A NEW MISSION FOR THE ART OF MUSIC

Introduction: The Broken Music System
Zyneth Music is a South African music company founded in October 2023, born from a passion for music creation and a desire for full artistic ownership. This journey quickly revealed the systemic flaws in the current music industry. For a musician, particularly in the South African context, it is exceptionally difficult not only to break into an already saturated scene but also to retain control over their music determining where it goes, who listens to it, how they consume it, and its inherent value. Zyneth Music's mission has evolved beyond personal control to a commitment to liberate the artist and bring value, meaning, significance, and respect back to the art of music. The company aims to find a successful, single approach to music that will inspire creatives for generations to come.

The Problems and Zyneth Music's Approach
The Zyneth Music mission addresses nine core problems facing a musician today. It’s important to note that not all problems listed below are necessarily an inconvenience to the Artist, but rather it’s our exploration and research into how we can create a platform that enables an Artist to make original music rich in narrative & culture and to eventually be able to live off of their
craft.

1. The Value Of Music
Problem: Music's value is often reduced to an artifact of celebrity and a lifestyle choice, losing the appreciation for its complexity. As Havighurst (2019) notes, "Those who care about the future of the music business ought to spend less time complaining about digital disruptions and expend more energy lifting up the public’s awareness of serious music."

Our Approach: To combat this devaluation, Zyneth Music will integrate filming into the creative process. This provides the listener with a deep understanding of the piece's intention, purpose, and narrative—explaining how composition, sound design, instrumentation, and other musical elements contribute to the bigger story (Programme Music).

2. Artists Wearing Multiple Hats (Social Media)
Problem: Today, musicians must spend vast amounts of time and resources on marketing to get their music heard in the "noisy and over-saturated space of social media." They are often forced to adopt a social media persona, like a "social media influencer," to attract clicks, abandoning their core focus on art. The current social media design prioritizes the "loudest, shiniest, quickest form of content."

Our Approach: Zyneth Music will focus on creating and fostering a skill for making music that speaks for itself. By crafting music with complexity and sophistication that captures attention and takes the listener on a journey, the artist can focus their energy on the art they are proud of, eliminating the need to "perform for attention."

3. Hyper-Supply of Music (Saturation of Music)
Problem: With 120,000 songs distributed daily, music is rapidly losing value and meaning. The industry's current business model favors Quantity over Quality, leading to "Little Moments of Dopamine," shorter songs, and less sophisticated compositions. This oversaturation directly reduces artist royalty payouts and encourages trend-chasing. Furthermore, the merging of music with other entertainment formats (podcasts, TV, movies) on streaming platforms reduces it to "background noise to be exploited at will."

Our Approach: Zyneth Music will treat Streaming as a last resort or archive for music that has exhausted its sales and marketing. The focus will be on direct sales and live performance first. This model separates Zyneth Music from the streaming platform deluge, treating the product as a luxury item with a story, using a "scarcity" business model that allows for higher pricing and a singular platform limit.

4. Streaming + Piracy
Problem: While streaming solved the piracy problem by offering a convenient, all-access platform for a low monthly fee, it simultaneously led to the devaluation of music, reducing it to background filler (Playlists). The current model fails to recognize the difference in compositional value—treating a 10-minute, sophisticated piece the same as a 2-minute, 5-minute-to-make contemporary pop song. Piracy, though curbed, remains a threat, especially for models involving downloadable digital media, like our direct to consumer model.

Our Approach: By imbuing the music with deep meaning and intention, Zyneth Music creates a sense of respect and appreciation, relying on human morality not to pirate the work. Streaming will be a last resort. The company will separate its music onto its own platform, charging a fixed price based on the music's value, and focusing on High Quality Music, rich in narrative.

5. Significance of a Composition
Problem: Much of today's music lacks intention, purpose, or narrative, existing merely to fill a void of silence or to serve as background for other art forms ("Music without intention is just noise").

Our Approach: Every song must have an identity tied to the writer's style (instrument, rhythm, sound). Starting the creative process with a narrative, intention, or meaning gives the song significance, which will carry the listener through the piece. This significance, coupled with the creative process videos, fosters appreciation and respect for the craftsmanship.

6. Music Law (The Industry)
Problem: The music industry and law are complicated and confusing, especially with the rise of AI. Given that all music is based on a limited number of musical notes, it is increasingly difficult to create a piece that does not sound like something already existing, making regulation difficult for lawmakers.

Our Approach: When the music is tied to an identity and a story / narrative, it becomes easier to make music that stands out and can easily be identified, especially when comparing to music made with AI. We also create our own music industry that operates on its own rules, where the value of music is tied to compositional value and perceived value by listeners.

7. Music Creation
Problem: Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs), sampling, and loop packs have made music easier and faster to make. This has caused a loss of essential skills like sound design and the incentive to learn music theory and dive deeper into original compositions. Artists now operate on the principle: "if it sounds good, then it's good enough."

Our Approach: Fostering the skill of making music rich in narrative, intention, or meaning. We use a contextual approach for creation:

1. Intention: Intention, Problem to solve, Purpose & Story.
2. Context: History, Culture, Heritage, Local Sounds, Location, Time and People.
3. Precedent: Learning from past examples of similar work
4. Composition: Combination of Musical Elements (Time signature, Tempo, Rhythm, Chord Progression, Melody, Key) to drive the intention.
5. Instrumentation
6. Arrangement
7. Mixing and Mastering: Turning the steps into a final recording.

8. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Music
Problem: AI models can now generate music based on a user's prompt, making everyone a music creator. This is comparable to the Iphone making everyone a photographer, it never really got rid of photographers, but allowed everyone to capture memories on their cellphone. Photographers are still in high demand because of the quality & skill involved. AI is not a threat to music itself, but rather it’s a threat to critical thinking and creativity when making music.

Our Approach: While AI will become faster and more sophisticated, Zyneth Music's focus on unique, narrative-driven music will ensure its identity is recognizable and stands out, even in the over-saturated world of Human and AI music. The skill and Knowledge of making music from its composition to the final mix will forever stand out from Artificially Generated Music.

9. Our Audience (Perception and Composition)
Problem: Streaming's convenience has resulted in music being perceived as "cheap" and "noise to fill the silence." The public often lacks the awareness of music theory needed to appreciate complex music, gravitating towards simple, repetitive chords and melodies. Havighurst (2020) suggests: "The re-valuing of music is a function of helping folks know what they should be listening for when a song and singer aren’t the main focus of attention."

Our Approach: By filming the creative process, we give our audience a basic understanding of the story and intention and help them know what to listen for when listening. To give audiences the experience they are subconsciously looking for in this age of short content: longer pieces with meaning and significance. This will change their perception of music from background noise to a piece of art to be appreciated.

References

• Havighurst, C. (2019) The devaluation of music: It’s worse than you think, Medium. Available at:
  https://medium.com/cuepoint/the-devaluation-of-music-it-s-worse-than-you-think-f4cf5f26a888 (Accessed: 15 November 2025).
• Havighurst, C. (2020) Re-valuing music: Seven YouTube explainers to follow and promote, Medium. Available at: https://chavighurst.medium.com/re-valuing-music-seven-youtube-explainers-to-follow-and-promote-44f2cb2dd744 (Accessed: 15 November 2025).
• Leyshon, A. & Watson, A. (2025). The Rise of the Platform Music Industries. Agenda Publishing. Source Document: Excerpts from "9781788218207\ _WEB.pdf
• Challis, B. (2009). ‘The Song Remains the Same: A Review of the Legalities of Music Sampling’. WIPO Magazine (Nov 11). Source Document: Excerpts from "The Song Remains the Same: A Review of the Legalities of Music Sampling".
• Marshall, L. (2015). ‘“Let’s Keep Music Special. F—Spotify”: On-Demand Streaming and the Controversy over Artist Royalties’. Creative Industries Journal, 8(2), 177–89. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17510694.2015.1096618