Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about value-for-value, Nostr, and how music might evolve outside the legacy industry. My sense is that we’re going to see the old and new worlds operating side by side for a number of years, each serving different audiences, before anything fully settles into its final form.

It’s probably unrealistic to expect many established legacy artists to join this space anytime soon. The reasons are many, including long-lasting contracts, increased financial uncertainty, and limited ways to reach genuine music fans. The two worlds aren’t very compatible and don’t translate well into each other.

It may be far more likely to see a new class of established artists emerge entirely within the v4v universe. Their street cred would be sky-high, since it would come from genuine listener support rather than marketing budgets or corporate hype.

I think we only need a handful of real success stories before things start spreading organically. Artists who are creating because they actually have something to say are probably the first ones who will get curious about this model. They are often underserved in the legacy world.

People often point to the Radiohead “pay what you want” release as a successful example of direct fan support. It was an important moment, but it does not fully translate here. Today, v4v largely relies on Bitcoin, which still limits the size of the potential support. That friction will likely decrease over time.

What could really accelerate adoption is the possibility for artists to earn meaningful income while reaching an audience that is actively looking for new, independent music. If that happens, it would not only strengthen v4v as a model, but also help onboard more people to Bitcoin itself. I think this is still early, and I’m curious to see where it goes. The potential for a bright future is definitely here.

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