Web3 Music Vault, an app built atop Darkblock’s protocol for decentralized content delivery and monetization, recently won 2nd place and a $20,000 prize in Magic Eden’s Creator Monetization Hackathon.

The hackathon, which Magic Eden launched this past fall after making waves in the Solana ecosystem when it made creator royalties optional, offered a chance for developers to learn more about Darkblock and our protocol. Recognizing that our tools and mission are to empower creators to make money from their work, Magic Eden had tapped Darkblock to be a partner in the hackathon. We offered a workshop and fielded questions from builders throughout the event, which ran from Oct. 28th to Dec. 13th and boasted more than $250,000 in prize money.

Web3 Music Vault was one of a few projects incorporating Darkblock’s protocol for decentralized unlockable content. It was developed by a member of the Darkblock community, Prizem, and offers one of the first-ever applications for playing token-gated music seamlessly from a playlist via Alexa.

Using Darkblock, musicians can immutably attach mp3 files to their NFTs as unlockable content. Once the Music NFTs get into the hands of collectors, all they have to do is visit Web3 Music Vault to connect their wallet and create a playlist for Alexa.

Prizem’s project offers a great example of making web3 content available in the places where people are already consuming their content. The app also offers a good example of how Darkblock’s protocol can be integrated into any website, wallet, native app, or even hardware.

Songs of Eden, a popular musician who has already utilized Darkblock to distribute his music, believes Darkblock and apps like Web3 Music Vault will enable creators to reclaim control over music that “musicians/producers have been giving away in the last few decades.”

“Web3 is a chance to get it back,” he said.

He showed off Web3 Music Vault in a video he posted on Twitter.

This technology offers promise for much more than just music. Audiobooks, podcasts, lectures, or any audio file can be attached and played using the Web3 Music Vault. The Web3 Music Vault provides users with a seamless way to play token-gated content. 

Because it was built as part of Magic Edens hackathon, the app currently supports only Solana, but Prizem has expressed interest in adding support for additional chains if the demand is there. If you want to learn more or encourage him to continue developing the app, join Darkblock’s discord and bug Prizem.