Grant Proposal IRL Africa: Transforming Live Music Experiences with Blockchain

IRL Africa seeks to reshape the live event experience through the integration of blockchain technology, inclusivity, and sustainability. Our goal is to make live music more accessible across Africa, allowing artists to perform and communities to enjoy music while utilizing decentralized tools such as Unlock Protocol for ticketing, fan engagement, and monetization. This proposal outlines our mission, objectives, implementation plan, and the framework to scale across multiple cities in Africa.

Mission

To make live music events sustainable and accessible across Africa using free concerts, blockchain-based tools, and community-driven approaches.

Vision

We aim to build an inclusive platform for African artists to showcase their talents, while communities across the continent enjoy live music through decentralized and sustainable means. By integrating cutting-edge technology, we envision a global expansion where African music transcends borders through blockchain innovation.

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Objectives

1. Artist Empowerment: Provide fair payment structures and global exposure for African artists by utilizing blockchain for ticketing, fan engagement, and revenue generation.

2. Community Participation: Enable communities to curate, fund, and engage with live music performances through decentralized mechanisms. Fans can be part of the event planning process and directly influence concert selections using blockchain technology.

3. Blockchain Education: Introduce both artists and fans to blockchain tools (Unlock Protocol, Base), showing how these tools can solve real-world challenges in the music industry such as ticket fraud, artist compensation, and fan engagement.

4. Onboarding Untapped Markets: Focus on onboarding communities like Harare into the Web3 ecosystem, creating new opportunities in regions that are ripe for blockchain disruption.

5. Sustainability and Inclusivity: Promote a sustainable concert model that can scale across Africa, using decentralized methods for funding and audience engagement. Every aspect of the event experience, from ticketing to content monetization, will be driven by blockchain, ensuring long-term sustainability for artists and event organizers alike.

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Proposed Programming Framework for IRL Africa

1. Free Online Workshops for Artists

Onboarding to Blockchain (Base): We will conduct virtual workshops to teach African artists how to use Unlock Protocol for ticketing and monetization on Base. These workshops will focus on simple, step-by-step integration of blockchain technology into their music careers.

KPIs: Number of artists onboarded, workshop completion rates, ability to use blockchain tools.

2. Fan Engagement

Following the workshops, artists will guide their fanbase through blockchain usage for concert ticketing, helping them get familiar with decentralized tools. This not only builds direct fan-to-artist relationships but also increases fan participation in event planning and engagement.

KPIs: Fan engagement levels, tickets claimed via blockchain, artist-to-fan interactions.

3. Main Event: Free Concert at Skug Barn

Live Music Performance: The pilot event will take place at Skug Barn with 300 attendees (capacity up for review based on demand). Tickets will be distributed via blockchain (Unlock Protocol), and free entry will be granted to those claiming tickets online. To promote inclusivity, a limited number of tickets will be sold at the door for a higher price in fiat currency.

Content Creation & Monetization: The concert will be professionally recorded, and fans will be able to mint pictures and videos as NFTs via Base. This creates new revenue streams for artists while continuing fan engagement after the event.

KPIs: Number of tickets claimed via blockchain, NFTs minted, content sales revenue.

4. Post-Concert Engagement

Fans will remain engaged with blockchain tools post-event by minting concert moments as NFTs. This keeps them actively involved in the ecosystem and helps artists monetize their performances even after the concert ends.

5. Scaling & Future Event Planning

Based on the success of the pilot, IRL Africa will expand to more cities such as Johannesburg, Cape Town, Vic Falls, and Nairobi, onboarding more artists and fans onto the blockchain. This scalable model will continue to use free concerts as a gateway to onboard African audiences into the blockchain ecosystem.

KPIs: Number of cities expanded to, number of blockchain-enabled concerts, continued fan engagement.

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Roadmap

Phase 1: Research & Development (3-6 months)

Conduct surveys and focus groups to gather insights from artists, fans, and potential partners.

Develop prototypes for blockchain ticketing, artist engagement, and sustainability initiatives.

KPIs: Community insights gathered, artist onboarding, tool prototypes developed.

Phase 2: Pilot Events (6-12 months)

Launch the first concert in Harare using Unlock Protocol for ticketing and fan engagement.

Evaluate and test blockchain solutions in different African cities such as Johannesburg, Cape Town, Vic Falls, and Nairobi.

KPIs: Concert attendance, blockchain usage metrics, fan engagement.

Phase 3: Full-Scale Launch (12-24 months)

Scale the initiative across 10 cities, deepening blockchain integration.

Allow fans to drive artist selection and further democratize event planning using decentralized platforms.

KPIs: Number of cities onboarded, continued engagement metrics, revenue generated through NFTs and blockchain-driven events.

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Sustainability Model

Our goal is to establish a self-sustaining ecosystem where:

1. Artists generate revenue through fair payment structures and continuous engagement with their fanbase via blockchain.

2. Fans are incentivized to attend free concerts through blockchain ticketing, with premium access available at the door for inclusion.

3. NFTs and blockchain-based content minting create lasting financial opportunities for both artists and fans.

4. As we scale, partnerships with local sponsors, brands, and blockchain platforms like Unlock Protocol will provide additional funding and logistical support to sustain these events.

Budget Budget ( Pilot event: Skug Barn Harare) Artist Fees & Production Costs: ~ $2500 Administrative Costs ~$500