This isn’t actually a FAQ, it’s mostly an Answer. This also lives on the SAD World site at https://songaday.world/constitution/ and the DAO Nitty Gritty https://songaday.world/nitty-gritty/
Founding Document
“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.”
- Martha Graham, godmother of modern dance
Core Song A Day Beliefs:
- Sucking at something is the first step to being sort of good at something.
- You do not have to be good.
- Music is good. Songs are awesome.
- You do not even have to believe in yourself!
- No artist is pleased. Just keep the channel open.
- It’s all about owning the means of production.
- Anti - racism, sexism, homophobia transphobia, fascism.
- No jerks. No hype.
- It’s work.
- We’re in it for the long haul.
- Time is weird.
- Life is suffering.
jake the dog, coolest dude.
The Purpose of SongADAO is
- to promote daily acts of creation, big and small.
- to help Song A Day be heard far and wide
- to steer the future of the Song A Day project.
- to make cool stuff together.
- to help other musicians make a living from their music.
Structure of the DAO
- If you hold a Song A Day NFT, you are eligible to be in the DAO.
- The DAO is a a co-op LCA registered in Colorado. The DAO owns the copyright to every Song A Day.
- All of Song A Day’s revenue, both on chain and off, flows into the DAO’s treasury.
More on this below under DAO Nitty Gritty
On Scarcity
1
Since 2015, artists of all kinds have been experimenting with various ways of expressing digital scarcity. We have things like 1 of 1s, open editions, 10,000 PFP projects, and limited runs of generative art.
The common element is that digital scarcity is something that we impose on our work; it’s not a naturally occurring thing.
2
I often think about how, someday, I’ll spend my last Hanukkah with my parents. How many more do we have left? How many more nights will I put my kids to bed? How many more times can I tuck them in and give them hugs and kisses and sing to them?
3
Song A Day NFT achieves digital scarcity through time. I will only ever write one song a day. I wrote 2000 songs before Ethereum was invented. I wrote another 1500 before I learned about digital scarcity. All of these songs will soon be NFTs, and starting in late fall/early winter of 2022, as I enter my 14th year of Song A Day, I will be releasing each new song as an NFT, every single day.
4
I can’t tell you how many Song A Day NFTs there will be because I’m missing one crucial detail: I don’t know how long I will live.
DAO Nitty Gritty
SongADAO is a legally registered co-op LCA (Limited Cooperative Association) in the state of Colorado.
The initial reason we went this route was mainly to make it so the DAO could legally own Song A Day’s copyright and collect royalties. While any legal format could work for this, the advantage of a co-op is the ability for members to co-own those rights, and receive distributions in an equitable manner based on their collaboration with the DAO.
You can read the DAO’s bylaws here. It’s a legal document. It’s dense.
Please note: Almost all aspects of this can (and will) change. Everything presented here is the beginning. The DAO is meant to be shaped and moulded by its members. There’s many key questions that we’ve been saving in order to put them directly to the members!
The DAO has 5 founders. There’s Jonathan Mann, Juliana Mann (Jonathan’s wife), Boris Mann (no relation), Matt Condon (1ofthemanyMatts) and Sahil Mehta. These 5 people also represent the initial board of directors. They will also initially be the five that sign the Gnosis Safe transactions.
To be eligible to become a member of SongADAO, you must hold a Song A Day NFT.
Once you own a S.A.D NFT, you become a “Listener”.
Listeners
- Listeners are not yet members. As a Listener, you get full access to the gated Discord, and vote in the Snapshot polls. In Snapshot polls, one S.A.D NFT represents one vote. The snapshot polls are non-binding. You can weigh in on a wide variety of topics having to do with the creative direction of Song A Day and the DAO.The one thing these polls won’t be about is the DAO’s treasury.
Voters
If you want to take the next step and become a full, legal member of the co-op, you’ll have to get verified through BrightID. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to mint your very own SongADAO PFP, which is your membership token in the DAO.
pfp example 1
pfp example 2
pfp example 3
pfp example 4
Now that you’re verified and have your PFP, you are officially a “Voter”.
- Voters are members that have been verified through BrightID. They can do all the things that Listeners do, but voters can also participate in binding, on-chain votes on matters concerning the treasury.How do we deploy these funds? That’s the question a voter can answer. In these votes, it’s one person, one vote.
Builders
Finally, if you want to take the final step to become a “Builder”, here’s what you’ve got to do.
- Builders are verified with BrightID AND they have given their name and address to the board of the DAO (this information is not shared publicly in any way).In return, Builders are able to take part in what’s called Patronage Activity ¶. You can think of PA as anything a member does that furthers the cause of SongADAO. Eventually, we’d like this to include everything from tweeting about Song A Day, commenting on the songs on YouTube and being active in the Discord. To begin with, we are including things that simpler to track. This includes buying a Song A Day NFT, getting a song place in a movie or TV show, collaborating with Jonathan on a song, remixing a song, doing a cover of a song, etc.We believe this is more sustainable than the typical token model of most DAOs. Patronage Activity in a co-op sidesteps the entire question of “is it a security?”. It also has the added benefit of inviting less speculation into the DAO, which is good for the long term health of any community.
