NFTs are revolutionizing the world of art, and music is no exception. For instance, musicians such as Grimes and DJ 3Lau have already raised millions of dollars on the NFT marketplace by releasing never-before-seen music videos and unreleased music. That said, let’s dive into the world of NFTs to understand how to sell music as an NFT, as well as how to buy them.
NFT stands for non-fungible token. It is a unique digital asset stored on the blockchain. For instance, this asset can be a song, piece of artwork, trading card, or virtual fashion. Nonetheless, all NFTs stored on the blockchain are unique and one-of-a-kind collectible items. They cannot be faked, copied, or deleted, as each NFT is cryptographically encrypted. Therefore, only one person can own the asset. Additionally, due to their one-of-a-kind nature, NFTs cannot be traded.
Let’s consider the following analogy to understand what an NFT is. Suppose you want to buy a Da Vinci painting. You could buy a print copy for a few bucks or the original painting itself, which is more valuable as it is a one-of-a-kind collectible artwork. Following the same logical pattern, buying an NFT is like buying the original painting digitally. On the other hand, buying a cheap copy is like taking a screenshot of the artwork – it is not the original painting. In addition, similar to the unique Da Vinci painting, the price of an NFT is likely to increase in value over time, too, as it is a collectible.
Brief Definitions:
Music NFT is a unique and digital musical work, such as a song or music video. The music is transformed into an NFT by adding it to a blockchain like Ethereum. This blockchain establishes a peer-to-peer network, which allows the exchange of digital assets without the involvement of a central authority. A network that doesn’t use a central authority is called a decentralized network. It uses smart contracts to manage transactions between participants. As a result, music NFT can be purchased online and held digitally by the owner. However, this doesn’t mean other fans cannot enjoy the music. Instead, it means that the buyer is the sole owner of the digital asset.
In addition, the owner can resell the NFT music to another bidder and make a profit. As a result, the creator earns royalties every time a work is resold. That said, the leading platforms for NFT royalties are Royal and Opulous. For instance, Royal allows the artists to co-own the music with their fans, which means that both the artist and the fan earn royalties every time a work is sold. On the other hand, artists on Opulous earn royalties from their work by staking it on the platform and making a share of the platform’s transaction fees.
One of the main reasons why music NFT is gaining popularity is because any musician can upload their songs to an NFT marketplace and earn royalties with no middlemen, contracts, or fees. Also, unlike the traditional music industry, all the profit is enjoyed solely by the artist without giving a share to the producers, publishers, and record labels.
Many artists, such as Kings of Leon, Jacques Greene, and Tory Lanez, have turned to the NFT marketplace to sell their music. However, the most jaw-dropping figure comes from DJ 3Lau and Grimes, who sold their music for millions of dollars.
DJ 3Lau was the first artist to tokenize an entire album and sell it on the music NFT marketplace. He auctioned 33 NFTs or 33 copies of his Ultraviolet Vinyl NFT album featuring unreleased music. All copies of the NFT album were sold within 48 hours, bringing the artist $11 million in profits. In addition, one of the albums contained a custom NFT song, which was sold for $3,666,666. After his success, the DJ started his own music NFT platform called royal.io, which also offers music streaming services.
Similarly, Grimes auctioned 10 NFTs, including unseen images and short music videos, for $6 million. The most expensive asset, “Death of the Old,” was sold for $388,938.
Even though price tags on NFTs sold by celebrities can reach millions of dollars, those sold by beginners usually cost a couple of bucks. Nonetheless, it can be a great way to spread awareness about your work and build a relationship with your fanbase, with the possibility of earning money in the long run as your music receives more recognition. That said, follow these five steps to sell your music NFT:
Once you have an idea of the music you want to produce and sell, there are three ways to get it done.
No matter which option you choose, be ready to dedicate several hours to working with computer files and different recording programs to ensure quality. Remember, bad NFTs don’t make as much money as the better-produced version. Also, ensure you are creating your original music to avoid copyright infringement.
A crypto wallet is a storage for your NFTs and a payment method to cover the gas fees. The gas fee is a blockchain transaction fee. The fee is paid to network validators who secure, validate, and verify blockchain transactions. For that reason, you need to make sure you have cryptocurrency in your wallet before you start creating or minting NFTs.
There are multiple crypto wallets on the music NFT market. The most popular ones include Metamask, TrustWallet, CoinBase, and Binance. Since most NFTs are based on the Ethereum blockchain, you need to purchase a utility token called Ether or ETH to list and sell your music on an NFT marketplace. You can buy ETH with a credit card directly from these wallets by creating an account through their website or app.
An NFT marketplace is a digital platform for storing, displaying, buying, and selling NFTs. There are several NFT marketplaces, and each offers services ranging from creation to sales. However, the music NFT marketplace leaders are Royal, Opulous, and OpenSea. The latter allows creators to mint their NFTs for no gas fees. Another popular user-friendly marketplace for NFT music is Crypto.
Choosing a platform to list your NFT is a matter of personal choice. No matter which option you choose, creating an account requires the same steps. First, you need to connect your crypto wallet to the platform. Then, you can customize your profile and add your nickname, email, photo, and other personal details.
Your chosen platform should have an area dedicated to music NFTs. Next, select the NFT you would like to sell from your wallet. Here are the four steps to list your music NFT for sale:
Before selling your music NFT, you need to decide how many you want to sell. For instance, you can sell a single copy that gives one person all NFT music royalties and ownership or split it into several tokens to spread the wealth.
Once you have decided on the quantity, you must come up with the listing price for the NFT. You have three options when it comes to setting the price:
Finally, set your NFTs for sale and earn money. Leveraging the power of social media statistics, remember to strategically promote your music NFTs on different social media platforms to tap into their vast user bases and increase your chances of getting discovered by investors.
So far, you know how to sell music as an NFT, but let’s also talk about how you can get your hands on one. Here’s what you need to know if you’re ready to buy music NFT from your favorite artists:
Once you have found music that you would like to purchase, remember to check the different types of sales:
When the seller offers a fixed price, you can try to get the item at a lower price by making an offer and suggesting your own price.
Also note that when you have purchased an NFT, it will not instantaneously be transferred to you. It may take minutes, hours, or days for the transition to take place.
Buying and selling NFT music generally requires the same steps: downloading a crypto wallet, choosing a marketplace, and exchanging cash for cryptocurrency. Nonetheless, blockchain technology is helping build a stronger relationship between artists and fans, allowing them to own a piece of their creation. In addition, by financially supporting their favorite artists, music NFT investors can also benefit from the transaction by earning royalties and selling it for a higher price in the future.
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