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A Web3 record label plans to redefine how you experience music

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Miku Hatsune was seen as an oddity when she released her first demo track in 2007. A seemingly isolated voice created by Krypton Future Media, Miku was a marvel at the time, only able to exist through a singing-voice synthesizer technology called Vocaloid.

Over the years, Miku’s influence grew and she became a virtual pop star. From influential collaborations to world tours, this animated and fully digital recording artist has helped the music industry explore the possibilities of what can be achieved through virtual reality, paving the way for viral sensations like Yameii and FN Meka.

Now, with Web3 and blockchain technology empowering creators, virtual influencers are becoming a regular part of pop culture. From users creating entire personas around the NFTs they own, to cryptopunk rappers and Bored Ape DJ duos headlining events, physical and digital experiences are meeting in new and exciting ways.

As the music ecosystem has changed in response to NFT, another iteration of the recording industry is taking place in terms of virtual artists. And at the forefront of that new iteration is Player Zero, a Web3 record label that, like the advent of virtual pop stars, is changing how we understand the future of music.

What is Player Zero?

Player Zero is a Web3 record label that, as a record label, is about as digitally native as you can get. While most legacy labels are rooted in the real world and focus on acquiring and building real-life talent and brands, Player Zero is building an ecosystem that revolves entirely around Animated Virtual Artists (AVAs).

A joint venture between Hitmaker Dr. Look and the Web3 joint Digital Arts and Sciences, Player Zero aims to create a vast catalog of AVA and associated metaverse experiences. To do this, Dr. Luke has already tapped a strong cast of music industry veterans who have worked with Demi Lovato, Zara Larson, Twice, Fergie and more.

Like Miku, Yameii, and FN Meka, AVA are virtual artists that exist only in the digital realm. Some may be vocaloids and powered by artificial intelligence, others may be the product of a team of producers, singers and songwriters, but each AVA exists digitally on the blockchain.

AVAs powered by NFTs, Player Zero’s first virtual offering, perfectly illustrated by Amari. While Amari is quickly becoming a metaverse pop star with his debut single “Dipper”, the character itself comes from CyerBrokers, a popular PFP NFT collection created by crypto-art OG. Josie Bellini.

However, Player Zero simply did not receive Amari NFTs for use as AVAs. It collaborated directly with the Cyberbroker community to create its backstory, personality, sound, and more. Like other AVAs built in the image of NFTs like Doodles, Mebits, Bored Apes and more, communities around these projects can have a say in its development.

“We like to partner with communities that already exist,” said Lawrence Vavra, music industry veteran and co-founder of PlayerZero, in an interview with nft now. “Because we’re members of that community and have been really bullish on Web3 over the last year and a half. So we have, a bunch of great NFT community AVAs, but still, we have something that we built from scratch.”

Through initiatives like Amari that dig straight into the heart of the NFT community, Player Zero is building itself into more than just a record label, hoping to become a comprehensive entertainment brand rooted in Web3 Music.

“To us, [a Web3 record label] Really means you’re able to bring community-centric things to life,” says Bhavra. “We come from the record business, and we understand what it takes to make an artist,” Bhavra said. “As fans, we all know the musician, but in most cases, there are a number of people — such as singers, songwriters and producers — behind an artist that help it move forward.”

With PlayerZero, Vavra says he and his team strive to give the artist and creator community an opportunity to publish art in a digitally native way that prevents the erosion of the music industry. This is why AVA was created for the NFT community, by the NFT community, bound only by the limitations of blockchain technology and collective imagination.

How does Player Zero work?

Like other blue-chip NFT projects, Player Zero operates on a membership-based model. At the very top of that model is the Player Zero Founders Pass, essentially a golden ticket that gives holders access to nearly every future drop and initiative coming from the emerging Web3 record label.

Founders Passes are exclusive, with only 100 released. The first 50 passes were created in an exclusive presale event, with the remaining 50 only obtainable through auction. One pass will be auctioned every 24 hours, and the final Founders Pass will go on sale on November 3, 2022.

But Founders Pass isn’t the only way for NFT enthusiasts to gain access to the Player Zero ecosystem. As the AVAs are developed and released, Bhavra says collectors will have the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the “careers” of these characters.

“Every AVA that we put in place will have a Genesis Pass, which will really encourage early adopters to get into the project,” says Bhavra. “Think about how it always works: You come across a band and you love this band, and the band starts getting bigger and bigger. Then it hits the mainstream, and as an early adopter, you’re on to the next thing.”

With Genesis Pass, Bhavra said early adopters have the opportunity to be rewarded instead of snubbed by their favorite artists. As AVA develops, their Genesis Pass collectors will have creative direction.

To Bhavra, greater control over creative direction involves deciding which artists to collaborate with, what kind of product they should release, or even which versions of their songs they should stream. In short, Vavra’s vision has real incentive for fans and early adopters to build on the Player Zero universe.

Could AVAs be the future of Web3 music?

As the Web3 and Metaverse era tempts more and more to live their lives entirely online, AVAs seem perfectly aligned with the interests of digital-native cultures. Just as we have seen concerts and festivals become virtual experiences during the Covid pandemic, it is possible that musical acts may also become completely virtual experiences.

Importantly, PlayerZero is very different from other Web3 native music platforms that have emerged of late. Services like Sound.xyz and Catalog have empowered independent artists to publish their creations on the blockchain, but PlayerZero is an incubator for community-driven projects that align with both the general NFT ecosystem and the backend of the music industry (so, songwriters, producers, and more).

That doesn’t mean the lines between established platforms like Player Zero and the Web3 label can’t be blurred though. Instead, it’s yet another reminder that the NFT ecosystem can be ready and receptive to such an entity. As far as Bhavra is concerned, the NFT space and the wider world is undoubtedly ready for Player Zero, and a future where virtual entities can become chart-topping superstars.

“Even five years ago, I would have said that I don’t think people would really be able to connect with the music if the musician didn’t have a story behind it,” Bhavra now tells NFT. “I think now, because of Web 3, because of Zoom and because of Covid, people will connect with music and it doesn’t have to be a human person to connect them.”

However, it is too early to say for sure whether the changes taking place in the music industry due to Web3 will be permanent. But as the Metaverse continues to expand and consumers desire virtual experiences, PlayerZero could become a major voice within the Web3 music ecosystem.



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