We went from WAGMI to bear markets real fast.
Now that crypto space has less distraction, it’s time for builders to build real solutions.
I’m bullish on Music NFTs.
We see the G-class, gold chains, and all the bling. But artists make peanuts from those Spotify streams.
In 2021, they made $0.00397 per stream. That is 250 streams for a single dollar.
When you pay for your premium music subscription, 85% of that goes into the pockets of the labels. Artists gets paid last and they get paid the least.
They still sign with labels to get the“upfront bag” which helps them focus on their art full-time & make videos.
If you wanna learn more about record deals & album advances, check out this video.
How will Music NFTs help?
Musicians can sell NFTs directly to their fans globally and capture majority of the value.
Artist and their audience keep the economics, not the middlemen.
They can also make royalties on secondary sales indefinitely.
Earlier – For every 250 streams, they made $1.
Now – If 250 superfans bought their $400 NFT, the artist just made $100,000.
They just have to pay a 2.5% platform fee.
Music NFTs will be adopted in phases.
First Phase: Logo, album cover, concert photos and other iconic art
Second Phase: Utilities like concert tickets & VIP experiences
Final Phase: Master recording
As of now, no one has figured out how to sell master recording of the song. It’s a bit complicated.
Artists will need lawyers to make user agreements stipulating that buyer only owns the file of the song & does not control it’s use. That’s the big challenge with Music NFTs.
Also, NFT space is not so hot right now.
• Jack Dorsey’s NFT tweet which sold for $2.9 million now has a highest bid offer of $29
• CryptoPunk NFT purchased for over $1M sells for less than $140K
• Bored Ape Yacht Club Discord compromised in $357,000 NFT phishing attack
Just like there are 60,000 tracks being uploaded to Spotify every single day, most of which never even get a single listen – there are a ton of NFT projects rn, 98% of which are going to 0.
During “NFT Summer”, people paid way too much for an NFT that isn’t worth anything now.
Music NFTs will see a similar peak at some point where a lot of artists will be making big moves, then the actual value of the NFTs will become stable and at some point 98% of them will crash & die.
That might happen in 1 year, 5 years or 10 years.
Still, I think Music NFTs has the best shot at solving a real problem.
• Great collectible appeal for superfans.
• Bragging rights if you discovered the artist before they blew up.
• Value of your NFT will go up with artist’s popularity. Thus, new form of investing.
• Cash goes straight into the pocket of the artist.
• NFT is a much more scalable way to make money. You can only do so many concerts at any point of time.
• Artists can now focus on quality over quantity. One great song is enough to set them for life.
• NFTs are way more environment friendly than merch. Artists won’t be forced to slap their logo on every Gildan shirt.
• Finally, people will never stop listening to music & buying stuff of their favourite artist.
Are artists adopting Music NFTs?
• 3LAU hits $11M in NFT sale with release of new Ultraviolet Album
• Snoop Dogg Collaborates With Clay Nation to Launch NFT Collection on Cardano
• Chainsmokers Share New Album Royalties With Fans via NFT Drop
What is the future of Music NFTs?
Instead of record labels being an artists’ majority partners, fans will become minority partners in their career.
It will change the lives of underpaid & underappreciated musicians.
If you liked it, leave your comments here!
Prashant Bagga 