The music industry does not have a sterling reputation when it comes to profit sharing with its artists. It’s no secret artists are often under paid, taken advantage of and kept under strict contracts and legal bindings.
Even with the modernization and self publishing aspects of streaming services, successful artists make only a tiny slice of the larger pie. It is also speculated only 1% of artists (the famous ones) are accounting for the majority of revenues from streaming.
Artists such as Kings of Leon, Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda, Doja cat, and Shawn Mendes have found another way to do business. Music as NFTs, in the form of both songs or albums, has given creators and artists a way to transact without a middle man. In some cases the intellectual property is even sold as part of the NFT, so collectors own licensing rights as well. When the artist does well, so do the collectors and the relationship from fan to artist becomes a much more meaningful one. Artists also have the freedom to airdrop or reward collectors, and this has been done with merch, early access to future releases, concert tickets and one of one art pieces by the musicians.
Oneof is an NFT music marketplace making a name for itself Built on the Tezzos blockchain, Oneof is using proof of staking for a more energy efficient approach to NFT transactions and creates lower fees as well.
While music nfts are available on majority of platforms and blockchains, a few artists have gotten creative with their drops, even including featured artists in their dops. Musician Grimes and her brother Mac Boucher also dropped a collection of Music + art NFTs on NIfty Gateway early 2021. The collection was a combination of originals and multiples and sold out for nearly 6 million usd.
The goal here looks to be creating a middle ground space for artists outside the “celebrity” brand – and it’s working. While marketing and talent will always be necessary, there is plenty of room for musicians and artists who may have been unnoticed or undersold.
I sense collabs coming soon and the space is vast so we should expect more to come.
As always, do your own research and happy hunting.
Ashley_NFT