Backstage is Delivering the Democratization of the Music Industry

7 min readMay 6, 2022

Backstage was started with the goal of making the music and entertainment industries a better place for the people who create music, the venues who host shows, and the fans who support the artists. After all, the industry wouldn’t exist without those folks.

Leveraging the power of the blockchain, metaverse and NFT technologies, Backstage not only ensures that artists can earn their fair share, but also that fans can engage with musicians in new ways and venues can deliver more memorable experiences.

How does Backstage do this?

That’s what we’ll be exploring in today’s guide.

We’re going to take a look at how Backstage is helping democratize the music industry. From ensuring that artists get the proceeds for their work to making collectibles out of NFTs, here are four ways that Backstage democratizes the music industry.

Backstage’s goal is to give power back to the artists, venues & fans

As time has gone by, musicians have had less and less power over their work, with most of the control being handed over to record labels. While the recent Soundcloud era was promising for independent artists, the vast majority of them ended up signing to labels regardless, leaving us back at square one without disrupting the status quo.

The same goes for venues, who’ve had to long deal with third-party providers to host events. For instance, ticket fees and processing can really add to the cost burden of hosting a concert, especially for independent venues. Ticketmaster fees average 27% of a ticket’s price, which is just absurd.

For fans, third-party intermediaries like ticketing agencies and record labels have not only meant greater costs to support your favorite artists, but also less direct connections.

Backstage’s goal is to change this by using the blockchain and web 3.0 to make labels and ticket providers less of a necessity. We want to increase the amount of money that artists make off their work, make it easier for venues to host events, and enable fans to connect with artists in innovative ways. Fans can even potentially make money off this new ecosystem by holding BKS tokens (which may increase in value).

1. Backstage makes labels and intermediaries less necessary

Music labels have traditionally been a necessity for artists who wanted their work to see the light of day. After all, funding the launch and publishing of an album can be a huge financial burden and risk, so it makes sense that most musicians can’t hope to accomplish this on their own.

With the growth of the internet and the sheer number of users you can reach when you put your music out there, labels have grown less and less necessary. However, due to the fact that labels have traditionally been needed, you’ll find that they are ingrained in the music industry to the point that it’s almost impossible to get rid of them. The blockchain and web 3.0 seem like one of the best ways to get around labels’ hold on the music industry so that artists can become truly independent.

At Backstage, our Launchpad and NFT marketplace offer innovative ways for artists to fund their career, as well as for venues to fund events. Our Launchpad connects those who need capital, such as a musician looking to release an album or entrepreneur looking to host a music festival, with a community of investors. We remove the greedy old players and traditional financial companies from the equation, allowing anyone to benefit. On the Launchpad:

Venues and event operators can pitch investors and the Backstage community — and even sign deals governed by smart contracts
Investors like angel investors and VC funds can identify promising projects at the early stages. They can even invest in clubs and venues that are looking to start and grow.
Musicians, artists and content creators can find funding for album production, creative projects and more, as well as issue NFTs for fans to buy.
Fans can stake BKS tokens in projects they like to assist with event liquidity and earn yield.
Agencies can assist clients with finding quality investments.

Additionally, web 3.0 technologies, such as NFTs, allow fans to support and engage with musicians in unique ways. For example, a BKS NFT could come with the benefit of a meet-and-greet with a musician. How amazing is that?

As you can see, Backstage removes the middleman between venues and artists, artists and fans, and fans and venues. We’re giving power back to the people.

2. Backstage enables direct payment with our BiKoS crypto wallet

This issue is mainly experienced by the people who organize events, though it may also extend to the musicians who are booked for events. Often, when events are organized, it can take weeks or months for the people who are involved to be paid out for the work that they did.

This creates stress about receiving funds as well as difficulty with financial planning for those working in the industry. Thanks to web 3.0 and the blockchain, Backstage has ensured funds are sent directly from patron to venue and artist, instead of held by a third-party payment provider such as Visa or Square. We do this with our proprietary crypto PoS wallet called BiKoS and the BKS token.

The transparency offered by the blockchain will also ensure that this money is used properly to help benefit the event and the people who organized it. This makes fraud less likely, ensuring that everything runs as smoothly as possible and that the money goes where it should.

Where the BKS token revenue goes after it’s received

Since musicians will be able to get their hands on their money as soon as they need it, they will be able to attend more shows without having to worry about their finances. Similarly, venues will be able plan more events. Better cash flow is a win-win for all in the industry — except the traditional financial players.

3. Backstage unlocks the potential of NFTs for artists, venues and fans

Backstage is also pioneering the use of NFTs in the music industry.

For example, exclusive album covers and sleeves are a thing of the past, with most special album covers being relegated to special edition digital releases. Pressed vinyls are mainly available in limited numbers and for much higher prices than in the past, so how do we come up with new collectibles?

NFTs allow us to do so, by creating special album covers in digital form and then ensuring that each one that fans receive is unique. Another benefit to NFTs is that they will profit the artist when they are resold further down the line, as every resale gives the artist a percentage of the profit.

Such NFTs can be sold in the BKS NFT Marketplace to fans directly, who may use them for experiences or hold them as an investment. This ensures both artists and fans can benefit from collectible NFTs.

For venues and event operators, NFTs can be a powerful way to streamline processes and boost revenue. For instance, NFTs can also be used as concert tickets to reduce the prevalence of ticket fraud and scalping. They can even be used to upsell services, as services like private tables can be coded into the ticket. Backstage is already proving this NFT ticketing technology for hundreds of partners, including:

4. Backstage redistributes the power of the music industry

For far too long, the music industry has been controlled by monopolists and large institutions looking to profiteer. From Ticketmaster taking too much in fees to Live Nation grabbing more than their fair share from musicians, the industry needs a revolution.

Backstage is delivering that with a suite of technologies that hand the power back to the people.

Our Launchpad revolutionizes how events are funded — and enables a fairer distribution of profits.
Our NFT Marketplace enables new ways for event operators and musicians to earn money, while giving fans access to unique collectibles, experiences and investment opportunities.
The BKS Metaverse allows anyone in the world to attend events, democratizing access to music festivals and concerts while giving event operators and artists another revenue stream.
The BiKoS Wallet brings unmatched transparency and efficiency to payments, allowing venues and musicians to better manage finances and plan events.
The STAGE community unifies the entire music ecosystem, bringing us all together to make great things happen.

Thanks to Backstage, the glory days of the monopolists are numbered. We’re changing the music industry for the better. We’ve already powering hundreds of nightclubs, concert venues, festivals and sports teams, and hundreds of artists are using our technology. The power is going back to the people.

About Backstage

Backstage is powering the crypto revolution in the events industry. Through the BKS token and our blockchain ecosystem, Backstage aims to solve the current challenges facing the events and entertainment sectors. From financing and payments to NFT ticketing and marketplaces, Backstage $BKS will take the events industry toward a more sustainable, profitable and fair future. Backstage has a very strong and open community and everyone can join and contribute to the platform’s development by purchasing tokens and helping fund the entertainment industry.

Find out more about Backstage:

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