Problem
Streaming solved distribution and broke the economics. An independent artist can reach anyone and earn almost nothing, because the payout per play is set by a platform whose interests are not theirs.
The fan side has the mirror problem: paying a monthly subscription without any sense that the money reaches the artists they actually care about, and without owning anything at the end of it.
My role
Product creator & product lead. A direct-to-fan music ecosystem exploring digital ownership, independent artist commerce, music learning, AI-assisted creativity and physical-digital collectibles.
Key decision
Whether Vynl is one product or four. Marketplace, learning, studio and collectibles each have a plausible standalone case, and building all four at once is the classic way to build nothing well.
The honest position is that this is currently a prototype ecosystem exploring which of those threads has real pull, and that a commercial version would have to lead with one. Naming that openly is more useful than pretending the scope was always narrow.
Evidence
- The artist-economics problem is well documented and widely felt.
- The platform functions as a live prototype across marketplace, profile, purchase, learning and studio surfaces.
What I learned
- Working in a market where the incumbent model is entrenched and the unit economics are the actual problem.
- Holding several product threads open long enough to see which has pull, then being explicit that a commercial version must narrow.
- Applying AI to a creative domain without positioning it as a replacement for the creator.
- Testing a physical-digital concept as a product idea rather than a manufacturing commitment.
Next validation
- A single-artist launch with one release, measuring conversion from fan visit to direct purchase.
- A thread test: put marketplace, learn and studio in front of the same artists and see which one they ask about unprompted.
- A low-cost physical test of the Mood Disc concept before any tooling commitment.
SUPPORTING DETAIL
How the product works
Who the customer is
Independent artists with an existing audience who want a direct commercial relationship with it, and the fans of those artists who would rather buy from them than stream past them.
What users currently do instead
- Streaming platforms, where reach is high and earnings per fan are negligible.
- Bandcamp-style direct sales, which work but sit apart from where fans discover music.
- Merchandise and live shows, which carry the economics but do not scale for a small artist.
- Crowdfunding, which is a campaign rather than an ongoing relationship.
The core product journey
- A fan finds an artist and buys a release directly rather than adding it to a playlist.
- The artist keeps the relationship: the buyer is a known supporter, not an anonymous stream.
- Vynl Learn gives fans and aspiring musicians structured ways into the craft behind the music.
- Vynl Studio explores AI-assisted creation as a tool for artists rather than a replacement for them.
- Mood Disc explores the bridge back to something physical: an NFC-enabled object that carries a digital release.
What I deliberately did not build
- Rights administration, royalty splits and publishing infrastructure, which is a heavyweight domain and not where the first evidence comes from.
- A streaming catalogue. Competing with streaming on catalogue breadth is not a strategy.
- Speculative tokenised ownership mechanics. Digital ownership is explored through purchases and collectibles, not through a token economy.
- Live event ticketing, which is an adjacent business rather than this one.
Business model
Commission on direct sales, with learning content and creation tools as paid layers alongside it.
Which of those becomes the primary line is an open question, and the prototype exists partly to answer it.
Technology and AI approach
Web platform with artist and fan accounts, catalogue and media handling, and a direct checkout path.
AI is applied to creation and learning support, deliberately as an assistive tool inside a human creative process.
The Mood Disc concept connects an NFC-enabled physical object to a digital release, which is a hardware-adjacent idea that has to be tested cheaply before it is engineered.
What still needs validation
- Which of the four threads fans and artists actually pull on.
- Whether fans will buy directly at a volume that matters to an artist.
- Whether Mood Disc is a real product or an attractive concept.
Screenshots
The product surfaces that carry the journey.
Music marketplace
Vynl music marketplace listing independent artist releases available to buy directly
Artist profile
Vynl artist profile page showing releases, biography and direct fan support options
Album purchase
Vynl album purchase screen showing a direct-to-fan checkout for a digital release
Vynl Learn
Vynl Learn screen showing a structured music learning module
Vynl Studio
Vynl Studio screen showing AI-assisted music creation tools
Mood Disc concept
Vynl Mood Disc concept showing an NFC-enabled physical collectible linked to a digital release