This Week in Music NFTs - Nov 28
Eternal Garden. Acoustic Album lol. Sound Activity Feed. Plus - commentary on what it means to "breakout" in web3.
What do all the top artists in web3 have in common?
They make collectors money.
As we head into a major week at Art Basel - I’ve been wondering what the recipe for a breakout artist in web3 looks like.
I don’t think it has to do with play count. With sold out shows. Or TikTok followers.
What makes the artist “breakout” - specifically in web3 - is something much different from what exists today.
This week - a collector named hemaaanth ran some quick numbers of Daniel Allan’s Music NFTs.
According to this breakdown, his collectors have made more than $330k by trading Daniel’s NFTs.
What’s more interesting is that this is across only ~600 unique minters.
The reason I highlight this is not to flex the numbers - it’s to show metrics completely new to music. And that they take a fraction of the amount of people to move the needle.
Think about it - when’s the last time you’ve heard of an artist making their fans money?
Let alone by simply supporting their music?
Now, I know the financilization of music is a very touchy subject.
But - let me poke the bear.
How many artists:
Know how to pay their taxes?
Know who owns all their masters and publishing?
Incorporated their own company?
Have a basic understanding of what a cap table is?
Pay themselves a salary?
We’ve let artists exist so much as artists, that the industry has (intentionally) hidden the underlying business mechanics behind riddles.
It’s going to be a bumpy road, but artists becoming financially literate is - in my opinion - net positive.
So - what do I think a breakout artist in web3 looks like?
If I had to guess, it’s probably the first artist to make 10,000 collectors $10,000 each.
It’s the first artist to have a true hit that started by being minted as Music NFTs.
It’s the first artist to have the proper corporate structures in place to hire a team and run their project as a full-fledged business.
But - this hasn’t happened yet. At least not in web3.
And so the fight continues.
If you find this topic interesting, you’ll love my podcast with Trapital.
We broke down what funding artists can look like, and why it might present a new path forward from what’s offered today.
All that goes to say - the momentum is bubbling.
Here’s what to watch for this week.
Upcoming Drops
Genesis Sound Drops
Freshly Minted
Top Stories
TK Kicks off Eternal Garden
TK debuts his web3 album Eternal Garden with a strong presale.
Mija Announces Acoustic Album
After topping the Sound 30D charts -Mija announces an acoustic album to encourage collaboration.
Sound Introduces the Activity Feed
Sound adds an activity feed to encourage better discovery and engagement.
Ocean Floor Music Launches New Platform
Ocean Floor debuts its new marketplace with a launch party in Australia
MetaJAX Album Nominated for a Grammy
DAORecords gets its first grammy nomination courtesy of Arturo Sandoval
402HQ Announces Livestream Minting
Collectors can mint Music NFTs during a livestream using 402HQ.
Spottie WiFi Drops with Tower Records
Spottie Wifi gives collectors an NFT-backed vinyl in partnership with Tower Records.
Bonus Reads
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Disclaimer: I own all the Sound NFTs mentioned in Freshly Minted. I am an investor in Sound a collector of TK and Mija.