The concept of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is no news to those in the blockchain space. A lot of items (both physical and digital) can be converted into digital tokens. Among the various growing NFT ecosystems, music NFTs are one of the most growing.
Merely looking at music NFTs, they can be seen as a blockchain alternative to buying tracks on iTunes, Spotify and other streaming platforms. Buying music NFTs allow people to listen to music and at the same time grant a level of ownership of the music to the holder.
This is in contrast to buying songs on traditional music platforms such as iTunes which only allows people to listen to music.
Music NFTs are certificates of ownership that can be bought or sold for a unique audio or music piece. The use of NFTs as proof of ownership and a certificate of validity that can be verified has been leveraged by the music industry.
Through music NFTs, artists are now able to claim full ownership of their music. This eliminates the need to share the earned income with middlemen (lawyers and music labels)
Music NFTs serve as a lucrative stream of income for some artists.
For example, a music NFT supporter said in a tweet that Bajan rapper Haleek Maul made $226,800 in music NFT sales on Catalog. This is higher than his annual Spotify earnings of $178. He also made a list of four other artists whose income has increased by leveraging music NFTs. This proves that the Music NFT ecosystem tends to be a more lucrative source of income for artists.
General utilities of music NFTs
- They can be used to get concert tickets at a discounted rate
- They can be used to gain access to special areas (VIP stands) in the concert.
- They also allow holders to meet up with the artists physically.
- Enables revenue share between artists and fans
Relationship between web3 and music NFTs
Web3 in practice upholds the creation and production of content for monetary rewards. In line with this, independent musicians without record labels can produce a track and still keep all the proceeds through music NFTs. This is because NFTs generally allow the complete ownership and control of works by artists. This includes monetary control.
In addition to this, musicians who leverage web3 and music NFTs are not bound by streaming platform services since they can now get to send their songs to the public via music NFTs.
Also, through music NFTs, a new revenue diversification path is opened for independent musicians.
Music NFTs give artists a platform to diversify their revenue streams (traditional platforms and blockchain) as they develop content for their audience. Examples of music NFTs are Kings of Leon, Grimes and 3LAU.
Music NFT marketplaces
Music NFTs can be traded on different marketplaces. Single-edition music NFTs are based on Zora protocol and can be traded on Zora marketplace. FormFunction also facilitates single edition music NFTs.
Also, limited music editions such as 20 NFTs issued for one track can be found on sound.xyz. These can be resold secondarily on Opensea.
Some marketplaces only facilitate a specific genre. For example, Groovetime is a platform for dance music NFTs. Beat Foundry is for generative music. This genre involves human-computer collaboration.
You might want to decide and think about why you should buy a music as an NFT when you can already listen to it? The answer to this question is the same as buying JPEGs NFTs that you can click on and save. Markets, or people, find value in the ownership certification of unique & original assets, and of course, possibility of supporting artists and revenue share.
Read Also:
5 ways to make money with NFTs
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