@icco interesting that they use a virtual currency for this called "TapCoins" (not related to Bitcoin):
TapCoin is our "virtual currency". In a way, it represents your musical wealth and success. TapCoins represent real money we hold on your behalf, and you can use them for almost everything on the site. Think of them almost like chips in a casino, or tokens at an arcade.
@chrismessina yeah, could have a weird lockin effect. I'm assuming they're hoping it promotes reinvestment. Funny concept when companies have their own currencies.
@chrismessina@icco You guys are right on the money (or on the TapCoin, rather). It's a system that makes the platform feel less about cold hard cash, allows for smaller investment amounts, and encourages reinvestment. It also makes the platform more accessible to unaccredited investors (i.e., most music fans).
Hi all! We're super excited to be launching today and to be here on Product Hunt. I'd love to get thoughts and feedback and answer any questions here or directly via email at chris@taptape.com.
We started TapTape out of a passion to solve music industry problems, and our goal is to create bonds and financial stability by giving fans the opportunity to be invested in what they love.
To echo Chris's sentiments, it's been super exciting to see the Product Hunt community dig into this. I just wanted to shed a little more light into the thinking that's gone into TapTape so far:
I was a professional musician before joining the startup world a few years ago, when my previous band (Beirut) took a long hiatus. There I began to realize we could address the biggest challenges in the industry (misallocation of risk & inefficient value capture) by thinking of artists more explicitly as entrepreneurs. As it turns out, Chris had already been thinking about this and building the model at MIT, so we joined forces to launch TapTape.
The idea is that by rewarding fans for the value they add in financing creative projects, we're able to reduce risk for labels and make more money for artists. Part of the thesis is that fans have social incentives in addition to financial ones, so a lot of what's fun about this is exclusive connection to the artist, and the ability to prove you are a trendsetter.
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