “failing” just by following some major players and selling out collections with marketing tricks. While in real life, failure is a more long-term concept that does not count the short bumps along the way.

I have noticed while joining ‘shilling spaces’: the following.

• We refuse to call our endeavors in web 3 start-ups as that comes with a greater acceptance of risk and failure.

• We use rug pull as we don’t accept the word “out of the market” or failure to produce a good product as it sounds softer.

• We are overly polite to projects that fail and take our money as we want others to act the same if we fail.

Now suppose you sold out your collection, some months pass, you are halfway to being rich, have 20k followers on Discord and Twitter, and get people excited with a silly narrative like WAGMI. After some months, the activity just dies out, and you have nothing left to give except some promises on a future platform that will not really provide much-added value.

You got the money, sold your collection, now you enjoy it and give back some to your team. Does this count as “made it,” or is this “failure”?

If you are an artist that has yet to sell anything on web3. Should that tell you that you didn’t “make it”?

It’s way too early to say that you didn’t make it. And even if you don’t accomplish what you aimed for at first, it just means that you need to reassess, change your goals, and try another approach. Ultimately selling a collection might not and should not be your primary objective. Think 5-10 years from now. Will really matter to you. Even if you make 30k dollars now with a collection, wouldn’t it be better to earn 1k every month for 5 years?

As a musician with a background in the music industry, I changed up my goals and tactics at least twice in the 6 months I have been here. If you want to know more about my journey in web3 as a working musician you can read here.

My goal is to help working musicians in the web3 space and transition from a behind-the-scenes session man to an artist.

However, this is a goal born way before web3 was a thing. There are no ‘web3 artists’ or ‘NFT artists' - there are just artists. It’s the same as saying I’m a ‘guitar musician’ and not a musician.

I have personally chosen to be an active participant in the community. Brand me as an artist and “expert” in my area of expertise. When I reach the point that my contribution to the community is palpable, I will prove that my collectibles are valuable because of who I am and what I contributed.

(Edit) Months later into the space and having gone through some ups and downs here’s my 1st NFT of my ‘Fleeting Thoughts’ Collection on Foundation.

This is not a shill, so please only check it out if you are curious.

ethereum://0x7246eE3363A86c45119562D518D7e108aFD9fb85/1

• If you are a musician in web3 joining my discord ‘working musician unite’ might be beneficial for both you and me

• If you want to support me, then collecting a song edition of my track ‘Desert’ would count as a tip to fund my goals.  And it might be a good instrumental to listen to while reading this piece.

https://www.mintsongs.com/songs/4715

• If I eventually mint this article as an NFT, collecting it will be the most enormous help for me and push my thoughts and values to more people.

What will the future be like?

I can’t say anything for sure, but what’s certain is that those who build a solid backbone now will lead the future. You don’t need to ‘make it,’ just do it!

What is certain is that speculating will leave room for more regulated platforms and prices. High prices will be reserved by those who have the most followers, notoriety, and a stronger brand.

We will eventually blend a centralized real-life economy with a decentralized approach to pricing and exchanging values. Different communities, blockchain, and metaverses might apply their own economic principles. However, it all comes down to how it translates into real-life value and money.

We are and will continue to, depending on the real-life production of goods which is ultimately limited. Even if the metaverse offers unlimited possibilities once crypto is accepted for daily use, its value will fluctuate from real-life events such as gas prices, wars, etc.

The whole concept of WAGMI is driving us to over-promote short-term gain instead of thinking long-term. Basically the opposite of what it stands for. Why? Because it’s not making us think critically but assume outcomes.

What can you do about it?

Follow the right moral rules any business should follow and be a good ‘citizen’ of the web3 community.  It’s ok to be skeptical. It’s ok not to support everyone and to even ask for accountability when your wallet suffers. Being overly nice and justifying lack of quality in a musician, visual artist, or project just for the sake of community won’t do it.

It’s also perfectly fine not to follow standard routes of over shilling, hanging out in spaces for a prolonged time. Not everyone is and should be good at that type of marketing or like me just doesn't like that approach.

Show People, Don’t Tell them about your work or that all are going to make it. It’s not yet proven by any statistics that the common way is the only one way to sell NFTs or to become succesfull in a space where no final goal is yet set.

• Learn some financial literacy from old-school well versed entrepreneurs. A good starting resource is “Poor Dad, Rich Dad.”  Investing logic is still the same even though technologies change. At the end of the day, the NFT space is an investors market and follows familiar patterns to real-life investments.

• For musicians, I’d advise you to read the standard “all you need to know about the music business” as it will give you a glimpse into what the future might look like. The industry eventually will catch up and laws will too. For the moment, thinking like a visual artist and business is the best you can do.

• Be the first to give and genuinely help. It’s ok to buy NFTs to help people and have them buy back yours in the future. However, I don’t suggest building ‘depts' too much but only buying or helping from a project/artist you truly like. This way you help the space become better.

• Learn some tech. and digital skills. You have to know just enough so that you can make decisions and know the consequence. Understand the basics of the blockchain, minting, smart contracts and merge them with skills in graphic design, communication, creative writing (all the things you still needed in web2)

• Write your plans down. It does not have to be a business plan but a clear outcome of what you want to reach in the following month. This way you make yourself accountable.

• Studying economics, history, and some of the names I mentioned above might be beneficial as, believe me, all this has all happened before in one way or another.  Not everyone made it before and probably not everyone will now, the few that will however push the limits and lay the ground for the rest to reassess and keep trying.

Finally, If you want to support me and are not especially into NFTs, you can just Buy me a Coffee or collect my NFT single using just a credit card.

Here is my Twitter profile if anyone wants to connect more on this topic or just in general.

https://twitter.com/Altin_guitar

At that point, I had created a steady income working as a remote studio guitarist, collected hundreds of reviews in Airgigs, Fiverr, and Upwork, and built up a name as the guy who “serves the song.”

Even though I gained financial freedom, I had long given up being an “artist.” A working musician usually walks in the shadows as the unsung hero you won't know the name of, even though they contributed to most of what you hear in both classics and modern music. It’s a fantastic job that blends passion with hard work but brings little to no artistic satisfaction.

Stepping into the web3 community and slowly catching up on what was going on with the unprecedented success of not-so-popular artists kindled a slow hope that eventually grew in a vision. What if this new movement was a way for working musicians to finally break through both the artist and financial cap put on us from the industry?

I am not a web3 guru and don’t proclaim to have found a formula, roadmap, or definitive guide on working musicians of web3. I want, however, through this article, to share some of my thoughts and tips that helped me and others get started on this yet-to-be oiled web3 music industry. Some ranting and personal tastes are also included!

In web3, a working musician can finally be an Artist.

Even though there is no denying the artistic values of working musicians, in the end, you become what the public makes of you. Even when my name popped up on some recordings or I played with some big-shot artist on stage, the joint agreement in today's music is that the singer is worth knowing the name off, the producer in some rare cases, and that’s it.

No one really cares who does the work or writes the music in some cases. That’s perfectly normal as the Era of the instrument leading the band in Pop music is long gone. And not everyone lives in a music city, and breaks of session work to found a legendary band like Jimmy Page with Led Zeppelin.

Of course, some vastly successful working musicians have made a name for themselves as artists in web2 or the real world. However, that is only limited to musicians in developed countries who record/play with huge artists. For example, being born and living in Albania put me many steps behind LA, Nashville, or London session musicians.

As of now, I’ve had a good experience in web3. I’ve been astonished that so many of my colleagues in other countries have been selling their music and art. And most surprisingly, people actually cared enough to ask them how they were doing, what inspires them, and what is the story behind their art.

In my first space, where I played guitar and jammed over some old compositions, I got asked in-depth questions about my art. Being always the person on the side of the show, the biggest form of appreciation for me online was IG comments ( before the bots took over!). Feeling like an Artist for the first time was indeed a great feeling. I can finally share my artist page!

My first space opened my eyes to the possibility of virtually moving to another online world and starting from scratch. It’s not like I don’t want to be the session man; I love that! But I think it’s time to go a bit further and brand myself as also an Artist.

Have a listen to my music if you want to support me then you should only consider buying if you truly like what you hear! I’ve followed my own advice, making it affordable to buy for anyone with both goodwill, and If I can indulge myself, good taste in music.

https://www.mintsongs.com/songs/4715

Follows are not everything, but they are important

Music has become a number game as everything is accountable and measurable. Even in the online working musician world, you need to be the guy with the most reviews and profile to get a chance to get hired.

Apart from it, you have to be very web2 smart to hunt some particular tendencies of various platforms and start selling your services at a very low price. As low as most people in the US wouldn't take the time to open their DAW for that kind of money.

In web3 however, up until this point, you don’t necessarily have to be web2 famous and already have 20k followers to get started. It helps to have them for sure as in time, the numbers game will become important; however, it’s far more worth it to have 100 people you genuinely connect with and that might purchase your NFT than 10k people asking me what pedal I used to get the tone.

The logic behind web3 art to this point is not having massive streams, views to turn them into prospects and leads and close a “sale.” My marketer alter ego hunch tells me that it might come to that point in the future but, as of yet, is as straightforward as it can be.

100 collectors provide far more value massive streams and 100k follow in the web3 world. Many examples of unknown musicians have sold collections worth thousands of USD or more than that only because they build a community following them on web3.

I sometimes compare the web3 world to a small country like Albania, where everybody knows everyone and ends up creating a small group of followers that all invest in each other. Why? Because we are still the only ones here, the trouble starts when the rich investors come from abroad, a.k.a web2 companies and labels.

All this said, now it’s the time to grow the numbers, as trust me that they will matter in the future!

We can break out of the 1 Minute box

I’m being optimistic a bit here as the formula for a modern song has to deliver within 15 seconds and be “platform” friendly to be a hit.

Music has always adapted in a way to physical limitations and technology, for example, there was a limit to how many songs you can put on vinyl or CD. Today though, with even the slightest interactions being measured, pop music production has mostly degraded in machinery that needs hooks after hooks so they can fit into what Tik Tok and Instagram offer.

This Reminds me of what George Orwell wrote in his book “1984.’

“The tune had been haunting London for weeks past. It was one of the countless similar songs published for the benefit of the proles by a sub-section of the Music Department. The words of these songs were composed without any human intervention whatever on an instrument known as a versificator. But the woman sang so tunefully as to turn the dreadful rubbish into an almost pleasant sound."

There is a saying that says, “Before pro tools, we had pros.” The pros, a.k.a, the working musicians, need far more space than the “boxes” of social media platforms. I’m guilty of fitting all the guitar ideas into 60 seconds and trying to wrap it all up inside that time to fit IG.

Here is a time I failed to abide by the 60-second rule and had to resort to YouTube

With these, I want to direct a request to web3 musicians to break out of what they learned in the last 10 years of overly social music. Mint your songs and music like you want it to be. A collector dedicated to buying your NFT will have the attention span of listening to your art. If not, we have to educate the public like the big companies have been doing forever. Why should we do that? Because we can.

Here is the first NFT of my ‘Fleeting Thoughs’ collection - ’The Outer World’ is a one-take live guitar loop composition in what I call 'the zone' - the moment you just play, not think, yet feel everything. This ‘Sound Painting” is a blend of my music with the genius artwork of my good friend Erlind Selba.

ethereum://0x7246eE3363A86c45119562D518D7e108aFD9fb85/1

We can break the geographical pay gap

NFTs do not abide by the rules of other industries where location is still the most crucial factor.

Web2, even though it has globalized the world, still values geographical location above all when it comes to accessibility and the distribution of value. This is especially true for musicians where the fanbase is calculated from the industry as the total sum of money they can offer in their lifetime to the artist. For working musicians, the logic is the same. One of my recording sessions for a big artist is still paying around 30% of what I would be paid if I was in the US recording the same song.

You, the reader, might find this confusing as you have everything accessible in a developed country. Just to make a comparison, in my country Albania, Spotify was only available for download last year, and we still cannot monetize YouTube videos even if we have millions of views.

Poor music is not going to last long

The NFT music space is flooded with music artists of all levels. Without sugar coating it, I would say that more than 50% of all musicians in the NFT space are below average in terms of songwriting and production of their craft and yet many sell out due to the new nature of this economy and the community-oriented system.

That is perfectly normal as there will always be differences in skill level, which will push people to develop further. In time though this will change and the best will always stand out. Another reason is that the community keeps expanding and more music lovers of all genres, along with industry experts are coming into the space.

Keeping this in mind, as music artists, we should aim to put quality first, even though you could at the moment sell a lower quality version of your music and still earn the same amount.

This lack of standards for quality and accountability are the main factors that tell us that we should apply a set of rules that guide us towards long-term success.

• Underpromise and overdeliver

• Don’t speculate without any basis

• The value should come first

• Compare yourself to the real world not only to web3 when providing value

• Keep in mind that you will be accountable in the future more than you are now in the space

More on those and some history talk here

Don’t release before having at least a small community

Collecting small wins is the way to success.

My advice is to wait until you at least know that you might sell some of the NFTs your mint. First, because a collection that sells out fast has a higher chance of going up in price, and second because it will keep you pumped for more.

The price of your first mint, in my opinion, should be a decision dictated by research. In my case, I asked people how much would they spend on an NFT edition of a song and looked up the other prices on the platform I decided to release on.

Practice talking like you practice an instrument

I have a big mouth and like to talk (selectively) about everything. This kind of helped me make it through the session world and most of the other activities.

Sharing your story and the story behind your music is the A, B, C of music NFTs. Fail to touch a heart by saying what your song means and it will be hard to succeed. You don't have to be very smooth about it as a poet, just be real, practice a bit and get some help from others. And the main thing is that if you don’t want to do the talking and shilling game, don’t do it!

Show People, Don’t Tell them about your work or that all are going to make it (The common WAGMI). It’s not yet proven by any statistics that the common way is the only one way to sell NFTs or to become succesfull in a space where no final goal is yet set.

Personally, I’m not a fan of being bullish to sell NFTs. I believe music should be bought by people who appreciate it, and you can’t shove it down their throats. My vision is to build a community that likes me and my music. Due to the laws of economics, the more devoted followers I have, the more chances I will have to sell my NFTs either from one of them or from an outside collector who sees potential.

If you agree with me on the above points then you might like my seemingly ‘controversial’ article NAGMI - Not All Are Going To Make It (and that’s fine)

https://alting.mirror.xyz/_FPX6YCQ3jn_hmkqQ2MaVO76rJLR_HtZAtzsmX6UHSw

If I was to state my goal after giving some thought to it, I’d say

My goal with my NFT music is not just to switch from being only a behind-the-scenes working musician to an artist - I aim to build the roadmap of the future musician in the web 3 world and mix both the visual and audio world into one meaningful experience. Help me revive the dying art of the studio player, without which none of our favorite classics would ever come to existence.

And if you want to support me, collecting any addition of my track ‘Desert’, on Mint Songs, my NFT on Foundation, or contributing whatever sum takes me a step closer to that. I think I’m about 70% at putting everything together and all the money would be spent on paying up for designers and developers.

Keep being a working musician.

Make your schedule, plan, and put a certain amount of time and consistency into music NFTs daily.

Think of it as an investment that will pay it in both Branding and Financial Freedom. However, do not keep all your financial hope on web3 on selling your music as the price might lower drastically over time. There are many other ways for musicians in the web3 world to be rewarded financially and to create a buzz, such as:

• Write and compose music for other NFT projects.

It’s the best time to DM people you meet first in spaces and ask if they would want a theme song for their NFT project. In my opinion, either offer your service entirely for free at first in exchange just for that exposure. Luckily it’s not the kind of exposure club owners offer instead of the small bucks they would pay anyway!

• Share your wisdom through live events.

There is a profound lack of music professionals as of now in web3 and an overload of them in web2. Just think of the many pros you can learn from in YouTube that has content enough to overshadow all the web3 creators.

Now it’s the time to organize Twitter spaces, discord lives, twitch streams, and whatever you can think of to brand yourself as professional. You can join my spaces too.

• Take part in the serious music NFT project.

I do not advise you to take part in all NFT projects as that would put you out of focus. Pick 3-5, join their Discord, and be a good active participant. Personally, I had the best experience of web3 being part of the PixelBands project and even got in touch with the founder to run an event together.

All I did was show up, make quality music, and when the time came.

If you are up for it, you can join the Discord I created for working musicians of web3.

https://discord.gg/aCvJzFuD3d

• Collaborate with other musicians/visual artists you like

Don’t give your music to anyone just because they sent you a DM to collaborate. Think of it as if all the musicians in your city wanted you to play for them, you would be extra picky to choosing the best ones!

If you like a musician’s or artist's style and vision, DM them right away and be the first one to ask for a collab.

Final thoughts on NFTs for working musicians

A good musician knows how to listen, and that is exactly what we should apply in the web3 world.

Paying attention to what’s happing around us while preparing our repertoire of music and artwork will pay off. Even if not soon, in some year’s time we will be the established web3 musicians others will refer to!

And I want to be friends with you that took the time to read this! Hit me up on Twitter or on Discord. And If you’re up for some hypnotic acoustic guitars with an oriental feel this track might just be your cup of tea. For the non-crypto readers who just want to buy me a coffee, feel free to do that too!

https://twitter.com/Altin_guitar