How A Digital Product Could Work Using ABC Squared Economics

Let’s look at how a song can be developed to be an economic instrument through ABC Squared Economics.

Let’s say that I produce a song and release it as a downloadable mp3, a digital product that can be repeatedly downloaded as a residual source of income with no extra labor for me other than telling people about it. Imagine if I could preset all of the variables for how the revenue from this product should be channeled and activate it to automatically transfer those funds to all who are involved.

Just as with most products, digital or otherwise, there is a lot of collaboration involved in a song. As the writer, I have rights to the song, and in producing that song, I am able to share ownership of the recordings with the other participating artists. This allows us to all prosper more greatly from the distribution of the song, while also contributing to the society in which the song will be most greatly appreciated.

In taking the song from words on paper to a produced recording, I start by recording the guitar track, then the lead vocals. Then the drummer comes in to record a track, followed by a bassist, a mandolin player, and a background vocalist. Finally, the sound mixer cleans it all up to make it sound smooth, and we have a finished song.

Because talent is not easily quantifiable, we consider each artist’s investment in time. Evaluating the time that each Artist puts into a production allows us to properly allocate revenue to…