From: thepipeline_xyz
Pancakes BR, a prominent figure in crypto Twitter known for his “wholesome vibes,” has a background in the music industry, having managed artists since he was 18 years old [02:57:46]. He discovered crypto in 2017 while working in music [02:54:02]. After initially observing the space and losing money, he decided to travel and eventually left the music industry [03:21:00] [03:42:00] [03:46:00]. Despite this, he has recently considered advising artists or managing musicians again in the near future [09:11:00] [09:14:00].
Core Problem in the Music Industry
Pancakes BR is “extremely bullish on crypto completely disrupting the music industry” [01:00:29]. He identifies a significant issue: approximately 70% of money in music never reaches the artists [01:01:17] [01:01:22]. Since 2017, he has believed that crypto could provide a solution to this problem, particularly through protocols that can ensure artists are paid quickly and efficiently [01:01:11] [01:01:25] [01:01:29].
The Role of NFTs
While bullish on crypto’s overall potential in music, Pancakes BR expresses skepticism about music NFTs being the primary answer for disruption [01:00:34] [01:00:36]. He acknowledges examples of good utility, such as Rolling Loud’s “Loud Punks” NFTs, which provide perpetual VIP access to their festivals, calling it “the most utility I’ve seen NFT have yet” [01:00:45] [01:00:54] [01:00:56]. However, he generally doesn’t believe NFTs will be the solution for the music side of things [01:01:06] [01:01:08].
He reflects on the NFT bull run, stating he goes “back and forth on if the NFT bull run was good or bad for the space” [01:02:27] [01:02:29].
- Positive aspects: It brought in many new people interested in crypto [01:02:31] [01:02:34].
- Negative aspects:
- Many newcomers made quick money accidentally, developing egos without understanding bare markets [01:02:39] [01:02:51].
- There was “a lot of grifting that happened within that space” [01:03:28] [01:03:30].
- Mainstream figures, including music executives, were “extremely put off from crypto because of the NFT bull run” and related grifting [01:03:34] [01:03:50] [01:04:03].
- He anticipates an “NFT grift Bull Run 2.0” in the next cycle, potentially “even bigger this time” [01:04:20] [01:04:22] [01:04:27].
Broader Applications and Use Cases
Pancakes BR emphasizes the need to understand “what does everyone else care about in the world” and whether crypto technology can “improve that experience for them” [01:01:45] [01:01:47] [01:01:55]. He believes crypto can “improve almost any vertical in the world” [01:01:59] [01:02:03].
For mass adoption, he suggests that crypto’s breakthrough will likely come through social media platforms or applications that are genuinely fun, rather than just being “crypto” [01:00:02] [01:00:15] [01:00:40] [01:00:41] [01:00:46] [01:00:49]. This aligns with where people spend their time: watching TikToks, tweeting, Instagram, Netflix, attending shows, and enjoying music [01:00:07] [01:00:10] [01:00:12] [01:00:15] [01:00:17].
He also notes that while gaming is a social activity and many people play video games, he is “a little bit more bearish on the video game side of things” for crypto, with some exceptions [01:00:55] [01:01:10] [01:01:12] [01:01:15]. This is because most crypto games so far have focused on “play to make money,” which is unsustainable [01:01:17] [01:01:39] [01:01:42] [01:01:46]. Additionally, it is inherently difficult to make a fun game, even for established studios [01:01:56] [01:02:05]. He believes it will take traditional gaming companies to find value in crypto technology and integrate it themselves, rather than crypto-native teams building the next big game from scratch [01:02:40] [01:02:43] [01:02:46] [01:02:51].