Mandeep @mandeepthemc, an emerging rapper and musician in the United Kingdom, is launching a creator token to help build and maintain a community among his loyal fans.
Mandeep is already quite popular in the BSV space, having already released (and sold out) 2 NFT songs—the Satoshi Bop and SHUAAA and performed live at the Bitstocks Gravity iOS launch party. On November 29, he announced $DEEP via his Bitpost. I caught up with him to get more details about the token and his future plans in the Bitcoin space.
As a full-time doctor and part-time musician, how on Earth did you end up in the BSV community of all places?
Mandeep: I took a sabbatical from medical school in 2018 and got into crypto there. I followed some projects but got jaded by the empty promises and hype. Nothing worked! Eventually, a friend happened to show me Craig’s Arnhem talk, and I dove in deeper. The ideas made sense, and I noticed BSV attracting long-term, serious people. I figured if anyone’s going to supplant the current streaming model for artists—which is inevitable in my opinion – they’d need to use Bitcoin. So here I am.
As 7% of the supply of $DEEP will be airdropped to the holders of various song NFTs, this implies you hold 93% of the token’s supply. How do you plan to distribute $DEEP further?
Mandeep: First off, the revenue share from holding $DEEP doesn’t apply to me. I’m just holding the token to distribute over time, but don’t receive its benefits. Mostly, $DEEP is distributed to people who support my projects over the years, both in and out of Bitcoin. This can mean airdrops via NFT purchases, gig tickets, CDs/vinyls, livestreams, anything.
I also plan to use it to build a well incentivized team around me. $DEEP will be backed by a pool of assets (mainly music), which becomes more valuable if holders push it. If someone has a skillset or network that I believe will take the music in the vault further, I’d consider making them a $DEEP stakeholder. Primarily, $DEEP is about creating win-win incentive models. If there’s demand, there may be limited public sales, but mainly it’ll be tied to my creative output.
$DEEP holders are entitled to various revenue shares. Notably, 50% and 25% of revenue from “streaming and commercial use” from the ‘Vignettes Vol. 1 – In The City’ and ‘The Bitcoin EP’ respectively. How will you earn revenue from these EPs?
Mandeep: There’s a few ways. First off, there’s 10% revenue share from the NFT/vinyl sales of The Bitcoin EP. There’s an exciting follow-up to this project I’ve started work on also, which will have a similar structure. Then there’s revenue from the usual music streaming platforms (Spotify, iTunes, etc.) where I will be focusing a lot of my attention in the immediate future when not working on Bitcoin projects.
As new platforms appear on Bitcoin, those will contribute to revenue of these projects also. Commercial use includes royalties from use in radio, TV, film, and sync fees. These are mostly collected by ‘PRS’ and ‘PPL’ in the UK. Any such income from $DEEP assets earn goes to holders as described. And the vault will continue to grow. I have hard-drives full of bangers.
When will $DEEP and the third track launch?
Mandeep: Track 3 launches on December 1, 2021, at 6 p.m. UTC on relayx.com/1mandeep. I will take a screenshot of The Bitcoin EP NFT holders on Friday, December 3 at 8 p.m. UTC. The first 3% of $DEEP will be distributed accordingly.
How many tracks are on the Vignettes Vol. 1 – In The City’ EP?
Mandeep: 6
How did you come up with the idea to reward holders of your NFTs with a physical vinyl album? What will be the supply of the physical vinyl?
Mandeep: Firstly, If I want something, but it doesn’t exist yet and I can make it, I just have to make it. And I really wanted a badass, bespoke vinyl with top-quality music about Bitcoin on it. So I’m making one. I can’t wait to have it on my shelf, and it seems others feel the same way. It’s going to be a stunner of a disc.
Releasing it via NFTs means I can build a community, fund the project as I build, AND tangibly reward early fans.
The access to immediate market feedback is key, which is missing in the streaming model. I knew there was demand after the first two tracks sold out, so the rest of my energy is now spent on making the absolute best product I can for the fans and collectors. The NFTs and revenue-share model then allows me to reward the fans for making the project possible. It’s incredibly freeing. It’s the power of Bitcoin.
I’m thinking 300 to 500 vinyls in total. We’ll see how many people qualify for the airdrop first.
Could you elaborate on how this token holds yourself as well as your community accountable to your work?
Mandeep: $DEEP adds a sense of urgency to my work. Holders have shown belief in my potential, and my role is now to honor that by stuffing the $DEEP vault full of killer creative assets and work hard to monetize them. As I transition from clinical practice to music, this was always the plan. Now, I can play the ‘red queen game’ with more fidelity, reinvest into the music faster and speed up the process.
Crucially, my community of fans and holders is incentivized to help monetize those assets by sharing them widely, as they make money when I do. The Bitcoin EP vinyl airdrop is a perfect example of this. After the vinyl is rewarded to NFT holders (anyone with 5+ of 7 single NFTs), the remaining discs will go on the public market. $DEEP holders get a 10% chunk of that revenue, so they are directly incentivized to spread the word with me. The more vinyls we sell, the more they get paid. This applies to all of the assets in the $DEEP vault, which I will keep adding to.
You mention focusing primarily on music and Bitcoin starting late next year. What triggered this decision?
Mandeep: It’s been planned for a while. I took a sabbatical year during medical school and was able to make a living mostly off music, so I’ve tested the waters. Creatively, I now have the best team around me I could ask for, and I’m confident in my skillset having quietly worked towards this point with clear intention over five years. In terms of Bitcoin, the music industry needs to change. I have too many friends with too much talent struggling. I believe Bitcoin can fix it, and I want to help shape that process. These next few years will be crucial.
Other than NFTs, how do you plan to monetize your music via the Bitcoin technology?
Mandeep: I’m working on a few commissions currently, making music for other people in the space. It really depends on what platforms and opportunities exist as the space grows. RelayX enabled The Bitcoin EP, so I made it. As other platforms spark new ideas, I’ll create and pivot accordingly. My ultimate vision is to build out a music app with a powerful incentive structure for fans and artists. I have a clear idea of what this looks like. I’m looking to team up with the right people to make it happen.
Overall, how do you think the adoption of Bitcoin changes how musicians can monetize their products moving forward?
Mandeep: Musicians won’t need to rely on algorithms to make money, and fans will make money for loving their favorite artists. We will rely more on ideas and audiences, as opposed to anonymous strangers on an app. And when we DO turn to anonymous strangers on an app, there’ll still be a sense of ownership and scarcity to the music which is missing in the streaming era. I miss that. Imagine paying $0.50 for an NFT which then gives you access to unlimited streams of a song, as opposed to an easily pirated MP3 download. Imagine you bought one of the first 100, and therefore get a cut of all following purchases. I think that’s where we’re moving.
Thank you Mandeep for taking the time to answer my questions. I hope the readers learned more about $DEEP and Mandeep’s work. Follow him on Twitter @MandeepTheMC.
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