NFTs democratize the music industry and redistribute song rights
The music industry continues to find inventive ways to integrate decentralized technology into new releases for the benefit of artists and fans alike.
Electronic dance music (EDM) artist R3HAB and blockchain-based music community anotherblock released a single on August 19 with the idea of ”democratizing music rights.” The non-fungible token (NFT) included in the release allows holders to earn royalties based on streaming popularity.
The single, “Weekend on a Tuesday”, debuted alongside an NFT exclusive. Each of the 250 available NFTs entitles the holder to a share of 0.02% of streaming revenues. Anotherblock’s platform provides a value tracking tool so that holders can estimate payouts and total value.
Many artists have used digital assets as a way to connect with their fan base through extra exclusives tied to NFT. Typically, extras include artwork, additional music, or behind-the-scenes material.
Anotherblock CEO Michel D. Traore told Cointelegraph that this way of implementing NFTs allows those who create value around songs to share in receiving some of it back.
“The value of the music rights is created by people loving and listening to the music and doing things with it. Why not [they] could own rights if they create the value by listening to it. They should be able to get some of the upside as well.”
The idea behind this vision to spread the value from primarily record companies and music catalogs to include more of the artists themselves, but also the fans can be seen as “democratization” of the music industry.
“The middle ground for more and more people to own rights is what is missing today, and I think leads to positive effects.”
While it’s easiest to introduce these ideas with bigger artists like R3HAB and Steve Aoki, this only paves the way for up-and-coming artists to enter the industry with these ideas before committing to a restrictive contract.
Related: Musician Grimes’ debut NFT auction generates $5.8 million in 20 minutes
In an interview with Cointelegraph, R3HAB highlighted the ability of EDM fans to new “cutting edge” technology such as NFTs. R3HAB said his team had looked at fans’ interest and engagement with Web3-based platforms.
This is where I got the confirmation to dive into the NFT space and give my fans this opportunity.”
According to Traore, another block asked the Discord community about music genres of interest to NFTs and EDM scored the highest followed by HipHop and R&B. Moreover, a recent report by Ripple revealed that 55% of major financial institutions are interested in music-related NFTs.
As the crypto industry refines itself in light of the market crash, projects without real value and utility are being weeded out. Traores sees the link to real-world value with NFTs for music rights as a sign of something lasting.
