It’s the latest beat created by acclaimed EDM juggernaut, DJ 3LAU, aka Justin Blau. Blockchain technology has infiltrated a new area of the entertainment space—live events.

3LAU announced that he has created Our Music Festival (OMF). the first blockchain-powered music festival, and partnered up with entertainment studio, SingularDTV and Prime Social Group, the largest independent festival promoter in the U.S. Uniting the world of entertainment, 3LAU is bringing his latest creation to San Francisco this October, hoping to change the way in which fans experience live music forever, with EDM DJ and producer, Zedd, to headline the event.

OMF’s strategic advisors include CAA’s Hunter Williams and Paradigm partner Paul Morris, alongside Paradigm’s Lee Anderson and Sam Hunt.

OMF’s vision of mitigating ticket inflation, counterfeiting, scalping, and lack of consumer control starts by placing more power in the hands of fans to help spark the necessary evolution of the live music space. The idea is that fans have the ability to earn cryptocurrency by simply participating in the festival’s ecosystem—redeeming OMF tickets, VIP upgrades, and exclusive future access to merchandise and other services.

I spoke with Justin and SingularDTV on the phone about why artists integrating this technology into space is so vital to its survival.

From SingularDTV’s perspective, “it’s all about realigning the industry and helping artists to keep making their great art, incentivizing people to continue listening to that art, and telling their friends about it,” said G. Thomas Esmay, the Director of Business Development at SingularDTV.

Andrew Rossow:  What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing the EDM space?

Justin “3LAU” Blau: When it comes to the live music side and EDM, there are two types of festivals—first, you have massive brands like Coachella and Ultra Music Fest that sell out in advance, succeed every year, and very expensive for fans. But, then there are the other events, that don’t market themselves as well, and ultimately fail within 1-2 years.

AR: What is your appeal to the demographic?

3LAU: There is quite a bit of overlap with the music I make and the crypto-universe. Our real demographic is the young, millennial who wants to get into the crypto space, who might not know how, and gives them a way to get into the community. On the other side, we have the veterans in the space who like music but want to see this new technology applied in the real world. Ultimately, we want to educate the community about this technology, which takes time to develop.

AR: Do you think this will truly disrupt the space?

3LAU: In our case, we aim to solve problems that the unfortunate festivals face, and also how value to these massive brands, enabling them to expand at a faster market rate. We are hoping to apply to both use cases. Because, ultimately, the fan is getting hurt right now, whether through ticket price inflation, counterfeiting, and scalping. Fans ultimately accept those realities, because they are the only ones that exist.  But, if we create a new reality where the fan is engaged, that is the success.

All images authorized by DJ 3LAU, July 2018