Introduction
It’s brutally hard for most musicians to make money in the streaming era. Artists get paid fractions of pennies per stream, with many struggling to find sizable audiences at all.
Most people would not be able to sleep after that and following a long night of frustration for not having joined sooner, the next day they would not stop researching how to develop an NFTs project.
Throughout the history of this industry, we gradually stopped monetizing the music itself (for example: albums with songs) and started to monetize through what can be generated with the music (for example: events).
Will it ever be possible to connect these two worlds? Monetize thanks to the music and also thanks to what generates…
Well, we happen to possibly be on the brink of a revolution in how artistic and cultural expression is monetized. NFTs might just be the biggest disruptor to the music industry since streaming.
NFTs bring a clear, innovative and secure proposal for this to happen.
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Music NFT
A History of Vinyl Records, CD’s and Cassettes
In order to determine if something could be a solution, we first need to analyze the problem
During the 90’s, the music industry revolved around Vinyl Discs.
This was the big thing, and Records Labels make a huge amount of money here.
Discs were a physical piece that transported the music of an artist and also the rights to reproduce it.
Some people see these discs as a collectible so they pay unbelievable prices for them.
Imagine, the most expensive vinyl is Wu-Tang Klan’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Shaolin’ album. The only copy of which was purchased for $2 million dollars.
With the evolution of the market we started to see Cassettes and Compact Discs. This era didn’t stay so long as the Vinile Discs, but they had a certain market.
This format of monetizing the music had some inconvenience because they could be replicated very easily. Despite this, the originals still had some value because they were recognizable and they conserved the reproduction rights.
As we can see, everything has its end and the cassettes also had them…
They were replaced with a technological solution: Digital Files.
Digital Music Files Increased Distribution
This was and still is a very difficult market to handle. With digital files the piracy is huge.
This is because every copy of a digital file is the same as the original, so you can’t recognize what is the real file.
Due to the problems related to authenticity, the market of digital files had a big devaluation.
Seeing this, record labels start to think how they can earn money around the talent of the artists.
During this time, they start to give more importance to merchandising, copyright and events.
Streaming platforms came and said, “Hello! We have a solution” so Labels start to negotiate deals with Spotify, Apple Music and others to put artists’ music there and receive a certain amount per each reproduction.
NFT Music Will Disrupt Streaming Services Such as Spotify
This is not a bad way to monetize, but the gains are much less because you have a lot of 3rd parties that need to be rewarded too. If we could have a way to monetize music, and combine it with all the other aspects of artists, like events and merchandise would be amazing, right?
Well… we don’t have to wait so long because NFTs are the solution! They allow you to combine all these concepts.
Music NFT
What is a “Music NFT”?
A NFT could be any digital file (for example: a MP3) that thanks to being powered by Blockchain Technology you can verify the authenticity or the uniqueness of it.
First, you need to understand that Blockchain Technology works like a public ledger. This technology records all the things that happen related to the file (who created it, who bought it, at what price someone bought it, who were the previous buyers, etc).
By having access to this free diet plans data that is public and accessible to everyone, we can verify the authenticity or every single fact we want related to the file.
Knowing this, we can imagine why NFTs have a lot of potential… They are bringing a solution for you to sell your music in a digital way avoiding the big problems that you had before:
NFT’s Help with Music Licensing
You can give certain rights to the owners and as I said before, you can verify who is the owner, so you can know who is the person that is rapping your rights and act based on that.
Create NFT Your Own NFT Marketplace
If you want, you can now create your own marketplace and sell your NFTs without any intermediary, but If you want to use an existing NFT marketplace, the deals are awesome too. The fee you need to pay is very low, you are going to receive like 98% of the revenue. Insine right?
Transparency in Music Distribution
No one can falsify or give you fake data because all the information is public and every single person could see it.
Create a Valuable Market for your Music NFTs
With traditional deals, or with traditional ways to monetize the music you limit your growth.
What if you are receiving $0,15 of every reproduction of your album and others such as RAC launch a NFT album and gain more than 4M dollars with the first sale?
If you follow the traditional ways, you are limiting your value to what spotify says and not to what the market says.
With traditional deals, or with traditional ways to monetize the music you limit your growth.
What if you are receiving $0,15 of every reproduction of your album and others such as RAC launch a NFT album and gain more than 4M dollars with the first sale?
If you follow the traditional ways, you are limiting your value to what spotify says and not to what the market says.
Music NFTs Create Royalty Passive Income
NFT’s have a feature called “royalty”. This means every time your NFT is resold you are going to receive a certain percentage. For example: Every single time your song resells, you receive a 10%.
Imagine, you could be on the beach drinking a mojito and receive money, it’s awesome!
How to do a successful Music NFT?
If you are still insecure, I’m going to tell you that the extremely famous band, Kings of Leons, launched NFTs based on their last album and earned more than 2M dollars… Nothing bad, right?
We also have the winner of the grammy for the best remix 2021 doing NFTs. He’s name is “RAC”.
Snoop dogg, Deadmau5, Lil Pump, Mike Shinoda, 3blau, Grimes and I could continue naming more artists, are doing NFTs.
So… what are the things I need to consider in order to create a successful NFT?
SO HOW TO DO MUSIC NFTS?
— Dyl 🔥 (@famous_dyl) October 26, 2021
First of all. Let me say there is NO standard for music NFTs. We are inventing this as we go. This is about learning and building together. Any approach can work. I truly mean that. I’m not the music NFT police. Try your own way and see what works…10/23
- Visuals
Music is art for the ears and visuals are art for the eyes.
Every day it is more common to hear “integral experience” and this is not just for any reason, studies support that the more senses are stimulated at the same time, the more retention the user has.
- Rarity.
People like to buy stranger things as much as they love to say that they one of the little owners.
The rarity decides how rare an NFT is and in turn, how valuable it is. Rare NFTs are most highly sought after by collectors, which pushes their price up.
- Utility.
Connect your NFT to real world use cases & products.
Some people issue NFTs as VIP access to all their shows, others such as tickets to a concert or even as a request of merch, you may decide how to do it!
- Pricing.
You have to offer a good menu!
Imagine your profile in the marketplace as a restaurant menu. There must be cheap, expensive, in-between, combos, discounts and lots of innovation.
This will help you to gain more collectors and in the long run to be more successful!
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Crowdcreate is a leading crypto, NFT, web3, and metaverse marketing agency that’s helped some of the top projects in crypto create buzz, grow a digital community, and connect with influencers & investors.
Music NFT
How Musicians Can Use NFTs
- Launch your new album in NFT format.
- Launch NFTs as a representation of tickets.
- Launch NFTs that give VIP access.
- Launch collections of NFTs with different rarity around a topic that represent you.
- Do Virtual Concerts in the Metaverse.
- Develop Virtual Merchandising.
Music NFT
How to get started?
Well jumping into action is the most difficult thing ever, especially in this changing world full of information.
Coopahtroopa developed a spectacular thread giving some tips, let’s take a look at them:
I went from 900 to 125,000 followers in 12 months.
— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) December 26, 2021
But 90% of that growth came from 9 threads - which on their own generated 20,000,000 views.
So here's a recap of those 9 threads (and what they can help you with):
- Make an Audius account – Free to register, no web3 experience required – Upload a track and connect a Metamask and Phantom wallet to display your NFTs.
2. Apply for Catalog – Set up a profile and fill out the artist form to start minting 1/1 Music NFTs – The best way to move up the queue is to be active in the web3 community.
3. Sign up for sound.xyz – Connect a wallet and claim your handle – Set a reminder for 2 PST / 5 EST for daily Music NFT drops – Every Listening Party has sold out so far – so be ready!
NFT music start-up, https://t.co/pnimlALk5s, has raised a staggering $5 million in its latest round of funding, which will be used to beef up the development of its platform.
— NFT Plazas ⏹️ NFT News (@NFTPlazas) December 19, 2021
READ MORE ➡️ https://t.co/ZWHwEEzwm3#nfts #Music #NFTmusic #artcollector pic.twitter.com/ZufND7AFfk
4. Submit a sample to Arpeggi Labs – As the first on-chain DAW, producers can tokenize source files or contribute to a global library of CC0 samples – After submitting, pick up a Studio Pass to mint your track as a Music NFT.
Accepting Submissions for The World’s First On-Chain CC0 Sample Library https://t.co/N7VVI39x1n
— Arpeggi Labs (@arpeggi_labs) November 24, 2021
5. Apply for Royal – Royal gives fans true ownership of songs through royalty-backed Music NFTs – Fill out the onboarding form and refer your friends to move up the queue
6. Make a Foundation account – With a focus on visual work, Foundation offers a diverse community of creators to partner with – Sign up as a collector, or apply to become a creator.
✦ 𝕬 𝖄𝖊𝖆𝖗 𝖎𝖓 𝕴𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖊𝖘 ✦
— Foundation 🌐 (@withFND) December 27, 2021
From @NyanCat to Edward @Snowden's genesis NFT, and the makings of the legends of @ix_shells and @pplpleasr1, there were many history-making moments that took center stage on Foundation in 2021.
↳ https://t.co/kh3ZYrsTHc pic.twitter.com/OXWtok5Pln
7. Join the Song Camp Community – Jump into Discord and set a reminder for the weekly Heartbeat calls at 1 PST – Here you’ll meet a growing family of web3-curious musicians.
8. Apply for Friends With Benefits ($FWB) local – Tap into the intersection of culture and crypto through a tokenized community of creatives – Join a local chapter in LA, NYC or London – Pop into all digital and physical events for 5 $FWB.
9. Read the Water And Music reports – Stay up with a community of researchers covering the intersection of music and technology – Earn $STREAM by contributing or simply enjoy the ever evolving Music NFT landscape.
gm... we are very excited to announce that our $STREAM Season 1 report rollout is now LIVE!!!!
— Water & Music (@water_and_music) December 13, 2021
we'll be rolling out our inaugural collab report on music/Web3 in 5 parts, one for every weekday this week. the full schedule + member-contributor list is here:https://t.co/XN3F7SgXZN
1. Follow NFT now – Stay up with the latest in NFTs through articles, interviews and behind the scenes deep-dives – Start with the top moments of 2021.
11. Make a POAP for a live show – POAPs are free NFTs representing attendance to a digital or physical event – Start building a social graph by giving them away at a show or emailing fans a claim code the next day!
It was always stated that @poapxyz is an *ecosystem* for the preservation of memories.
— izgnzlz.eth (@izgnzlz) December 14, 2021
Today I'd like to present the meaning of the word ecosystem, in the context of POAP and what we're working towards. 🧵 (1/15)
12. Start a Mirror blog – This is your home to contextualize all your web3 ambitions – From writing to crowdfunds, Mirror is your home to communicate with the general public.
13. Find a Record Label DAO – Tap into Good Karma DAO to meet a new wave of web3 artists – Join the Dreams Never Die Records DAO family to curate up and coming talent.
Looking for a Blockchain Marketing Agency?
Crowdcreate is a leading crypto, NFT, web3, and metaverse marketing agency that’s helped some of the top projects in crypto create buzz, grow a digital community, and connect with influencers & investors.
Music NFT
Final thoughts
We need to accept that we are living in a more technological society for nature. We are not doing meetings in offices any more, we are doing the meetings via zoom; we watch Netflix instead of going to the cinema; we don’t play our music on a disc touch, we play our music on Spotify.
These things are reflections that we are evolving and NFTs could play a role in the evolving of
the music industry.
