On Saturday 7th August, Llanwrtyd Wells will play host to a community music festival ‘Chapel Presents’ designed to showcase a new technology platform which will change the way artists and performers get paid for gigs.

The brainchild of Llanwrtyd Wells-born tech entrepreneur, Irfon Watkins and his long-time friend and Kasabian Drummer Ian Matthews, the technology uses a new cryptocurrency which will generate long term royalty payments to artists.

The world-first concept is the culmination of almost two years’ work by the duo following the purchase of the local Chapel in Irfon’s hometown of Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales in 2019. The Chapel building is currently being refurbished and will ultimately be run as a performance venue using the new platform.

Irfon and Ian identified a need to drastically overhaul the music industry to ensure that artists get paid appropriately, particularly in light of the pandemic which has affected the livelihoods of so many performers.

A selection of artists will play in the town’s three pubs at the free-to-attend event on 7 August called ‘Chapel Presents’ culminating in an evening showcase for 300 people in the town hall. The event will be used to unveil the new not-for-profit CHPL.Live foundation and tech platform which will provide long term royalties for artists as an alternative to being paid for a one-off performance.

The new concept works using a decentralised finance (DeFi) model*. The venue creates a ‘gig’ webpage linked to CHPL.Live. The venue then allocates a proportion of ticket sales into the platform, which is then invested into an online fund, known as a yield farm. Residual income can then be earnt over time in the yield farm and returned to the venue and artist in the form of the platform’s own cryptocurrency tokens, called CHPL.

In addition, digital collectibles can also be created by the artist and venue. Called non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, these collectibles could be a range of digital magic moments such as special edition digital images, holograms, or one-off gig video clips. Ticketholders will receive access to these collectibles to either keep as digital memories of the event or be traded in the Chapel’s online NFT marketplace.

Co-founder Irfon Watkins commented: “I am excited to be able to bring together two of my great passions for this new business model for the music industry, my love of technology and music and all in the heart of my hometown.

“The platform will demonstrate how performances can have a value after a gig is played. It is a world first progressive solution for artists to be paid beyond a one-off performance fee.”

Ian Matthews added: “As an artist myself I have seen how many performers do not receive the compensation they should for their shows and tours. The Chapel Platform has been designed to shake up the music industry and create a future proof business model which generates genuine and long-term revenue for artists.”

Chapel Presents will also kickstart community fundraising to support the local playing field restoration project in Llanwrtyd Wells. Attendees will be able to contribute in-person on the day or via Fundsurfer.

As lockdown restrictions begin to ease, Chapel Presents is an exciting addition to the local events calendar.

Ticket registrations will be strictly for local residents and limited to 300 via Chapel Wales.