Special Edition – How to Make Music & Bitcoin ₿🎸🎵

How musicians can make money or earn Bitcoin by making music.
– Playing in person
– Selling merch
That’s how artists drive the majority of their revenue.
There are fewer artists with massive followings these days, but there are more indie artists who can survive, even as a lifestyle.
A “value for value” and bitcoin based life style or a lifestyle on the bitcoin standard.
Music may be the main thing, but not the only thing. Money may be important…and we know all the second most important things in life cost money.

So music:

– Publishing & Mkting: NOSTR – Social Media
– Receive Tips: Lightning Address – see Hot Wallet or other wallet articles
– Selling Tickets: simply via Lightning Invoices, or Zaprite.
– Livetream – Tunestr
– Stream – WAVLake

Our founder has a previous exit in the digital music entertainment IP blockchain collectible space.
Thanks to Burst and the boys for asking.
more to come.

 

Music Track

Wavlake

  • Upload music: Use Wavlake Studio to upload tracks, albums, or podcasts. The platform automatically distributes content via RSS feeds to podcast directories and Nostr-compatible clients.

  • Monetization: Enable Lightning Network payments by linking a Lightning Address or NWC-compatible wallet (e.g., Alby, Wallet of Satoshi). Fans stream music and send “boosts” (micro-sats) directly to artists.

  • Advantages:

    • Earn 100% of payments instantly, bypassing labels and distributors.

    • Global reach with borderless transactions.

Nostr Integration

  • Publish to Nostr: Wavlake automatically pushes songs as Nostr notes to relays, making them discoverable in Nostr clients like Primal or Damus.

  • Receive zaps: Fans tip using Lightning zaps (sats) directly from Nostr apps. Use a Nostr public key linked to a Lightning wallet (e.g., Mutiny Wallet).

Live Performances & Ticketing

Tunestr & Events

  • Direct payments: Use apps like Tunestr to accept Lightning payments during live shows. Fans scan QR codes to send sats in real-time.

  • Ticketing: Sell blockchain-verified tickets via Lightning-enabled platforms to avoid counterfeit scams and reduce fees.

  • Exclusive perks: Offer NFT-backed VIP passes or meet-and-greets for crypto-paying fans.

Alby Wallet APIs

  • Integrate Alby’s APIs for audience-to-artist payment streams during performances. Features include:

    • Instant splits for collaborators (producers, band members).

    • Low-cost global settlements with no intermediaries.

Technical Setup

  1. Lightning Wallet: Choose a non-custodial wallet (e.g., Phoenix, Breez) or custodial service (Strike, Cash App) to receive sats.

  2. Lightning Address: Create a universal payment handle (e.g., artist@getalby.com) for seamless tipping across platforms.

  3. Nostr Key Pair: Generate a public/private key pair to authenticate with Nostr clients and receive zaps.

Best Practices

  • Promote value4value: Encourage fans to pay what they feel is fair, emphasizing direct support over subscriptions.

  • Cross-platform presence: Distribute music to Wavlake, Fountain, and Nostr to maximize reach.

  • Transparency: Display sats earned per song to build trust and incentivize boosts.

By adopting these tools, artists bypass traditional gatekeepers, retain creative control, and earn sustainable income through Bitcoin’s decentralized ecosystem.

  • Via Perplexity 
  • This needs case studies and examples, and to be published on Github.

SatoshiO’s was born in Austin, Texas and unveiled in Nashville, Tennessee – both places racing to maintain “Music Capital of the USA” – these are races worth racing for.