Eminem, Muse, Stickmen Toys and more – Billboard
August was a quiet month in the NFT world, with trading volume on OpenSea falling to a 12-month low. The decline was reflected in music NFTs, resulting in a noticeable drop in new releases and a shift to lower price points. Overall, trading volume across the month’s top 10 music NFTs fell to $1.3 million, down 83.75% from more than $8 million in July.
All of this makes for an interesting summary in August, with five of the top 10 projects returning names, driven by ongoing secondary sales at OpenSea, while primary sales from new projects took a back seat.
Still, August brought some exciting new products to market, including the world’s first UK and Australian chart-eligible NFT release from Muse, while two leading EDM artists shared streaming royalties to their music. Based on analysis of sales data from 19 different NFT platforms, independent releases and secondary sales volume on OpenSea, here are the 10 best-selling music NFTs and compilations in August 2022.
1. Stickmen Toys
Total traded volume: 235 ETH ($364,250 at month-end conversion rate)
Primary sales: 0
Secondary sale: 235 ETH
The NFT project from Warner Records UK and Bose came in second in July, but it took first place in August thanks to continued sales on secondary markets such as OpenSea. Stickmen Toys was free to make in mid-July and went on to generate an additional $360,000 in sales volume in August.
Warner Records UK is one of the early leaders in the great NFT race. They recently teased an upcoming Web3 imprint and scored the UK’s first chart-compatible NFT release with Muse’s latest album, The will of the peoplediscussed later in this list.
See the collection at OpenSea.
2. KINGDOM – “Key Card”
Total traded volume: 188 ETH ($291,400)
Primary sales: 0
Secondary sale: 188 ETH
July’s number one fell to second place in August, but sales for UMG’s Bored Ape supergroup remain strong on the secondary market with nearly $300,000 in sales. In August, KINGSHIP kept the promotional momentum going with an M&M’s partnership in which the group sold limited edition Bored Ape M&M’s (the gold version sold for $99 apiece).
The collaboration is a nod to the infamous Van Halen story where the band was rumored to ask for M&Ms on their concert rider, but with the brown ones taken out to ensure the promoter was paying attention. The KINGSHIPxM&M’s trailer also teased it first glimpse of KINGSHIP’s music.
See the collection at OpenSea.
3. PLS&TY – “PLS&TY Collections”
Total traded volume: 173 ETH ($268,150)
Primary sale: 173 ETH
Secondary Sales: N/A
PLC&TY made his name as an electronic producer with over 100 million streams on YouTube, Soundcloud and Spotify. In August, he dropped a collection of 15 different audiovisual collectibles on Gamestop’s brand new NFT platform. With each priced at a different entry point – from $9 to $620 – PLS&TY quickly gained more than 170 ETH in sales.
PLS&TY was one of the earliest musicians to experiment with Web3. He first released 1/1 audiovisual art on SuperRare – the leading high art NFT platform – back in October 2020.
See the collection at Gamestop.
4. Shady comic book concept art
Total volume traded: $150,000
Primary Sales: $150,000
Secondary Sales: N/A
Snoop Dogg and Eminem took to the metaverse in August as animated versions of Bored Apes for their first MTV VMA performance together in two decades. The hip-hop icons performed “From the D 2 The LBC” inside the Otherside metaverse – the virtual world built by Bored Ape creator Yuga Labs.
To commemorate the performance, Eminem and Snoop released a number of limited edition NFTs, including physical art prints, skateboard decks and bobblehead figures. However, the most popular was a Shady Comics Concept Art magazine. The print run of 1,000 sold out almost immediately.
See the collection at OpenSea.
5. Hume Collective – “Genesis”
Total traded volume: 50 ETH ($77,500)
Primary sales: 0
Secondary volume: 50 ETH
Hume is a Web3 record label with a roster of “metastars” – artists who perform in the metaverse using an NFT avatar. After dropping Genesis NFT free in July, Hume continued to generate sales on secondary markets such as OpenSea through August.
The label kept up the momentum by hinting at a new fundraising announcement and news about “The Studio” – an innovative Web3 feature that allows NFT holders to connect to their wallets, listen to new tracks from the label and help decide which songs to release.
See the collection at OpenSea.
6. Elephante – “Catching On” ft. Nevve
Total traded volume: $51,385
Primary sale: $49,680
Secondary volume: 1.1 ETH
With hundreds of millions of streams under his belt, EDM artist Elephante made his first foray into Web3 in August. He dropped an NFT of his iconic track “Catching On” through Royal, giving holders a percentage of future streaming royalties. The track has already collected 40 million streams on Spotify alone, and Royal estimates that holders will earn 10% of the token price for every 3 million additional streams in the future.
See the collection at OpenSea.
7. Violetta Zironi – “Moonshot”
Total traded volume: 23 ETH ($35,650)
Primary sales: 0
Secondary volume: 23 ETH
Independent artist Violetta Zironi made the top 10 two months in a row thanks to consistently strong secondary sales at OpenSea. Zironi sold out her debut NFT collection earlier this year, complete with artwork from her father, a former Disney animator. She has since built a loyal and passionate fanbase by hosting daily Twitter Spaces and discussions about music NFTs.
See the collection at OpenSea.
8. R3HAB & Laidback Luke – “Weekend on a Wednesday”
Total traded volume: $32,230
Primary Sales: $22,000
Secondary volume: 6.6 ETH ($10,230)
EDM producers R3HAB and Laidback Luke have teamed up to offer streaming royalties for their new track “Weekend on a Tuesday” through a new NFT platform called anotherblock. A total of 250 NFTs were sold out within 40 minutes, giving token holders 0.02% ownership of royalties in the song. The two producers already have a combined 25 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and anotherblock estimates that “Weekend on a Tuesday” will generate 21 million streams over the next year, delivering a 19% return on the original token price.
Royalty sharing is becoming a bigger trend in the music NFT space. The concept was developed by DJ and producer 3LAU through his Royal platform, but more are emerging. The release of R3HAB and Laidback Luke is the deb release on Europe-based anotherblock.
See the collection at OpenSea.
9. Snoop Dogg – BODR
Total traded volume: 21 ETH ($32,550)
Primary sales: 0
Secondary volume: 21 ETH
BODR is Snoop Dogg’s first album since taking over Death Row Records in February. Alongside the traditional album release on streaming services, Snoop dropped 25,000 NFT ‘stash boxes’, each containing one of 17 tracks from the album. The NFTs also give holders access to future airdrops including comics, movies and concert tickets. A pioneer in the Web3 music space, Snoop aims to make Death Row Records the world’s first metaverse label, suggesting this is just a taste of more to come.
See the collection at OpenSea.
10. Muse – The will of the people
Total traded volume: $30,130
Primary Sales: $23,000
Secondary volume: 4.6 ETH ($7,130)
Muse made history in August with the world’s first NFT to enter the UK music charts. Working with NFT platform Serenade, the band created a chart-eligible NFT compilation to accompany their new album The will of the people. Combined with traditional album sales and streams, it’s looking at a No.1 debut in the UK Albums Chart.
The NFT collection itself was limited to 1,000 and priced at £20 each (about $23). It was limited in terms of extras to remain chart compatible, but it does include downloadable FLACC files, additional artwork, and a digital signature from each band member.
See the collection at OpenSea.
Methodology: The chart was compiled using data from primary music NFT sales across 19 different NFT platforms, independent releases and secondary volume data from OpenSea. Data were captured on 1–31 August 2022. Conversion rates from Ethereum to US dollars were calculated on August 31.
