In this episode Sharn and Andy talk about all things Music NFTs. The music industry is usually an early adopter of new technology and is already quite advanced in its use of Web3 technology and NFTs.
First up on the podcast though, Sharn and Andy dived into a discussion of what Music NFTs are and how they are different from current music and streaming services.
Andy presented the below definition of a Music NFT from NFTNow: (https://nftnow.com/guides/complete-guide-to-the-nft-music-ecosystem/#:~:text=First%20things%20first%20%E2%80%94%20What's%20a,holder%20with%20proof%20of%20ownership)
(Source:NFTNow) A music NFT is simply an NFT that is linked to music. It can come as a single song, an entire album, a music video, or even a generative piece of music.
Typically, one music NFT contains only one song — the same way you’d expect an NFT containing 3D art to contain a single 3D image. But that’s not always the case. What’s more, music NFTs can also be linked to things that are related to music, like concert tickets or album covers.
Andy then went on to explain the different types of Music NFT releases with different levels of exclusivity. They included 1/1 NFTs, open editions, and limited editions.
At its core, Music NFTs are the same as all the other NFT’s we have discussed in previous podcasts, but the real push behind NFT music comes from supporting the artist. Currently the music industry is great if you are a consumer or producer, but not so much if you are an artist. Hence the drive behind NFT Music to support the artists. Currently you can expect to earn between $0.004 per play on spotify which means you need 249 plays to earn a dollar.
We then outlined some news worthy highlights from the NFT Music world including:
Kings of Leon making history in 2021 as the first band to release their new album as an NFT.
Snoop Dogg announcing his newly acquired Death Row Records would become the first NFT label.
Steve Aoki launching the A0K1VERSE in February 2022.
The ability of music NFTs to give an audience to experimental or niche music such as EulerBeats, a project that algorithmically generated audio tracks and visuals based on the work of Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler. They had the biggest-selling music NFT track of 2021, with it suggested that their two-minute instrumental “EulerBeats Genesis LP 15” totaled sales of more than $700,000.
Sharn and Andy then outlined that the main benefit of Music NFTs for musicians is the direct contact with fans/audience, and the ability to generate greater revenue. This is particularly a benefit for emerging or niche artists who are provided multiple streams of revenue via Music NFTs either through funding rounds (sales of demos to gain investment), or though blockchain smart contracts.
Below is a copy of the current income musicians earn per stream on each of the main platforms sourced from a Blog post on freeyourmusic.com

Sharn and Andy then discuss the NFT Music experience from a consumer perspective and what it does and doesn’t mean, including that:
consumers own Music NFTs forever and can use it however they please.
NFT ownership does not give the buyer copyright or royalties
Music NFTs are often combined with another perk or enticement (eg: art, discounted concert tickets etc)
They then listed where can you currently buy NFT music:
Opensea https://opensea.io/
biggest marketplace
Rarible https://rarible.com/
supports multiple blockchains
SuperRare
Unlike most NFT marketplaces, you need to receive an invite from SuperRare for you to be able to publish your work on the platform.
Nifty Gateway
big-name artists and musicians on Nifty’s roster include Grimes and Snoop Dogg.
Enjin Marketplace
Enjin lets you keep 100% of each sale and the ability to monetize your secondary sales.
Blockparty
Has a host of web3 tools with a mission to help creators build stronger connections with fans
Sharn then through in her Fun Fact that Limewire, the old peer-to-peer sharing site has transformed itself and is now having a second life as an NFT marketplace that was launched in July 2022.
Andy outlined his deep dive into NFT Music Streaming services that included:
Audius https://audius.co/
Emanate https://info.emanate.live/
OPUS https://opus.audio/
They then briefly mentioned NFT concert tickets, which may require an entire podcast of its own as tickets can be used for more then just concerts in the real world or the Metaverse. Below is a list of some of the place you can purchase NFT concert tickets:
Yellowheart https://yh.io/
NFT-Tix https://www.nft-tix.com/
Seatlab https://www.seatlabnft.com/
Sharn and Andy then discuss their overarching thoughts and impressions of Music NFTs including:
the benefits of having fans as investors and the only limits being dependent on the effort of individual musicians.
The potential impact on the industry of the investment strategy of gaining financial support from investors using demo products.
Benefit that it will enable musicians to have creative freedom, without the potentially controlling influence of music production companies.
It may provide a step towards more equitable pay with the ability of musicians to make a living through the support of 1000 fans compared to requiring around 9 million streams on a streaming platform.
They then wrapped by saying that NFTs are still very new and it is hard to know where everything will go. Currently, then best advice for everyone is to do your own research, watch what is happening and get familiar enough with the Music NFT environment so you can assess how you could use it or be part of it.
You can find this podcast episode (and all our other episodes) here: https://anchor.fm/invokecreations , or directly on your favourite streaming services.
NOTE: Everything discussed during the podcast is simply our own interpretation of information we come across as we research topics, or is commentary based on our own personal experiences. We highly encourage everyone to conduct their own research into topics of interest as information, especially in the technical space, changes regularly.
Music track featured this week was titled Dozing and can be viewed/listened to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo31BvuKFY0
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As always, we’re off to put our bums on seats and do some work, so until next time stay dangerous!
Byeeeeeeeeee!
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