#1517 · Guestlist+1: Polkadot becomes the Center of Gravity for Blockchain x Music
Guestlist+1: Polkadot becomes the Center of Gravity for Blockchain x Music
A PMEI proposal
Please View our Presentation Deck Here.
Proposer: Polkadot Music Events Initiative
Proposer Wallet Address: 13EDmaUe89xXocPppFmuoAZaCsckaJy3deAyVyiykk1zKQbF
KEY POINTS
What’s this Proposal for?
This proposal supports the launch of an educational panel series and podcast called Guestlist+1 (GL+1). The initiative is designed to strengthen Polkadot’s position in the music industry by fostering credible conversations and community engagement.
- We will collaborate with top-tier university Computer Science programs worldwide, engaging local music communities and entrepreneurs to drive attention and credibility to Polkadot x Music.
- Our panels feature notable artists and seasoned music industry veterans.
- We're adopting a milestone-based funding approach to validate the value of this initiative progressively.
FUNDING SCOPE
This initial funding tranche will cover:
- Retroactive funding for GL+1 at ETHDenver.
- Production of GL+1 events in Boston (Harvard/ MIT), London (UCL/Cambridge), and two panels in NYC.
Total Funding: $388,760
Key Deliverables (11 Total):
- 4 live panel events (producing 8 podcast episodes).
- 2 studio interviews (no live audience, resulting in 3 podcast episodes).
Check out the first panel podcasts here.
KPIs estimated to hit:
- 3M+ impressions – across X, Instagram, YouTube and other platforms through high-impact content, event recaps, speakers highlights and collaboration posts with partners
- 15K+ newsletter subscribers with 33%+ open rate – expanding coverage with our monthly newsletter and exclusive insights, deep dive articles into Polkadot’s role in the future of music and more related content
- 5K+ targeted uses of new EasyA Mini App – creating an interactive onboarding tool to introduce developers to Polkadot-powered music applications
- Featured in 5+ publications – securing media coverage in music, Web3, tech outlets
- Design an easy funnel for developers to engage with Polkadot music tech
- Collaboration with a relevant news outlet for marketing
FURTHER CONTEXT
About PMEI
PMEI (Polkadot Music Events Initiative) is dedicated to connecting music businesses to Polkadot. We collaborate and align with partners like Beatport, mufi, Billfold, and the Web3 Foundation to shape a cohesive narrative in the music x web3 space.
Polkadot needs more initiatives that drive organic user growth and network transactions.
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What Happens at Guestlist+1 (GL+1 Live)?
Our format is simple:
Networking Mixer – An informal gathering to connect participants and spark conversation.
Two Recorded Panels:
- Panel One tackles real-world problems in the music industry, exploring how blockchain can offer solutions.
- Panel Two focuses on how technology impacts music careers and businesses, drawing on major brands and diverse industry voices to broaden the conversation.
Both panels are designed to spark engaging, practical discussions that elevate Polkadot’s presence in the broader music industry.
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Why is This Important?
Music is a universal language, providing an ideal space for developers, musicians, and industry leaders to connect. GL+1 is more than an event—it's an entry point for engaging with the music industry and a gateway to introducing Polkadot to a broader audience.
- This initiative is aligned with our Guestlist+1 educational newsletter, reinforcing Polkadot’s growing dominance in music x web3.
- Feedback has shown strong interest and positive KPIs, with suggestions to increase focus on developer engagement and marketing outcomes. GL+1 is designed to meet that need.
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Funding Approach
PMEI was orignally funded by the Web3 Foundation for select initiatives through DF. For projects like GL+1, we operate independently, but will come back to the treasury for an agency fee ONLY after completing these panels.
- As a non-profit, common-good vehicle, PMEI is open for anyone in music to leverage our resources—conditional to building within the Polkadot ecosystem.
- OpenGov supports funding for these initiatives to keep the community and music ecosystem thriving.
We’re actively tracking metrics and engagement to provide detailed progress reports back to OpenGov.
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WHO'S INVOLVED (outside of PMEI)
The success of Guestlist+1 (GL+1) is driven by strategic partnerships and a diverse network of contributors:
- Beatport.io – Supporting with marketing efforts to amplify the reach of GL+1 panels and podcasts across their platforms and network.
- Lucy (Polkadot Ambassador Network) – Assisting with alignment and coordination of Polkadot Ambassadors in each city, ensuring local communities are engaged and represented.
- Panelists and Coordinators from Multiple Cities – We’ll feature a diverse lineup of music industry professionals, technologists, and artists from cities like Boston, New York, London, and more. This multi-city approach ensures varied perspectives and broadens the relevance and impact of each discussion.
These collaborations are critical to ensuring that GL+1 events are impactful, credible, and representative of both the music and web3 communities.
While we appreciate the initiative and recognize the effort made to contribute to the growth of the ecosystem, our DAO members have collectively voted Nay on this proposal. Several members expressed concerns about the overall effectiveness of the initiative, and there was notable divergence in views—particularly regarding the justification for this type of expenditure, not only for this specific proposal but for similar projects more broadly. Additionally, our members highlighted the importance of reviewing the outcomes of the {bash} events 2025 (Ref#1392) to assess the deliverables tied to the $452K already allocated by the Treasury. These insights will be critical in informing any potential reconsideration or amendment to our voting position in the future.
Note that the result of Ref#1392 does not infer any approval on this or any resubmission of this ref from our DAO. It is only an observation from the discussion made within our DAO. Thank you REEEEEEEEEE DAO.
Lucky Friday have voted NAY. Please consider this a temporary notification after our preliminary vote has gone on chain. If you would like additional feedback on our rationale for this vote, please join our OpenGov Public Forum on Telegram here: https://t.me/+559tyPSfmGg0NzUx
Lucky Friday provides feedback once per week (Fridays) if specifically requested in our OpenGov Public Forum, and we respectfully ask that all proponents of referenda interact with us here for the sake of transparency. Please tag our Head of Protocol Partnerships “Phunky” with your referendum number so that he can gather the relevant commentary from our internal deliberations.
Just pointing out that Gala Music has attempted to build a Spotify killer app. They launched to Apple App Store. https://music.gala.com/
@15akZwzufEzFzfh18y4Q81Ci8TXyvH6hyUkRrxJED2MjEYhe Firstly, we love the memes— don't get us wrong. However, considering the current state of Polkadot and the urgent need for growth, we'd appreciate (and prefer) some constructive feedback. It will help drive things forward together as an ecosystem.
Please let us know what your objections are for this proposal and we're happy to address them. Thanks, PMEI
Hello,
Do you plan to use any technical resources available in the Polkadot ecosystem to carry out the aforementioned activities, or will your focus be on operating solely as business development without including technology development?
@TheMvp07 Yes of course— getting developers to use Polkadot tech (specifically Asset Hub) is a core KPI of this push— if not the main point! We are specifically using mufi's wallet and engagement API which both creates users and txns directly on Polkadot Asset Hub. We will also be using Billfold point-of-sale at venues where its available. We're also having conversations with a handful of other teams that have great ecosystem specific dev tools, APIs and entry points for building dapps.
mufi.app (check the docs page too)
This is initiative is top of funnel— making it a great entry point for developers and artists to start building and connecting with a like-minded (and often frustrated) music community. We are also working with EasyA to develop a mini app that will give developers a chance to quickly use mufi APIs and start deploying apps on Asset Hub.
Our goal is to be at the center of the conversation and to attract top-tier problem solvers and participants. It's the only way we'll see great products being built on Polkadot. This same format is applicable to anything— WebZero does a great job of this already and its a highly successful model, although more generalized.
Hello,
Do you plan to use any technical resources available in the Polkadot ecosystem to carry out the aforementioned activities, or will your focus be on operating solely as business development without including technology development?
Appreciate the initiative and the energy around music x Web3, and the visuals in the deck are polished, but I can't support this proposal without a detailed breakdown of how the $388,760 is being allocated. Most importantly, how did previous refs go, and where are the tangible interactions. What did they add to the ecosystem?
Key questions:
Where is the money going? There’s no budget or cost structure provided. Even the canva link attached has copy-paste sections from all the previous proposals, without any clear showcase of results. How does this really benefit Polkadot? Are any of the other names mentioned in the proposal being paid? If so, how much and for what services? How much is Beatport charging? How much is going toward production, travel, team compensation, and marketing? Also, the podcast you linked has ~600 views. Can you justify the ROI based on current traction?
Regarding past proposals: #1392 (“bash” events: March–July 2025): 452K USDC #1141 (Billfold onboarding): 1.18M USDC
From the Billfold proposal: “The CAC is $0.33 per user TO BEGIN WITH… Every new user added to Billfold will automatically get and transact with a Polkadot wallet.”
You also promised: 3M+ Billfold users 2M new users Millions of wallet interactions
Where are these results? Are there any reports or verifiable data you can share? I understand there will be another ref from you in June; I hope you can provide these data.
Also, your published budget for #1392 shows a discrepancy or shortage of $780. Is this what the retroactive funding mentioned in the current proposal is referring to?
Support the mission, but not without transparency and accountability.
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