The Latest Developments in the World of Music NFTs

Just when you think the NFT bubble is about to burst, more artists hop on the trend.

With so many major names like The Weeknd, Kings of Leon, Grimes and ASAP Rocky embracing NFTs, it’s becoming harder to imagine a world without them.

But the concept of collecting art is nothing new. People have bought paintings and sculptures for decades.

So- why should NFTs be any different?

That line of thought is exactly why this trend quickly evolved into a new norm in the music and art industry. Anything from physical merchandise to audiovisual clips get packaged and sold as NFTs every day.

Each NFT comes with a certificate of ownership. It’s true that in the minimally regulated cryptocurrency universe, the extend of that ownership is open to debate. But there’s one common point everyone seems to agree on: unlike cryptocurrencies, NFTs are unique. As long as it’s a collectible item, anything can be presented as an NFT and auctioned off. Even tweets!

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the music industry found solidarity in NFTs in the midst of the pandemic.

Tours have been on hold for over a year and the payout from streams on digital music platforms doesn’t cover basic living costs for most.

NFTs provide an unexpected financial boost for many musicians. And because it’s such an open-ended format, the possibilities are endless.

Here are a few music NFTs that caught our attention recently.

1. Master splits as NFTs.

Many onlookers question the legitimacy of NFT ownership. Some NFTs sell for millions, which seems steep. It’s one thing to support an artist. It’s quite another to drop a fortune on a piece without a promise of profit.

The folks at Ditto Music get the skepticism factor.

There was already talk about offering fragments of copyright to investors in the music industry. But the distribution company took the first step towards making this idea a reality.

It makes sense, too: after all, Ditto Music artists can collect their earnings directly from the service. Thus, all the NFT owners have to do is open an account to do the same.

To put this idea to test, Ditto Music teamed up with artists Big Zuu and Taylor Bennett. Big Zuu offered 50% of the rights to a new track of his while Taylor Bennett agreed to give away 75% of his master. Two separate projects and two different fanbases. But the results were shockingly similar. The NFTs, divided up into small fractions, apparently sold out in minutes.

In the past, there have been reports of artists and songwriters selling, leasing or licensing their catalogue. Naturally, if you play a part in creating a hit, you’ve got some options. But with NFTs, even musicians who are on their way up can attract potential investors.

2. Audiovisual art as NFTs.

If you visit any of the popular NFT marketplaces today, such as Rarible, Nifty Gateway, OpenSea and Zora, you’ll find countless audiovisual clips.

Even big names like The Weeknd, Grimes, Mike Shinoda, deadmau5, RAC, 3LAU and Mick Jagger joined in on the fun.

We’ve noticed that several musicians and visual artists here on Fiverr have already entered the NFT space, too!

Audiovisual NFTs open a lot of doors for mutually beneficial collaborations between visual and musical artists. Plus, such collaborations can easily be promoted on social media platforms that favor short videos, like Instagram and TikTok.

3. Physical merch as NFTs.

Some go as far as releasing the limited vinyl, cassette or CD editions of their new album as NFTs before it drops on digital music platforms. Others create different types of exclusive merchandise for NFT buyers.

Bands like Kings of Leon and 3LAU fall into this category. Then, there are others who think outside the box.

Take RAC, for instance. The Grammy-winning producer auctioned off a one-of-a-kind sculpture/speaker recently. The most alluring part of the installation? The one-hour-long ambient composition that lives inside the speaker.

Another exciting example came from ASAP Rocky. The rapper just announced an NFT collection that features a snippet of his song, “Sandman”. That, in and of itself, does not sound all that interesting. But here’s the cherry on top: the buyers of the NFTs will automatically enter a raffle. The grand prize? One of the vehicles the rapper displayed on stage during the 2019 Injured Generation Tour.

It’s unconceivable for most artists to afford such luxurious proposals. Nonetheless, smaller limited edition items could be a nice way to support a release cycle, too.

4. VIP passes and meet & greets as NFTs.

Alongside the vinyl editions of their album, Kings of Leon also reportedly offered VIP tickets to their NFT buyers. ASAP Rocky takes this idea one step further by offering a studio tour.

Lupe Fiasco, on the other hand, is auctioning off exclusive access to a future livestream concert and online meet-and-greet tickets.

It’ll be interesting to see how big a part such NFTs will play in the entertainment industry once live shows and tours come back.

5. Collaboration invites as NFTs.

Some artists recently experimented with using NFTs to attract commission-based work.

The idea is that the buyer is permitted to give the seller a brief. The seller, or in other words, the artist, will then create a musical composition based on that brief.

3LAU, who has been the torchbearer of music NFTs, minted such a collaborative opportunity not too long ago.

Once again, this concept is far from new. In fact, classical music composers have largely relied on commissions to make a living off of music for hundreds of years.

Still, both collecting art and commission-based work are much needed at a time like this in the music industry. For the sellers, producing NFTs is a low-risk way of acquiring a new source of income.

The post The Latest Developments in the World of Music NFTs appeared first on .