Trapital - getting it right

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getting it right

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Hey! A few weeks ago, Billboard published a breakdown on how 8 indie artists are currently making money. There were a few common themes:

• indies have more autonomy and more control
• ownership can be lucrative if artists play the long game
• but it’s hard to get the same respect and opportunities
• its tough to do it all yourself

It’s a reminder that fame and wealth have moved farther apart in today’s industry.

There are rich indie artists who you can walk by on the street and not even notice. Meanwhile, there are signed artists who make much less than those indies, but get swarmed by TMZ whenever they step out of LAX. While the most famous artists today are also the most wealthy, they came up in a gatekeeper-driven system where fame and wealth were closely linked together.

Ownership is a spectrum, not an all-or-nothing decision. Jay Z framed it well in his recent interview with Kevin Hart. He pushed people to think beyond the percentage, and used his 50% sale of Ace of Spades champagne to LVMH as an example.

The more we talk about the nuance of both ownership and partnership, the better decisions artists will make. If artists are intentional, they can find the right balance.

Today’s memo is about virtual characters. On the Trapital podcast, I did a quick breakdown of the FN Meka incident. Virtual characters have a long way to go, but it’s important to highlight the ones that get it right, like Aku. I re-ran my episode with Micah Johnson, whose business around Aku has generated over $20 million. Let’s dive in!

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how virtual characters are done right

In less than a week, AI-powered rapper FN Meka became the first virtual rapper signed and dropped by a major label. Capitol Records dropped the virtual act for its racist caricature of Black culture — glorifying police brutality in a social media post, rapping the n-word in a song, and other cringeworthy behaviors. However, FN Meka’s utter failure shouldn’t be a write off for all virtual characters.

A great example of how to do it right is Aku.

Aku is a young digital explorer created by Micah Johnson — a former MLB player and now a full-time artist and entrepreneur. The character is a Black astronaut, which was inspired by Micah’s four-year-old nephew asking his mother, “Can astronauts be Black?” Unlike FN Meka, Aku is a vehicle to promote what one artist wants to see in the world. A symbol for a better tomorrow.

This week, I’m running back an interview I did with Micah in 2021. It was done shortly after Micah first released the character as an NFT collection, selling $2 million right off the bat.

And no, this was not just a FOMO-fueled drop amid the NFT frenzy. Aku has lived on. This comes on top of prior partnerships with major brands like Puma and Billionaire Boys Club, plus Aku appearing on the cover of TIME Magazine.

Unlike FN Meka, the creation and intention behind Aku is an uplifting story. Here’s a few highlights of my interview with Micah.

thinking bigger than NFTs

Micah has now done more than $20 million in sales across his Aku collections. But despite the obvious success, NFTs weren’t initially an authentic form of expression for Micah.

Pre-NFTs, Micah focused on art that could be displayed on a wall. He had been painting using charcoal and acrylic in his garage almost nonstop since retiring from the majors in 2018.

However, Micah realized the potential to develop stories for digital environments as well. He saw Aku as an IP, finding product-market fit on the blockchain before branching out — the same way Disney leverages film to establish characters before extrapolating them into other avenues.

The most impactful brands live on beyond their medium. NFTs are just one way to share the Aku experience.

community over everything

Aku’s blowout NFT sales are no doubt attention-grabbing, but they’re afterthoughts to Micah in comparison to his chief goal.

This past April, a bug in the NFT collection’s smart contract locked $34 million worth of Ethereum away from the entire community, from the creators to the customers. In spite of the unfortunate mistake, Micah has pledged to refund the losses to community members.

The Aku community is thousands deep. It ranges from the Crypto for Black Economic Empowerment group, NFT collectors, and celebrities like Pusha T, Trevor Noah, and Tyra Banks. To Micah, the diverse collective is connected by Aku’s overarching narrative.

representation matters

Growing up, one of Micah’s favorite baseball players was Brain McRae. He was never an MLB All-Star, but he was a star in the eyes of the baseball-loving child that identified with seeing Black pro baseball players. McRae represented what was possible.

Just like reaching the majors might seem unattainable, the same could be said for becoming an astronaut and traveling to space. While Micah had McRae as his model, he wants Aku to be the same for young children, the same way that T’Challa from Black Panther is to a generation of kids today.

Listen to my full conversation with Micah Johnson on Aku here.

Listen to the Trapital Podcast here:

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money moves

• How did the FN Meka mess happen?​
• iHeartMedia launches iHeartLand metaverse experience in Fortnite
• Usher and the economics of Las Vegas residencies​
• Yellowheart launches NFT music streaming player​
• Jay Z’s 4-min verse on DJ Khaled’s “God Did”​

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coming soon from Trapital

Podcast: TikTok’s takeover plans. I’m going to have a conversation about TikTok with Denisha Kuhlor. Stay tuned!

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