Prominent Musicians Explore Non Fungible Tokens

Even though Collins Dictionary in 2021 may have named “NFT,” word of the year, the popularity of non-fungible has shown no sign of slowing down in 2022. Justin Bieber, Reese Witherspoon, and Marina Picasso (yes, that Picasso) are among the newly minted holders of OpenSea’s leading NFT market, which generated a record-breaking $5 billion in sales in January. Likewise, the music industry has grown into one of the most NFT-friendly creative industries, fuelled by major labels, music festivals, and megastars, since rock band Kings Of Leon published the first major NFT album last year.

• According to Snoop Dogg, Death Row Records wants to be “the first significant [label] in the metaverse.” The hip-hop mogul (and outspoken NFT backer) announced earlier this month that he had purchased the famed Dr. Dre-founded label that launched his rap career in the early 1990s. During a Clubhouse conversation this week, Snoop disclosed his Web3 plans: “Death Row will be an NFT baby, and we’ll be bringing forth artists from all around the world.”Meanwhile, he’s teased special concerts in the “Snoopverse,” a virtual realm powered by the Sandbox blockchain gaming environment.
• America’s largest music festival, Coachella, is ready to auction ten NFTs for a lifetime pass. In 2022, the “Coachella Keys Collection” includes 10 Solana NFTs that grant lifetime entrance to the California music festival, which will feature Kanye West, Billie Eilish, and Harry Styles. During this year, each “Key” will feature various IRL privileges. The number 10 key will feature a completely stocked trailer in the VIP compound, and the minimum bidding will start from $100,000.
• The Universal Music Group has partnered up with NFT platform Curio to produce digital treasures for fans, including Drake and Billie Eilish. Since 2021, Curio has released 75,000 NFTs and plans to start with pop vocalist Calum Scott this spring, and the company wants to license audio-visual content from the label’s huge artist roster to create “NFT fan collections.” UMG had already announced its “Web3 label” 10:22 PM, which would include the all-digital, Bored-Ape-led band KINGSHIP.

Music’s NFT obsession is more than just record sales, sky-high pricing, and virtual worlds. NFTs can offer value as concert freebies and even smart contracts that automatically pay artists royalties when their work is resold, for the artist as well as the audience. The music business has emerged as a testing ground for a widening spectrum of NFT use-cases, artists such as Steve Aoki and John Legend are launching new ventures that rethink the digital value of their work as well as their relationships with listeners.”Blockchain technology has the potential to alter everything again and tilt the playing field in favor of artists and fans,” Snoop stated.