Like many in her genre, London-based music artist Rosa Cecilia releases a new single next week. But this time around, Cecilia is leaving Spotify out to dry and demanding that listeners pay a small fee (£3.99) if they want to listen. 

The new song, entitled “Justify // acoustic”, will be available exclusively on two platforms; Bandcamp and Sound.xyz. Bandcamp allows artists to control how they sell their music with fans paying via PayPal. Sound.xyz is an NFT marketplace allowing artists to mint music NFTs utilising blockchain technology. Users can pay in either crypto or regular currency – but don’t let that put you off!

“I wanted to release on both platforms as they serve very different functions. Bandcamp is familiar and therefore attractive to all audiences. Sound.xyz is the biggest name in the Web3 music world – it was funded by Snoop Dogg – so those into Web3 and crypto will notice. I have a diverse audience and while my followers on Twitter are super passionate about the blockchain, most of my followers on Instagram are young people just looking forward to downloading a new song!” 

Sound.xyz also boasts 300,000 active monthly collectors which opens doors to a whole new potential audience for Cecilia who has been invested in the world of Web3 for a year. While she is fascinated by how dedicated fans are willing to financially invest in the artists they love, Cecilia is also very aware of the scepticism and taboo surrounding music NFTs. 

“They’re just not sexy! The name NFT itself is not attractive and makes a project sound more techy than entertaining. I think most listeners, including myself, just want to know if they can receive a piece of art that can be downloaded and received in under a minute. I don’t want to market my song as an NFT, it’s just an exclusive piece of content that happens to reap the benefits of being recorded on the blockchain. 

That’s what I love about Sound.xyz, it’s so smart. Users can pay in crypto or in regular currency using Google Pay if they wish to do so. Music and tech should be as inclusive as possible. Not just something reserved for rich white tech guys.”

We asked Cecilia why she has waited a year to monetise a song and also to mark her musical debut on the blockchain. 

“After a year of growing my audience for a year both inside and outside of web3, I recently had one of my Instagram Reels go viral and saw a surge in following and engagement. I wanted to engage with this new fanbase as soon as possible by providing them with a new piece of music. 

I had “Justify // acoustic” in my back catalogue and while I love it, it is an intimate acoustic recording and doesn’t necessarily fit in with the more produced work I have on my Spotify and Apple Music profile. So I thought, why not offer it as an intimate recording at an affordable price to my followers – both old and new.”

“Justify // acoustic” is written and performed by Cecilia and features her sultry vocals alongside Spanish guitar and a warm accompaniment on trombone and trumpet.

“To be clear, this decision does not mean I am saying goodbye to traditional streaming services like Spotify. Bandcamp and Sound.xyz are brilliantly flexible. ‘Justify // acoustic’ acts almost as merch at this point; I want to provide something intimate and additional to my most dedicated fans.” 

“Justify // acoustic” will be available for purchase on August 21st via Rosa Cecilia’s profiles on Bandcamp and Sound.xyz.