Turning Royalties into 'Basic Income': Designing a Society Where Music Creators Are Not Consumed
Music Plants proposes a social design where music production is transformed into assets, using copyright income as a form of basic income for creators.
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- 📰 Published: April 2, 2026 at 04:50
- 🔍 Collected: April 2, 2026 at 09:03 (4h 13m after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 6, 2026 at 14:10 (101h 6m after Collected)
Music Plants supports 'April Dream,' a project that turns April 1st into a day for sharing dreams. This press release is the blueprint for our dream of 'independence for music creators.'
◆ Not a 'Problem of Talent,' but a 'Problem of Structure'
In the Japanese music industry, it is often said as if it were self-evident that 'only a handful can make a living from music.' However, the root cause of this poverty is not a lack of talent, but an existing structure that continues to exploit the labor of creators.
- Normalization of unpaid labor: Competitions that take dozens of hours result in zero reward if not selected.
- Exploitation of passion: Justifying unpaid work with the phrase 'it will be good for your portfolio.'
- Loss of asset value: With the spread of streaming, unit prices have fallen, and the creator's name is consumed and forgotten.
Professional labor should be paid fairly. Why should the creation of a creator be dismissed as something done 'just because they love it'?
◆ To Regain 'Respect' for Creation
This current situation stems from the industry's failure to fully understand the essence of 'creation.' Music is the crystallization of human passion and emotion. The current state of the Japanese music industry is the result of a lack of respect for the creator.
True understanding cannot be born without knowing the intricate mechanisms and vast amount of work behind the act of 'creating music.' That is why we want to open the doors to music production. We believe that as more people learn the pain and joy of creating music themselves, a deep reverence for professionals will be fostered, becoming the power to change the industry's structure.
◆ 'One Song per Person' as a Social Safety Net
We propose a shift from 'labor' to 'assets.' Time disappears if sold off, but 'works' accompanied by copyright become assets that continue to generate value beyond time.
- A society where works work: Instead of everyone aiming for a big hit, each person owns one song that generates revenue while accompanying someone's daily life as an 'asset.'
- Substantial Basic Income: By building a mechanism where 'works work' instead of 'people work,' we aim to break away from labor dependency.
In an era where AI generates music instantly, value resides in the human-specific context of 'why that person wrote it with that emotion.'
Music Plants will increase the number of people who have 'their own works' through music production education. That one song becomes an asset, supports life, and slowly changes society. We are serious about realizing a future where music is not a consumable, but a 'treasure' that supports life.
◆ Not a 'Problem of Talent,' but a 'Problem of Structure'
In the Japanese music industry, it is often said as if it were self-evident that 'only a handful can make a living from music.' However, the root cause of this poverty is not a lack of talent, but an existing structure that continues to exploit the labor of creators.
- Normalization of unpaid labor: Competitions that take dozens of hours result in zero reward if not selected.
- Exploitation of passion: Justifying unpaid work with the phrase 'it will be good for your portfolio.'
- Loss of asset value: With the spread of streaming, unit prices have fallen, and the creator's name is consumed and forgotten.
Professional labor should be paid fairly. Why should the creation of a creator be dismissed as something done 'just because they love it'?
◆ To Regain 'Respect' for Creation
This current situation stems from the industry's failure to fully understand the essence of 'creation.' Music is the crystallization of human passion and emotion. The current state of the Japanese music industry is the result of a lack of respect for the creator.
True understanding cannot be born without knowing the intricate mechanisms and vast amount of work behind the act of 'creating music.' That is why we want to open the doors to music production. We believe that as more people learn the pain and joy of creating music themselves, a deep reverence for professionals will be fostered, becoming the power to change the industry's structure.
◆ 'One Song per Person' as a Social Safety Net
We propose a shift from 'labor' to 'assets.' Time disappears if sold off, but 'works' accompanied by copyright become assets that continue to generate value beyond time.
- A society where works work: Instead of everyone aiming for a big hit, each person owns one song that generates revenue while accompanying someone's daily life as an 'asset.'
- Substantial Basic Income: By building a mechanism where 'works work' instead of 'people work,' we aim to break away from labor dependency.
In an era where AI generates music instantly, value resides in the human-specific context of 'why that person wrote it with that emotion.'
Music Plants will increase the number of people who have 'their own works' through music production education. That one song becomes an asset, supports life, and slowly changes society. We are serious about realizing a future where music is not a consumable, but a 'treasure' that supports life.
FAQ
What is Music Plants' dream?
To build a society where music creators can escape labor exploitation and achieve financial independence by monetizing their own songs as assets.
Why can music serve as a basic income?
Since a song is an asset that generates value over time once created, we believe its copyright income can function as a safety net for living.
Does human music have value in the AI era?
Unlike AI-generated music, we believe that songs infused with human-specific emotions and context hold irreplaceable value.