“I wanted to find a way for musicians to make money directly from the music they make,” said James Blake.
Last week, James Blake momentarily hijacked the music new cycle when his remarks about streaming platforms like TikTok and Spotify devaluing music went viral. It drew enough attention that the team behind Vault contacted him, and how he’s participated in the launch of the fledgling platform.
Vault’s motto is “What if making music was enough,” and it allows artists on its platform to charge fans a monthly fee for access to unreleased music. It also includes a chat feature that theoretically affords fans a direct line of contact with artists, also allowing the artists to contact them about announcements such as shows and releases.
“I wanted to find a way for musicians to make money directly from the music they make, not least to be able to reinvest in the very expensive process of renting studios, hiring musicians, etc.,” said Blake in a video shared to X (formerly Twitter) to announce Vault’s launch. “Music is not cheap to make and I wanted to help incentivize musicians to actually spend more time making music. Also, I’ve spoken to a lot of artists that feel frustrated that so much great music goes unreleased because it doesn’t meet certain requirements or trends.”
While most musicians can certainly appreciate Blake’s sentiment, many have voiced skepticism about whether Vault is a realistic solution. In a retweet, North Carolina DJ and producer Machinedrum wrote, “Or you can join my patreon for $5 a month and get the same thing plus way more!“
CTM Festival curator Mikhail Stangl aka Opium Hum shared a similar sentiment on X. “The way I see it Vault / James Blake are suggesting OnlyFans, but for mp3 files,” he wrote. “I’m somewhat disappointed, esp. by the growth hacking marketing play, but it also shows that artists & audiences are hungry and ready for alternative models. That’s the major learning.”
Blake, whose serene brand of electronic music has earned him two GRAMMY Awards, previously said that he and Frank Ocean “never made a cent” on their collaboration, “Godspeed,” despite the track going viral on TikTok. “The brainwashing worked and now people think music is free,” he wrote on X last week.
It remains to be seen whether Vault will provide the solutions for rightsholders that James Blake hopes it will. One thing is for sure, however: Something’s gotta give with music streaming if the conversation surrounding it is any indication.
