As encouraging as the NFT market may be on the one hand because of the extraordinary possibilities made available to the user or creator, there is on the other hand a large gap between what can be done and what many creators actually manage to create through NFTs.
Given the early success of this area, there are still no guides that clearly lay out what needs to be done.
In fact, less experienced users risk getting stuck in rigid technicalities that are often neither useful nor necessary to achieve a given goal in the NFT world.
What are musical NFTs?
The acronym NFT sums up the concept of a non-fungible token i.e., a digital token or if you want to be more specific, cryptographic token registered on the blockchain that uniquely identifies a digital asset, which in the NFT sector can be about anything, whether digital or physical.
That is why, with these characteristics, nothing prohibits NFT technology from encompassing music as well.
Thus, musical NFTs are born, that is, strips of code that recognize a song, a composition or an entire album.
In order to distinguish them, one must recognize 1/1 NFTs from editions.
In the first case one is faced with a song, precisely, single and not linked to any other resource.
In the second case one is faced with an edition and thus a set of tracks.
Obviously each edition, at the artist’s discretion, can be mint in an unlimited or limited number of “copies” according to the artist’s wishes and the rarity or value he gives to his song.
The possibilities for monetizing one’s music are many; each artist may decide to proceed by selling their tracks individually even if they belong to an album, or even sell their album as a limited edition.
It goes without saying that focusing on rarity, selling one’s tracks as single editions, increases the value of the track but is not a good strategy for creating one’s own community.
The benefits for musicians
Analyzing the benefit to musicians is the real pivot of the issue.
In fact, around this aspect revolves a certain discontent of artists who over the years have seen their earnings dwindle, we are always talking about the majority of small-to-medium artists, in favor of industry intermediaries.
All streaming platforms, in fact, on the one hand grant with ease that musical creations can be put online but at a very negligible profit.
This is because the world of music streaming is geared toward consumers rather than artists.
NFT technology has, on the other hand, brought some fresh air for music creators in that it presents an economic model in which the profit to be made goes directly and solely to the artist who created the song.
There are no intermediaries, no need/obligation to report to a third party interposed between artist and user what their statistics are and then have to pay earnings and payments.
In this respect, it is possible to say that musicians who launch themselves into the NFT world no longer have to fear the overwhelming power of the emblazoned labels that in traditional systems act as giants.
Through NFTs, artist and user can reconnect as a direct and therefore more personal relationship is established.
There are many artists who are able to work even if only by earning from royalties derived from secondary sales; the user who likes an artist will, in fact, buy NFTs to finance them financially.
Blockchains used for music NFTs
There are several elements to consider before choosing a particular blockchain for one’s NFTs.
First of all, one needs to be clear about the size of the available network, then one will need to compare the creation costs imposed on the various platforms and cross-reference them with consumer habits regarding the purchase of music NFTs.
After making a clear analysis of these data it will be useful to understand more technical ones such as the digital security that each marketplace can boast and the community interaction generated on each site.
Through these what can be called survey filters, one will be able to determine which blockchain is best suited to one’s needs and goals as a creator.
First, let us analyze Ethereum.
This blockchain, on the rise in the recent period, has been able to encompass many of the most interesting markets among projects and artists.
This makes it, however, the most onerous choice from a purely economic point of view.
On the other hand, the expenses here are well justified by the popularity of the platform, its security and decentralization as well as its practicality of use.
The second choice falls on Solana.
This option relies on the programmability of the blockchain given by PoH (proof-of-history) and PoS (proof-of-stake).
These two mechanisms make Solana much faster in validating fees and thus at a reduced cost.
That is why its transaction fees are the cheapest in the market.
How to create musical NFTs
Creating a music NFT with the goal of popularizing one’s music is a goal that can be achieved in two distinct ways.
The first of these includes an NFT marketplace.
Marketplaces, in fact, allow all users to coin their own music NFT through the relevant “smart contract.”
In this way, it is the platform that is in charge of all stages of minting the musical work and thus assumes all the risks by having a source code designed for just that.
A second point in favor of this method is the spread of marketplaces.
Today these sites already have a very interesting number of users to their credit, especially for those starting from the bottom as they will be able to take advantage of the platform’s numbers to make themselves known more quickly.
The other side of the coin, however, confronts the user with the reality that they will never be in full control of the collection.
The second way involves the use of one’s own smart contract.
Through this option one takes full ownership of one’s creation and can then manage every single step within the transaction.
That said, it must be remembered that this route involves advanced knowledge and a more complex as well as slower process.
Marketplaces for music NFTs
Due to the rapid rise of NFTs in the music industry as well, new marketplaces created and structured specifically for this sector have gradually emerged.
Catalog is the first of these.
This platform represents the union between streaming services and the actual music NFT marketplace.
Catalog is a platform that operates exclusively on 1/1 creations and not on editions but here artists get the full amount of their initial sales which encourages many to use this interesting service.
In second place is Sound.xyz.
Here, too, it combines streaming with the ability to create your own music NFTs as well as other possibilities.
One among many is to be able to launch real parties where one can play one’s own music through NFTs.
The third choice is the new creation of 3LAU namely Royal.
Here the rights of musical creations are offered to artists who then earn not only from the sale but also from the royalties of the song played on all platforms such as Spotify or Apple Music.
How to build a community
The key step in achieving success is to build a community, users and followers who continue to follow the artist over time.
That is why there are platforms dedicated to this precise purpose such as Twitter or Discord.
SongCamp, for example, represents a true community of artists of all genres that internally stimulates the creation of music and visual art with the goal of continually launching new NFTs.
Conclusions
Although in its infancy, the NFT music industry has initiated something different never before seen.
The artist today, thanks to the technology and dynamics introduced by NFTs, is slowly regaining the true value of their creations.
Whole communities of creators are working every day fueled by the new expectations in the NFT industry, and these elements bode well for a new vision of music creation for everyone and not just the major labels.
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