Big record label drops 100k digital items (no blockchain 🤔)
Biggest stories in Web3 music this week.
gm music fans,
This week I’m fascinated by Monstercat - one of my favorite record labels.
They just launched:
A limited edition membership card.
Access to private community.
Limited edition virtual plushies (100,000 claimed)
All tradable on a marketplace.
This sounds like a typical NFT rollout … but there’s a twist.
None of it uses blockchain or Web3…
The entire project is released on Roblox’s UGC (user generated content) platform which allows creators to sell limited edition virtual goods using the Roblox currency “Robux.”
It has me thinking…
Is there demand for virtual goods and memberships? (Yes).
But does every music project need a blockchain? (No). And do average music fans even care whether their virtual item is an NFT? (Also no … not yet).
Of course, the downsides here are obvious to crypto-natives. Roblox is taking 30% of sales and the items cannot leave the Roblox universe. They’re not open or permissionless.
But music fans and gamers don’t seem to care, yet. They get the same benefits - (community membership, digital items, tradable markets) without the complicated jump into crypto.
Monstercat gets this. They’ve been deeply involved in NFTs previously but they’ve taken what they learned and used it to meet music fans where they are right now - in Roblox.
Something to think about...
As always, thanks for reading and let’s dive into the biggest stories, drops and statistics in Web3 music this week.
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Headlines 🗞️
Beatport teams up with Deadmau5 Web3 platform
The world’s biggest dance music platform Beatport is getting deeper into Web3, teaming up with Pixelynx (founded by Deadmau5).
They’ll release a one-off product called BEATKOR featuring AI music created by 6 top Beatport artists. (Read more here).
55k music nfts collected for onchain summer
Music platform Anotherblock sold more than 50,000 music nfts through its collaboration with Coinbase last week. Onchain summer! (Read more)
Monstercat launches metaverse drops on Roblox
Monstercat Records launches membership cards and virtual goods in Roblox (Read more)
Quickfire music roundup 🎧
Social tokens are back - Rapper Black Dave launched ‘Black Dave Token’ earlier in the year. Now he’s back with a new social token $KURO. Existing collectors just got an airdrop but others will be able to earn the token. (Read more)
Major label project KINGSHIP back? - The Bored Ape supergroup created by Universal has been quiet lately but they’re back with an airdrop for holders and a free public mint. (Read more)
NFTs to unlock exclusive content - Music platform Showtime launched ‘Star Drops’ – low cost NFTs that unlock access to unheard songs, behind-the-scenes content and other rewards. (Read more)
Sound launches an explore page - Since opening up to all artists, it’s been tricky to filter through releases on Sound. This week they launched an explore page to filter through genres and other criteria. (Read more)
News from around Web3 🗞️
Time to zoom out and see what’s catching our eye in the broader crypto and web3 universe.
Coca-Cola enters Web3 - Coca-Cola dropped a ‘Masterpiece’ project as part of Coinbase’s onchain summer. It was an open edition featuring traditional artwork combined with Coke bottles. It was quite well received for a big brand in Web3. (Read more).
Hype doesn’t work anymore - One of the leading NFT projects DeGods suffered this week after hyping up their Season III upgrade. Inevitably, NFT launches rarely live up to the hyped-up expectations and the floor price got cut in half after it was revealed. (Read more).
The metaverse blockchain? - Neal Stephenson — the author who coined the term “metaverse” — is building a layer 1 blockchain designed for metaverse applications. The betanet went live this week. (Read more).
NFT animator sells 51k NFTs - Deekay Motion dropped an open edition on BASE this week — his first accessible NFT drop so far. (Read more).
Biggest music drops of the week 🎧
Our spotlight is firmly on Zora this week which hosted a string of beautiful music videos.
Colors - Bryann: Juju Pt. 2
Weekly music drops continue from Colors — one of the biggest music YouTube channels.
Latasha - LaLa Land
Rapper Latasha returns with a fun one-minute performance video.
Soulquest
A visual music project made at the Friends With Benefits Fest, featuring Iman Europe, iLLCAMILLE, vthemartian and SWARVY, shot and edited by Jamee Cornelia.
Artist strategy of the week - Rohki 🧩
Web3 works best when you bring your community with you. Cinematic music project Rohki just dedicated an entire song and drop to their biggest collectors — the Camel Ventures community. The artwork was inspired by the camel aesthetic, the track was named after the Vietnamese word for Camel (where the community is based) and they launched a treasure hunt across Vietnam. The song quickly sold out 1,000 editions.
Stats 🧮
Onchain summer is in full swing thanks to the new Coinbase blockchain, BASE. Approximately $243 million has been bridged to BASE and averaging more than 400k transactions daily.
Thanks for reading!
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Disclaimers: We may own NFTs mentioned in this article, have previous or current contracts with companies mentioned and may earn referral income from links to music NFTs. This newsletter is purely informational and should not be considered financial advice. Nothing in this content should be considered a recommendation to buy a particular NFT, only an expression of our opinion.
nice content Ziggy :-