Web3 and the NFT space – active mostly on Twitter and Discord – is bringing the idea of decentralisation to the modern, up and coming music space.
Today, most musicians release their music and albums in both physical formats and on popular streaming platforms, such as Spotify and Apple Music. Unfortunately, even if their singles or albums are streamed thousands of times, their revenues are still under par.
According to Spotify Royalty Calculator, an artist would earn around 400 USD for every 100,000 streams. This number is far below their marketing expenses.
NFTs can bring huge relief to artists. It gives them full royalty over the sales of their music piece, without having to pay for any third-party service.
They can also sell their music NFT album directly to buyers, without involving any third party. By using NFTs, musicians can sell their songs more efficiently and even forge a better bond with their fans.
Music NFT platforms are expected to bring long-term advantages to artists, including musicians, especially those who are still struggling against the status quo from their respective streaming platforms. At some points, NFT might even become a better alternative than streaming platforms, which invisibly control the music industry today.
Just like a digital music album, an NFT album is a music album launched in NFT format. With this technology, musicians can sell their albums directly to buyers.
NFTs also offer more personalisation. It’s the digital version of getting a CD or vinyl signed with a personal written message from your favourite artist in the 20th century.
The sales mechanism itself is usually determined by the music NFT marketplace. In this case, there are usually 2 sales options. Musicians can either sell their NFT albums and music at a fixed price or through an auction.
Artists with bigger platforms, such as Snoop Dogg, tend to sell at fixed price whereas up and coming artists like to test the waters and can often be surprised via auction.
Here are some music artists to watch in the NFT space right now
Damion Young, better known by his stage name Damizza, is an American radio executive, record producer, artist and author. Young has rubbed shoulders with the likes of Mariah Carey and the legendary Aaliyah. A name in the hip hop and RnB scene in the states, Damizza is now taking to the world fo NFTs and passing his wisdom down to young and exciting talent emerging from this space.
Italian music artist Violetta hosts web spaces every weekday where she covers and array of topics and answered her 25k+ audience’s questions surrounding NFTs, women in music and simply playlist favourites. Having harnessed an impressive following so early on, Zironi is one to watch.
Torey Lanez
Canadian artist, Tory Lanez, released his PLAYBOY NFT music album. The album features 3 new songs, never released before on any platform. The Capsule Album is available in NFT format on Bondly.Finance. After a successful launch of his first NFT album, Tory Lanez announced in August 2021 that he would release his next album also in NFT. Going by “When It’s Dark”, this new album features 7 songs. It was officially released on October 8th, 2021 at 1000 USD.
3LAU
In February 2022, 3LAU (read: BLAU) re-released his 2018 album in NFT. So far, the EDM artist has sold 33 NFT albums. Buyers can redeem their albums with various products, from 3LAU special edition vinyl albums, never-released songs, to several special experiences.
Instead of choosing a marketplace to sell their music, like many other artists, 3LAU chooses auction. The auction was streamed live by the musician, whose real name is Justin Lau, on his personal Twitter account.
3LAU’s NFT auction was concluded at the end of February last month. The event went live for 48 hours. It was held to commemorate 3 years after the first release of his Ultraviolet album. Through the auction, 3LAU managed to earn a profit of nearly 11.6 million USD.
Is it worth getting involved in Web3 as a music artist?
Many musicians and the industry as a whole are becoming aware that NFTs are already part of the future of music sales in the industry. This technology offers numerous advantages, not only in terms of royalty and licence, but it also strengthens the bond between the artists and their fans. NFTs, Twitter spaces and Web 3 are great ways to develop and harness a tight knit fan base.
