Rusty Records: Real World Value
We recently announced the upcoming launch of Rusty Robot Records in the “RRCC in a Nutshell” document, and the community has been introduced to the first band to release through the label, Rusty Rejects, but what is it all about, and does it go beyond just one band?
In short, hell yeah it does!
Rusty Robot Records is the music and publishing branch of the RRCC. This means we will be releasing and publishing music by independent and original artists, as well as seeking out publishing rights and royalty arrangements with already existing artist releases.
There are three main areas of the focus for Rusty Robot Records:
- Original Rusty Robot Artist Releases
- Community Funded NFT Collection based Independent Releases
- Publishing Royalty Acquisition
Throughout each aspect of focus for Rusty Robot Records, NFT holders will be gaining further access to royalty rewards through community airdrops each royalty quarter or semi distribution. To get you up to speed, we thought it best to break down everything so you can understand each aspect of this branch of the RRCC project.
Original Releases
The community has been introduced to the Rusty Rejects, an NFT pop-punk band, dedicated to spreading the message of the RRCC and the inclusivity and individuality of every one of its members. Although we have only introduced the Rusty Rejects, you can also look forward to the synthwave vibes of SineBot and the Lo-Fi releases from Retro Pulse, a number of alternative projects, as well as a plethora of Rusty Remixes across a range of genres.
The Rusty Robot Record releases are more than just a music collection and a message, they are a creative outreach to the entire world. Pushing boundaries in the NFT space and the music industry to present the brand and the community to an outside audience. Even more so, all releases from the Rusty Robot Record artists provide the community with royalty rewards, with 50% of returned royalties from all artists going straight back to the community.
These releases will be distributed in three ways:
- Limited edition Cromy release of the collectible EP
- Global unlimited download release
- Global streaming release
Where the fun comes in is that the more the music is played, the more streams, the more sales, the more radio plays, the more the community is rewarded, and this is just the beginning. Because incentivised community releases are also in play in the other areas of Rusty Robot Records.
Community Funded NFT Releases
Here at the RRCC we are building the foundations for community funded artistic and creative projects. It is not only about our releases, but also about creating a community that can support independent artists and creators to build out a name for themselves and reward their supporters at the same time!
Through $RUST exclusive, limited supply NFT sales, musical artists will engage in publishing their releases with Rusty Records and the community. The funding from NFT sales will support the artist release and marketing, and the community will earn royalty rewards over time.
The process enables independent artists to expand their audience, build up awareness around their releases, as well as support the community with royalty rewards for supporting their music — incentivising the community to promote and educate a wider public on through pushing their releases.
But why stop there…
Publishing Royalty Acquisition
Handling in house royalties is a great reward for the community that are pushing the releases in the public, but we will also be going one step beyond. Every NFT sale, every income, every return into Rusty Robot Records will be distributed into a number of funds, the ecosystem, community rewards, project development, and publishing fund.
The publishing fund is where it’s all at! This fund will be used to purchase royalty rights to mainstream releases, with a percentage of the returns dedicated to community rewards. In short, we aren’t just supporting the rising talent of independent artists, but we are also investing in the lifelong careers of popular artists as well.
Whether it’s a band like Imagine Dragons, Cage the Elephant, or Slipknot, or solo artists like Beyonce, Eminem, Ariane Grande, or Jay-Z, we will be looking to build out a catalogue of royalty rights ownership to ensure a secure revenue stream that will always drive the project forward and provide value to the ecosystem. And, again, this will incentivise the community to promote these tracks in streams, radio plays, web playlists, and more through the community reward system.
Creating a new relationship between artists and their fans.
How do royalties work?
There are a number of areas where artists, musicians, songwriters, and publishers gain recognition for their works through royalties. Essentially a royalty is rewarded to the copyright and publishing rights owners of any work when it is used in a public fashion, and these are split into two areas of the composition and the actual sound recording.
These can also be split into a number of areas of rights dependent upon the use of the creative works:
Synchronization Rights — License for film, TV, games, etc.
Reproduction Rights — License for sale or streaming
Performance Rights — License when played in public
Mechanical Rights — When sold or streamed
There are a number of stakeholders involved in a recording or composition, not just the songwriters or band, but also labels, producers, publishers, agents, etc. Each receiving their ample share of the royalties.
Royalties are managed and collected by royalty rights agencies worldwide, some of the most famous are in the US such as BMI, ASCAP, etc. They monitor an international network of reporters to establish the royalties’ an artist has earned. These royalties are then distributed on a quarterly of bi-annual basis direct to the royalty holders of the respective sound recording and composition.
The RRCC Focus
What we are doing with Rusty Records is removing the majority of stakeholders and working directly with artists as a publishing and production company that can support them with access to community fundraising through a simple incentivised reward system. Artists determine their desired funding total and the percentage of royalties that can create rewards for the community. The community can invest if they so wish and through the incentivised reward system the community also supports the artist with promotion and marketing to gain greater royalty returns.
When it comes to already existing releases, Rusty Records will be investing in key publishing rights to compositions and recordings of already established artists and works. Investments will be focused on long-term successful compositions and geared towards lifelong ownership or 30-year terms for purchased assets, primarily Musical Compositions, over Sound Recordings, that provide Public Performance and Sync rights from Internet Streaming, Radio, TV/Film/Commercials, etc.
If you think that’s it…sorry to disappoint, there’s one more thing!
Much like the community being invested in the music and releases tied to Rusty Records, we will be heavily invested in the artists we work with also, wanting everyone to succeed and gain global exposure. We will be focusing a lot of our efforts in working with global A&R and Music Marketing agencies that have worked with the likes of Flo Rida, Joss Stone, Coolio, Pitbull, Justin Timberlake, and a million more, to drive the exposure of the releases we are working on through synch promotions across film, tv, ads, etc. as well as playlist, radio, and media placements, to reach as wide an audience as possible.
Rusty Records is beyond anything that has ever existed in the NFT space for music. It is creating a first in building the foundations for community incentivised music releases that support a closer relationship between the artist and their fans. We are simplifying the entire system for artists and supporting them with the tools and legal resources they require to take back control of their rights and build an awesome community at the same time.
