Grammy-nominated NFTs and Major Labels: Web3 Music in 2022, Part 2
We recap the year in music NFTs
More than $22 million traded on OpenSea.
Grammy nominated NFT albums.
Major labels entering Web3.
It’s been a wild year for music NFTs. Here’s Part 2 of my attempt to recap some of the biggest stories in 2022.
Missed Part 1?
Part 1 told the story of independent artists on Sound.xyz - read it here to find out how music collectors hit a record high in December while the rest of crypto flatlined.
Disclosures: any disclosures are marked with an asterix if I own them.
📅 December 2021
I’m actually going to go back and start in December.
Latasha sold a music video NFT for 13.4 ETH.
She dropped it on Zora - which has been a constant champion for music and creator NFTs all year.
Zora is open to everyone and remains one of the most important platforms in the space.
📅 January
The PFP hype was in full swing in Jan with Doodles, Azuki and BAYC making records.
Warpsound was the first big music PFP project (paired with AI music)
Launched in January, it remains the biggest music NFT project ever by total volume (6,169 ETH on OpenSea).
Royal Launches
After record-breaking NFT sales, DJ and producer 3LAU launches Royal - a music platform that allows fans to own a percentage of streaming royalties.
The first drop with Nas* in January broke the website and had to be rescheduled.
They went on to host drops with Diplo, Verite*, and Royce da 5’9”
📅 February
Grammy-nominated producer Sidney Swift launches a ‘decentralized record label’ ChillRX.
Holders get to participate in label decisions.
Swift later went on to partner with Warner Chappell to bring a major publisher into Web3.
The Orbs
The first really controversial music NFT project of the year.
BT launches The Orbs with a Dutch auction price of 11.1 ETH - 8.88 ETH.
That was A LOT of money even for the bull market and triggered backlash.
However, the project itself is actually very cool - an endless music track that never loops or repeats.
Snoop Enters
Snoop Dogg buys the legendary Death Row Records and declares it a metaverse record label.
He drops Bacc on Death Row NFTs, reportedly netting $44 million.
📅 April
Violetta Zironi drops Moonshot - a collection of 2,500 music NFTs - on Nifty Music.
She quickly becomes one of the biggest independent success stories in Web3 music.
Nifty Music establishes itself as a launchpad for emerging artists with further sold-out drops from Josh Savage and Rae Isla.
📅 May
The Bored Ape Yacht Club supergroup KINGSHIP arrives.
Using the open BAYC license, Jimmy McNelis signs his four apes to 10:22PM - a joint venture with Universal Music Group founded by Celine Joshua.
The 5,000 ‘Keycards’ sell out instantly.
Music is now in the works by HitBoy and James Fauntleroy.
Chainsmokers Free NFT Album
Chainsmokers give fans a 1% of streaming rights in their new album… for free.
Since then they’ve continued to reward holders with free tickets and airdrops.
📅 June
One of the coolest projects of the year launches: Headless Chaos.
80 independent artists come together to create 45 songs, rotating into new bands every 2 weeks.
It sold more than 1,500 ‘Chaos Packs.’
Billboard Launches Monthly Music NFT Chart / Roundup
Billboard starts a monthly editorial feature to track and highlight the ten biggest music NFTs by volume (*disclosure: I put this together). Headless Chaos is the first number one.
📅 July
Warner Music makes its first big entrance into Web3 with Stickmen Toys.
A free mint collection of 5,000 NFTs and a partnership with Bose.
Holders get the IP rights to the music. (It’s no easy feat getting this over the line at a major label).
Metaverse Record Labels
Metaverse record label Hume launches its genesis pass.
The label is home to a roster of virtual artists (metastars). The first is Angelbaby.
📅 August
The first ever official chart #1 music NFT.
Muse launches Will of the People album - the first with a chart compatible NFT in the UK and Australia - via Serenade. It goes straight to number one in the UK.
Catalog Curation
The leading 1/1 marketplace Catalog launches ‘Curation Cycles.’
It’s easily the most innovative approach to onboarding new artists to a curated platform. Catalog invites members of the community to onboard artists in ‘cycles’ ensuring a diverse range of voices and genres.
Anotherblock launches
Dozens of new music NFT platforms launched in 2022 but most flopped.
One success was Anotherblock which had 4 sold out drops, selling streaming royalties in some of the world’s biggest tracks.
Includes The Weeknd - ‘Acquainted’ and Alan Walker - ‘Alone Part II.’
Both have >400 million streams.
Rather than partnering with the artist directly, Anotherblock partners with songwriters, producers and publishers to unlock streaming royalties.
📅 September
Warner Records launches a Web3 imprint ‘Probably a Label’ - a joint venture with Probably Nothing.
Sells 5,555 NFTs in 7 minutes. Holders will now help develop a virtual artist.
Aims to share IP rights with holders in some projects and releases.
Coop Records - the first ever Web3 music fund
The biggest music collector Cooper Turley raises $10 million to launch Coop Records - the world’s first investment fund focused exclusively on Web3 music.
Most of the fund acts like a traditional VC firm - backing seed stage companies in the music space. However, a small portion of the fund will purchase music NFTs and invest directly in artist teams.
Blocktones
Grammy winning producer Gino the Ghost launches Blocktones.
A generative music project featuring Timbaland on some of the rarest tracks.
Mintsongs shuts down
One of the biggest open platforms for independent musicians shut down in September.
📅 October
With Mintsongs leaving a void for emerging music, we saw more a big movement of independent artists to open protocols and tools like Decent, Zora and Manifold.
The leading Web3 music video platform Glass moves to Solana and sees an immediate uptick in activity.
📅 November
The first Grammy-nominated NFT album?
Arturo Sandoval gets a Grammy nod in the Latin Jazz category. The record was also released as a music NFT via DAORecords.
The Physical x Digital Crossover
Spottie Wifi launches a vinyl with embedded NFC chip linked to NFT.
Earlier in the year Verite launched a crew neck with an NFC chip allowing her to send exclusive content direct to fans.
Expecting more of this in 2023.
Coachella NFTs Get Stuck on FTX
Coachella gets caught in the collateral damage from the FTX crash.
And a good reminder - there is no point in NFTs if they’re on a centralized exchange.
📅 December
Web3 gaming and music crossover? Pixelynx (backed by Deadmau5 and Richie Hawtin) gets acquired by Animoca brands and launches a Pokemon Go style music metaverse.
The number of music NFT collectors on Sound.xyz hits a record high. Deeper analysis from Part 1 here.
What next?
One thing is clear at the end of this year. By now, most of the tourists have left.
The only ones still grinding are independent artists, producers and a few major label execs that ‘get it.’
Despite the crypto market, I’m incredibly bullish on this niche little sector of the NFT market and I can’t wait to see what happens next year.