We hold these truths to be self-evident:

• We believe that music is a fundamental human right, the fulfillment of an essential urge to create and communicate and to share experiences, both human and divine, in a universal language.
• We believe that creators (including songwriters, singers, musicians, producers, and engineers) deserve to own their own music, control their own intellectual property, and to share it as freely as they wish while still benefiting fully and fairly from the transaction.
• We believe that a sacred covenant as old as time itself exists between the artist and their audience. Over the past century the corporate music industry has devised ways to trespass upon the sanctitude of that relationship, usurping the rights of the creator and profiting unfairly from the audience’s love of music. We hereby reject these unfair practices.
• We believe that the rise of Web 3.0 technology—more specifically the Blockchain, NFTs, and smart contracts—will allow artists to empower themselves and their audiences with unprecedented transparency and fairness, and make possible an exciting new interaction between artist and audience.
• We believe that music should be a force for good, and as such we call on artists everywhere to devote some part of the proceeds from their smart contracts to giving back to humanity in any way they see fit. In that same spirit, we challenge Web 3.0 platforms to move away from technologies that destroy the earth’s environment and build in carbon offsets to their smart contracts.
• We, therefore, the founders of EQ Exchange, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do in the name of music makers all over the world, for the rectitude of our intentions, do in the name and by Authority of the good people of the world, solemnly publish and declare that these artists are, and of right out to be, free and independent creators. That they should be absolved from all allegiance to exploitation by companies who treat them unfairly. That as free and independent artists they should have full power to create music, contract alliances with their audience, establish commerce, and to do all other things which independent artists may of right do.