From Broadway to Fairvu: How Sasha Mereu Is Revolutionizing Music Industry Revenue Streams
The music industry has under gone dramatic transformations over the past two decades, leaving many musicians struggling to make a living from their art. In a fascinating conversation on the Living the Dream Podcast, Sasha Mereu a multi-talented artist who describes himself as the "self-styled punk rock Willy Wonka"—shared insights about his creative journey and his mission to revolutionize how musicians earn income in today's digital landscape.
Sasha has a rich and varied background that spans multiple creative disciplines. As someone who has performed on over 1,000 stages worldwide, including a run on Broadway in 2016, he brings a unique perspective to the challenges facing artists today. His Broadway experience with "The Illusionists: Turn of the Century" became the highest-grossing magic show in Broadway history. This achievement represents just one facet of his diverse career that encompasses magic, music, theater, writing, and entrepreneurship.
What makes Sasha particularly interesting is how he integrates his theatrical background into his musical performances. He explained that he creates "chaos at the intersection of theater and music," bringing theatrical elements to his punk rock performances. Likening himself to Willy Wonka, he embodies that character's unpredictability and electric energy on stage. Rather than being a "shoegazing" musician who avoids audience interaction, Sasha makes direct connections with audience members, sometimes incorporating unexpected elements like props and balloon animals into his performances.
The most compelling part of the conversation focused on the current state of the music industry and Sasha's solution through his company Fairvu. He articulated how the industry fundamentally changed with the advent of Napster, followed by platforms like Kazaa and LimeWire. The traditional cycle of recording an album, touring to support it, and selling physical copies has been disrupted by streaming services that provide music essentially for free to consumers while paying artists minimal compensation.
Fairvu, a benefit corporation co-founded by Sasha and his middle school friend Telson, aims to create a digital platform that offers musicians new revenue streams. The platform will provide three key services: live streaming concerts with virtual ticket sales, media-on-demand storage for previous performances, and an e-commerce storefront for merchandise. Most importantly, the platform will allow artists to keep approximately 90% of their earnings—a stark contrast to the 10-15% typically offered by traditional industry models.
What sets Fairvu apart is its structure as a benefit corporation, which requires balancing profit with providing direct benefits to the community. Sasha emphasized their commitment to transparency, noting that all company meetings are live-streamed and publicly available. Rather than seeking a few large investors, they're taking a grassroots approach by asking half a million musicians to contribute just $5 each to build the platform.
Beyond Fairvu, Sasha continues to pursue various creative projects, including writing a TED talk about embracing life after 40, producing a podcast called "Magoosh Medrick, Vampire Hunter" (a dark comedy radio drama), performing magic shows, and installing illusion shows at Six Flags parks. His multifaceted career demonstrates how artists can diversify their creative output while remaining true to their artistic vision.
For musicians and fans interested in supporting Fairvu, visit fairvu.net to learn more about their mission and purchase virtual products that will help fund the platform's development. As the music industry continues to evolve, initiatives like Fairvu offer hope for a more equitable future where artists receive fair compensation for their work and can maintain direct relationships with their fans.
