Long-term readers will know that I have released a number of albums on Band Camp, but haven't any traction there. (A whopping total of two people have bought any of my music from it.) I gave Audius a try, but haven't been able to earn any Audius Token ($AUD) from the site, nor have my emails about it to the support team received any response. When I posted about it here on Pub0x, someone suggested I give BitSong a go, so I'm doing just that.
What is BitSong.io and BTSG?
“BitSong is a decentralized blockchain ecosystem built for the music industry.”
The platform offers a studio for uploading and editing music (https://bitsong.studio/), as well as a radio for listening to music (https://play.bitsong.io/).
“BitSong is a multifunctional blockchain-based ecosystem built to empower the music industry. It unites artists, fans, distributors in an environment where music, merchandise, and fan loyalty are assets of value. BitSong’s decentralized ecosystem of services provides the global music community with a trustless marketplace for music streaming, Fan Tokens, and NFTs, powered by the BTSG token.”
BTSG is the currency used by BitSong (much like Audius uses $AUD, not to be confused with the Australian dollar). According to the BitSong Website:
Artists, music industry participants, and fans can use BTSG to:
- Buy, sell, and trade Fan Tokens
- Buy, sell and trade NFTs
- Swap BTSG for other cryptocurrencies on centralized and decentralized exchanges
- Stake BTSG to a Validator to help secure the network and earn more BTSG as rewards
BitSong price in USD, according to CoinGecko
BitSong Wallet
“The BitSong blockchain and the BitSong wallet are based on public, open-source software. […] Before using the BitSong wallet, please ensure that you have read and understood all relevant documentation and are satisfied that you accept the risks of investing in digital assets.”
The easiest way to connect/log in to the BitSong site is through the Keplr wallet (https://www.keplr.app/), available for both Chrome and Firefox. Unfortunately, BitSong doesn't support MetaMask or SolFlare. Support for the native BitSong wallet is coming soon.
Install Keplr and add the BitSong mainnet/token. (You might have to connect the wallet to BitSong first.)
On successfully connecting Keplr, you will be shown that your wallet contains zero BTSG (https://wallet.bitsong.io/#/portfolio). You can go ahead and buy some BTSG if you would like to. Personally, I'm going to try earning some from my music before I do anything else. What I can't figure out, however, is how to get my music onto BitSong as NFTs. I've looked at the FAQ, but not found an answer (even by searching for "Hoe to create BitSong NFT".
Bitsong Studio
Next, head to BitSong Studio (https://bitsong.studio/) and connect your Keplr wallet. On successful connection, you should see your wallet address, which starts with “bitsong…”. Click on the "My Profile" button to edit/view your profile (https://bitsong.studio/me). Upload relevant images for your icon and banner, as well as fill in the relevant fields. In my case, I'll use my Band Camp profile's details for BitSong.
Why Should you Care?
If, like me, you find Band Camp frustrating and outdated in terms of sales and streaming, or you're not getting paid by Audius, you'll be on the lookout for another Web3/NFT-based platform for your music. BitSong might just be the platform for you to host your music as NFTs (assuming you can figure out how to do that).
Post image copyright BitSong
