Disclaimer: I pick on sound a lot in this piece, but I do think they are a positive force in the world of web3 music and greatly respect how they’ve facilitated such gains for artists. I’m also in their Discord and a sound holder.
I also feel some of this artist needs to be here and engage more with their supporters and if they fail to, then there’s no point releasing their second or third version on Sound. This is what Music NFT is for, an opportunity for fans to engage with their artist, no matter where they are on planet earth. Thanks to Sound for their effort so far.
– sound.xyz Discord user in the hodlers channel
Let me kick this piece off by saying this: after spending some time in the web3 music space, I have decided that purely collectible ETH music NFTs are not for me. Why? Because spending $200 on a song for the sole purpose of “collecting” it is not affordable for me and most other music fans. And as an artist, those are the people I care to reach with my work — not the crypto rich (ESPECIALLY not the crypto rich tbh, lol).
Not too long ago, every music NFT that dropped on music NFT darling sound.xyz sold out instantly! You couldn’t get your hands on one! And THEN, frantic “collectors” and wanna-be “collectors” (I’m more in this latter category imo) would hit OpenSea to try and scoop these hot commodities up on secondary.
To turn a profit. And anyone telling you otherwise is… lying to themselves, idk.
But anyway, the above scene isn’t the norm anymore. A quick tour of the sound homepage shows that while a good amount of artists are still selling out, a growing number are selling just a handful of NFTs from their drops, including some relatively big names.
What changed?
Many will say that it’s because we’re in a bear market (rawrrr), but I’m not sure that’s the case. Or at least, it’s more nuanced than that.
And at the same time, it’s simple: your average music NFT is expensive, and most people can’t afford to pay hundreds of dollars for an artist’s song or music video regardless of how cool it is. I’m only doing that if I:
- STRONGLY believe in the artist/project (see my sound Carla the Poet & LNRZ NFTs)
- Am being recognized as a super fan in some meaningful way; concert tickets, special access to acoustic versions — something like that.
And even then… yeah, I’m STILL probably not doing that!
What changed is people aren’t buying them on secondary anymore (or at least not near the level they were buying them up even a couple months back), so the flippers aren’t rushing to buy them all up, especially from relatively unknown artists. No one’s buying, no one wants ‘em.
I think PFP project flippers shifted their focus to music NFTs when they got hot. And now… they’re less hot.
Do I think music NFTs are a passing trend? Not necessarily, but I do think the days of artists making 5 ETH in one night and then going on to amass tons more via secondary are dwindling.
With all that said, if you’re an artist who wasn’t a part of that gold rush, don’t feel bad. It was only a handful of artists in reality, and their overall & longterm success with drops can be questionable.
There is a real not-seeing-the-forest-through-the-trees fever sweeping artists hungry for music NFTs to change their lives. My advice is to have a longterm plan to reward anyone backing your music financially (NFTs or otherwise), and not to rely on a music NFT market that may look… a lot like the regular music market as more artists jump on the bandwagon: overcrowded, over-competitive, and overhyped.
This sounds like a negative post but it’s more of a snapshot of the web3 music world in this current moment, with some advice on how to approach it going forward, especially if you’re new on the block!
But yes, I’ve learned that music NFTs as collectibles with no real “utility” (read: rewards — not even a t-shirt)… aren’t really my thing. And selling them at high prices to “collectors” who literally are buying them without even listening to the song (true story!) purely with the goal of turning a profit isn’t it either.
With all that said, remember: there’s a lot more to web3 music world than this particularly moment/style/culture of expensive & unaffordable music NFTs, and THAT is why I’m in the space. Check out what p00ls is doing (and not just because I think Melanie McClain is the coolest), or what artists Jadyn Violet and Jamee Cornelia have done with their own music NFT tokens, or how REM approaches things. I’d like to give a shoutout to Mint Songs as well for being a leader in helping artists mint affordable music NFTs for their supporters. These smaller up & coming artists and platforms might not look as flashy or sexy today, but these are the builders and tools of an actually sustainable and more affordable web3 future!
xo C