The Evolution of musicto Community
When musicto started, the idea was simple: build playlists under a brand umbrella, attract an audience, and eventually monetize it. The issue? Most people expected to make money around their individual playlist. When that didn’t happen fast enough, they left. We had an 85% attrition rate because the motivation was personal gain first, community development second, if at all. That nearly broke us.
In 2019, we pivoted. We focused on supporting artists, building connections, and collaborating. That’s when things changed. We saw fewer people join, but those who did tended to stick around for much longer. Now, our attrition rate is under 50%, and people stay because they love discovering music, connecting across cultures, and being part of something that adds value to their lives. It’s a community built on shared values, not profit.
Meme Coins: What They Look Like to Me
Meme coins feel a lot like musicto in those early days. A group of people with a shared ideal outcome and a shared set of behaviors but little else in common. The outcome is ultimately extractive and zero-sum - some will win and some will lose and everybody’s OK with that going in, but that doesn’t make it a community.
People talk about meme coins having communities, but if there’s no utility or purpose outside “number go up”, it’s not sustainable when the number doesn’t.
Connection is Everything
A group of people doing the same thing with a shared goal looks like a community from the outside, but unless they have invested in internal connections and relationships, the “community” will fail the minute their shared goal becomes unattainable for most.
Finding a mechanism that creates connection is the holy grail. musicto found it through creative collaboration, but every community will need to find the unique “thing” that works for them.
I do see a musicto coin in the future. If we can architect it in a way that it enhances community development rather than personal gain, that would be huge. I have ideas.
