This Week in Music NFTs - Sep 12

Coop Records.

Sep 12, 2022

Proud to announce Coop Records Fund I 🎧 A $10M early-stage fund investing in the next generation of music. Here's what you need to know 🔽

It’s something I’ve been working on for the better half of the last 6 months, and on this week’s edition - I’m excited to unpack what this means.

First and foremost - Coop Records is not a record label. At least in the traditional sense.

It’s a venture fund paired and incubator focused on web3 artist development.

Coop Records does not sign masters. It buys equity, tokens and NFTs.

The first of these investments is set to be announced this week, but to give some context on where the $10M is set to be deployed:

~85% into pre-seed and seed stage music companies.
~10% into “Artist Seed Rounds”
~5% into Music NFTs

For the first bucket, think of this as the companies, platforms and protocols shaping the next generation of music.

Sound, Catalog and Royal are three examples, though I’ve been seeing many more projects pop up - all keen to connect the dots and put web3 music on the map. (Q3 update coming SoonTM).

For the second bucket, think of these investments more as long-term bets on specific artists and everything their ecosystem consists of - rather than just their masters.

Lastly - Music NFTs. Think of these less as buying every Sound drop, more as selectively picking up historic NFTs that have the potential to have 100x returns.

catalog sales bot @catalog__bot

💽 Gorgeous (with Reo Cragun) 💽 ✨ Record by @imdanielallan 💰 Sold to Coop Records for 2.52 ETH ($4,118.41) beta.catalog.works/0xbCefc4906b44…

beta.catalog.worksDaniel Allan - Gorgeous (with Reo Cragun)

Beyond these three buckets - some other ideas that I’ve been toying with:

What does a label deal look like that ONLY takes ownership of NFTs, not of masters or publishing?
How do you structure an artist’s company?
What does investing into your community look like?
How can an advance be used to build smaller, more engaged communities - rather than running ad campaigns to get passive listens?
How do you entice artists to commit to releasing Music NFTs for everyone of their songs?
How does Coop Records co-exist with a major label?

I don’t have clear answers for these yet, but we’re getting closer everyday.

Coopahtroopa 🔥_🔥 @Cooopahtroopa

Music NFT collectors bring more value than editorial playlists on Spotify. Most people just don't know it yet.

To give some insights into what this launch was like - it was wild to see the response from all sides of the music industry.

Whether it was companies reaching out with pitch decks, rappers sending their mixtape or music enthusiasts looking for a job - the spectrum of responses was fascinating.

All I can hope is that Coop Records got someone to take web3 music more seriously.

This is no longer a fun sandbox that collectors are toying around with.

There is a very real movement happening here, and it’s time that everyone started to pay attention.

It’s not about the technology, it’s about the stories that emerge because of the technology.

It’s not about Drake, it’s about the next Drake.

It’s not about the quantity of plays, it’s about the quality of your community.

These are the topics I challenge myself with everyday, and if you’re reading this - I hope that they inspire you too.