Nfts
Where Creativity Meets Business: Discover Famous NFT Music Projects from Beloved Artists
The music industry is constantly innovating through the use of technology, coming up with new genres and new sound techniques. Social media apps have allowed listeners to create new trends, such as uptempo music, refreshing old synth-waves, and creating micro-genres like drift phonk.
One of the latest improvements in music includes the use of NFTs that merge sound with visual digital assets. Music NFTs are innovative tools through which artists can sell songs or albums as digital products to benefit from fewer middlemen, such as record labels and streaming. On the other hand, NFTs can also be exploited in the form of Ordinals.
NFT music is even more beneficial for independent artists as it helps them gain recognition and expand their music to multiple audiences. At the same time, they can earn proper royalties and have more control over their music.
Considering these aspects, some music artists have already turned to NFTs to share their creations. Here are some of the most famous of them.
Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg is renowned for his collaborations with Ice Cube, Wiz Khalifa and Eminem. Yet he has always been open to unique musical projects including Gorillaz, John Legend and Mariah Carey. The gangsta rap artist is globally loved for his vibe, but he also became interested in NFTs and invested in an NFT music platform in 2023, as the network would allow artists to monetize NFTs. The artist raised no less than 20 million dollars.
In the same year, Snoop Dogg launched the NFT collection series called Snoop Dogg Passport Series, which offered users exclusive products and behind-the-scenes content. The collection was released before its summer tour, so it was a great promotional technique.
Eminem
Eminem is also one of the most famous artists who have recently ventured into NFTs. Two years ago, he purchased Bored Ape Yacht Club #9055 to add to his portfolio of 166 NFTs. The asset was valued at 123.45 Ethereum, or $452,000, and anyone can find Ethereum-based assets on Magical Eden Also.
In 2021, Eminem also released his own animated NFT inspired by the beat that shook the market. His contribution brought in no less than $30 million for the marketplace platform. He also joined venture funds that benefited the industry.
Yet one of the best things about his love for NFTs is the collaboration with Snoop Dog, in which they released a music video impersonating the monkeys from the NFT collection.
Whitney Houston
Although the incredible singer is the latest people’s assumption about an artist using NFTs to interact with emerging communities, it seems that it is possible. The singer’s half-sister took the initiative to sell unreleased songs recorded when she was only 17 years old in the form of an NFT, and it was purchased with no less than $1 million.
The NFT also contains a music video created by Diane Sinclair, a digital artist. The money earned was donated to the Whitney Houston Foundation, an NGO that aims to support and empower women in the United States. However, for those who love the singer, the NFT will never be public as it will remain in the buyer’s wallet.
avenged sevenfold
The rock community is welcoming NFT content as the most beloved bands are introducing a unique loyalty program called Deathbats Club NFT, through which users can get tickets at special prices. The feature is based on the Polygon blockchain and allows users to participate in live events by scanning NFT tags and earning loyalty points.
Fans outside of the club can also benefit from these perks if they connect their digital wallets to the band’s platform to access loyalty rewards and other perks. Avenged Sevenfold is one of the first rock bands to introduce an NFT loyalty product.
Ringo Starr
The famous Beatles drummer is reinventing his music and skills by approaching the Julien auction house to sell “The Creative Mind of a Beatle, a collection of 20 NFTs. It includes five animated paintings and various audio pieces by the artist that are unique copies. Lucky NFT holders will gain access to a physical painting of Ringo and even meet him on a virtual platform.
It’s no wonder that Ringo was able to use NFTs to spread his music, since he has continued to perform on stage since the end of The Beatles. One of his last songs was written with the one and only Paul McCartney, in 2023, in an EP called “Rewind Forward”.
Kings of Leon
Alternative rock band Kings of Leon is another famous figure who has experimented with NFTs by releasing one of their albums on an NFT platform. “While You See Yourself” is available on OpenSea and owned by YelloeHeartFactories. It includes a digital album download, a limited vinyl edition and digital artwork.
All the money from the NFT will go to Crew Nation, a charitable foundation that helps people in need facing various challenges. The NFT token standard is based on the Ethereum blockchain.
Deadmau5
The Canadian electronic music producer is not new to the crypto world, having previously collaborated with metaverse Sandbox for a head5 NFT collection on the network. The artists have launched several songs via NFT on the Nifty Gateway platform, which have earned over $4 million from their sales.
Deadmau5 also offers fans 3D artwork and tickets to exclusive events as NFTs. In addition to developing fun NFTs, he has also made sure that other collections are usable on the metaverse. For example, the partnership with Ready Player Me allowed collectors to use their NFTs as avatars for video chat apps.
Do you support artists’ NFT creations?
As the music industry advances to appeal to younger generations, many artists are adopting new technologies or strategies to avoid becoming obsolete. This is why several singers or groups are turning to NFTs, even if it seems strange to some fans because they want to explore new horizons and establish their openness to innovation on the market. Therefore, we recall Eminem, Avenged Sevenfold and Deadmau5 among the musical artists who have exploited these assets.
Bernard Van Isacker is the editor-in-chief of Side-Line magazine. With a career spanning over two decades, Van Isacker has established himself as a respected figure in the darkwave scene.
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