The anonymous artist known as Ghostwriter made headlines in April after dropping their A.I.-generated track “Heart on My Sleeve,” which mimicked the “likeness” of Drake and The Weeknd, and struck a major nerve with artists. 

Now, he’s back with another AI-generated track, “Whiplash,” which mimics the likeness of rapper Travis Scott and 21 Savage. He dropped the track on September 6 on TikTok and X (formerly Twitter).

“The future of music is here. Artists now have the ability to let their voice work for them without lifting a finger,” Ghostwriter shared in a statement to The Times. “If you’re down to put it out, I will clearly label it as A.I., and I’ll direct royalties to you. Respect either way.”

‘Heart on My Sleeve’ Submitted to GRAMMYS

Additionally, a recent report by The New York Times, revealed that the artist also submitted “Heart on My Sleeve” for consideration at next year’s Grammy Awards under the category of “Best Rap Song” and “Song of the Year.” 

Interestingly, the song was eligible, despite the use of AI technology being known, according to Recording Academy CEO, Harvey Mason, Jr..

The track caused a stir when it garnered over 600,000 plays on Spotify and 275,000 views on YouTube. Following the controversy, Universal Music Group (UMG) called on major streaming platforms, including Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, TIDAL, and Deezer, to remove the song from their streaming services. 

UMG also condemned the track and the use of A.I., highlighting the ethical responsibility of platforms to prevent their services from harming artists. It has since announced that it is working with Google to create AI-Deepfaked artist voice licensing for fans to use. 

In July, UMG’s general counsel, Jeffrey Harleston, called on Congress to pass a federal “right of publicity,” along with a mechanism that would put individuals on notice when some content is AI-generated. 

Earlier this year, the Recording Academy announced AI protocols that stipulated that “only human creators” are eligible to be submitted for “consideration for, nominated for, or win a Grammy Award.” 

Editor’s note: This article was written by an nft now staff member in collaboration with OpenAI’s GPT-3.

Justin Bieber just turned one of his hit songs into an NFT so that fans can participate in a royalty-share initiative. Upon its initial release, the 2015 track, “Company,” ranked at 53 on the U.S. charts and made it onto Australia’s Top 40. As of today, the track has garnered over 500 million streams. 

This new project is a collaboration between anotherblock, a blockchain-powered music platform, and the track’s co-producer, Andreas Schuller (who goes by the stage name ‘Axident’). With only 2,000 copies available to fans and investors, the “Company” NFT is set to release on September 7. 

anotherblock has previously collaborated on Web3 ventures with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including The Weeknd, Rihanna, and Martin Garrix. 

As part of the arrangement, Axident will retain the rights to the song, while offering fans who own the NFT a 1% royalty share of the song’s streaming revenue. 

Michel Traore, co-founder and CEO of anotherblock told CoinTelegraph that ‘Company’ exemplifies a song with immense potential” when it comes to leveraging blockchain technology and integrating it with traditional music. 

Turning to one of many challenges the music industry continues to face, Traore emphasized that producers aren’t always given the recognition they deserve, and this collaboration opens up a new revenue stream for producers and fans to connect with talent. 

It’s worth noting amidst the buzz, that Justin Bieber is not involved in the sale of Axident’s share of streaming royalty rights.

Other Attempts at NFT Royalty Sharing

Over the past few years, we’ve seen other collaborations attempt to do the same at anotherblock.io, including, but not limited to Royal, Sound.xyz, Audius, Solana’s Vault, and more. But have they actually landed?

In the dynamic evolution of the digital age, music has consistently sought innovative avenues to amplify its reach and generate revenue. Within Web3, the music industry glimpsed new opportunities for direct artist-to-fan engagements, potentially revolutionizing the way music is produced, distributed, and monetized.

NFTs, emerged as a promising tool in this space, with the vision of fostering a closer relationship between artists and fans while ensuring fairer compensation for creators. As the music landscape continues to be built within this space we can undoubtedly expect more ways for creators and brands to bring more music onchain.

Editor’s note: This article was written by an nft now staff member in collaboration with OpenAI’s GPT-3.

LimeWire, a once-infamous file sharing program from the early 2000s known for its role in distributing pirated music, is taking a its next major step into the emerging tech landscape as it prepared to launch its AI Creator Studio on the Polygon blockchain.

The platform has since evolved into a Web3 content platform that aims to empower creators and artists in a decentralized manner.

The studio’s initial focus will be on image generation, leveraging artificial intelligence models to allow users to create new images or enhance existing ones. This creative capability is just the beginning, as LimeWire plans to expand the studio’s offerings to include AI-generated music in the third quarter. Users will have access to a library of melodies, beats, and songs to craft their own AI-generated musical compositions.

The OG LimeWire

For the majority of millennials, file-sharing platforms like LimeWire and Napster defined the era of digital music and the power of .MP3. 

LimeWire, which was initially launched in 2000 by Mark Gorton, quickly surged in popularity, becoming notorious for its major role in music and movie piracy that had the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) scared out of their minds. 

Ten years later, a judge finally addressed a years-long pileup of copyright infringement claims that the platform had faced, which eventually led to LimeWire’s demise in October 2011 and a $105 million out-of-court settlement between Gorton and a fairly lengthy list of major record companies – including the RIAA. 

While LimeWire’s demise definitely lowered the rate of piracy, with a 16% rate in late 2007 to 9% by the end of 2010, it certainly didn’t stop other platforms from continuing on, including, but not limited to iMesh, BearShare, and FrostWire.

Limewire’s Return

In 2021, Austrian entrepreneur-brothers Julian and Paul Zehetmayer purchased LimeWire’s intellectual property with funds from their previous startups. The former controversial P2P file-sharing platform subsequently announced its return in March 2022 as a next-gen digital collectibles marketplace, beginning with the relaunching of its website. 

The company secured around $10 million in funding through a private token sale involving Kraken Ventures, Arrington Capital, and GSR in April 2022. With a new team and advisory board, LimeWire initially marketed its return as a formidable contender in the NFT boom, announcing its plans to launch a music-focused NFT marketplace that would help democratize the digital collectibles landscape.

That same month, the company released a limited-run simulation game that allowed players to download nostalgic music that were top-of-the-charts hits from 20 years ago, which was initially reported by Decrypt. Players were able to search for music and films from the early 2000s and were able to “download” whatever they wanted in order to win points – but were cautioned to be on the look out for any “in-game viruses” they could download which would immediately end the game. 

A fun take on the infamous P2P file-sharing platform, where winners of the game would be rewarded with the platform’s then unreleased native ERC-20 token, LWMR. The token launched a month later, allowing holders to purchase NFTs from LimeWire’s newly rebuilt marketplace. 

Studio Roadmap

All content generated within the LimeWire studio will be minted on the Polygon blockchain, where the platform splits content earnings between the original uploading artist and the creator of the AI-generated content. 

Under LimeWire’s creator model, the platform then distributes ad revenue, paid out in its native LMWR token, to artists based on the views their content generates – or otherwise, impression-based payouts. 

It revealed its roadmap, beginning with image generation as its first use case, followed by an eventual “library of melodies, beats and songs” to create AI-generated music. Prior to opening up access to musicians uploading their own content, the library will initially source its content from LimeWire’s partner platforms and natively owned content. 

Notably, these content pieces can also be traded on LimeWire’s secondary market as NFTs, providing an additional revenue stream for creators. When NFTs are traded, creators will receive a royalty, currently paid in USDC (USD Coin) stablecoin, based on the trade volume. Creators will also have the option to monetize their content further by restricting access and requiring fans to pay a monthly fee, denominated in USDC.

The LimeWire AI Studio aims to cater to creators of all levels of experience. Marcus Feistl, LimeWire’s Chief Operating Officer, noted that the studio is designed to be accessible for both seasoned creators and newcomers looking to embark on their creative journeys.

Feistl told Blockworks in an email interview that the “studio is really made for experienced creators just as much as it is for first-timers.” While experienced creators may use LimeWire’s creator studio to enhance their existing content or open up new doors to next-gen content, first-time creators would also have an easily accessible mechanism in which to begin their own journeys. 

While the platform offers a certain number of free creations per month to each user, those who engage more frequently will be subject to fees. LimeWire’s strategic approach to pricing aims to strike a balance between accessibility and sustainability for its users.

Feistl also noted that LimeWire’s main goal is to become “the no.1 platform for anyone to create, share and monetize content,” with the AI Studio lowering the barrier of entry for individuals wanting to become a content creator. 

Don’t Forget Napster

Just a year prior to the OG LimeWire launch, there was the P2P file-sharing platform, Napster, which was one of LimeWire’s biggest competitors. Similar to LimeWire’s collapse, Napster also suffered the wrath from the legal landscape and the RIAA. 

In 2022, Napster announced its return after crypto investment firm Hivemind and Algorand acquired its IP, hoping to respark that passion for the music industry by integrating blockchain technology and emerging technologies into an artist and fan-friendly platform. 

Napster’s now CEO Jon Vlassopulos spoke with the late Hypemoon, a former subsidiary of Hypebeast, last year about his vision and how bringing back the ringtone phenomenon helped influence the path forward for Napster.

Editor’s note: This article was written by an nft now staff member in collaboration with OpenAI’s GPT-4.

Don’t put Ed Balloon in a box.

The multidisciplinary artist has never lent himself well to labels, exploring his quirky creative vision through the lenses of music, film, and stop-motion animation with projects like Run Ed. Now it’s time to add generative art to the list.

His new project, Beauty Supply Is Out of Du-Rags, released this week on the newly-launched Prohibition platform, explores the complex cultural legacy of Black hairstyles through algorithmic code. Billed as “the first on-chain generative art project featuring braids and locs,” the collection represents a deeply personal and cathartic moment of expression based on Balloon’s own experiences.

“The du-rag is a way of hiding, but you don’t have it, so you have to let the world see and accept you for who you are,” he explains. “That is the statement that I’m making.”

In a conversational nft now podcast interview, Ed Balloon dives into his vision for the project, the state of music NFTs, and the importance of uplifting artists of color.

Matt Medved: You’re a multidisciplinary creator who thinks in terms of moving images, art, and music. How did NFTs change the creative canvas for you?

Ed Balloon: It gave me so much more flexibility. I think outside of Web3 as artists you’re like: okay, do a video, do a song, then cover art— it’s very linear. When I came into Web3, it was like, no. It allowed me to see it as a place where I can create, be honest, and disrupt. I never really looked at making stuff like that when it came to music until I came to this space. Having conversations and just seeing other people create helped me visually to see “maybe I would wanna tap into that.”

I always wanted to make sure that in the Web3 space, people knew that I was a musician and performer. People didn’t really know. They knew about the puppet, and they knew about the visual stop motion thing, but they didn’t know that I also was a musician, even though I would say, “Hey, I’m a musician, but I also do this, right?” So I felt like I had to do something.

To end “Fuck Around And Find Out” day … I decided to drop my genesis on superare. it is a music nft that pays homage to black hair. This piece also was inspired by the legend @yatreda who was one of the first artist in the space who beautifully brought light to African hair con pic.twitter.com/4llag7Xp0X

— Ed Balloon.eth (@Ed_Balloon) January 3, 2023

As a musician yourself, what’s your take on the state of Web3 music? What do you think it’ll take to bring this ecosystem to the next level?

It’s weird because I feel like it’s right there and it’s always dismissed. IRL concerts, ticketing — easy. But there is this thing about making sure that folks understand what’s happening in the culture. For me, I came into music with the idea of a bunch of us disrupting what we knew, what we saw, what we thought we knew, the patterns, and stuff like that.

Coming into Web3, I’m seeing the difficulties of just people not really understanding music as an entity and having to teach that. It is something where I’m like, “How do I find ways to have conversations and just be like you like music? Dope. You like visual art? Cool. Maybe we need to blend it too sometimes.”

Maybe that’s a way to have those who are here understand getting a collectible, but also see it as something like fine art as well. Music hasn’t even been looked at, to me, to my knowledge, as something that’s fine art. So I feel like even being in Web3 allows us the flexibility to be able to not only be this one thing.

Gm if you haven’t minted yet – pieces are still available

Here https://t.co/0szK6BGHF5

Getting a piece in the collection will also give you an opportunity to claim a vinyl for FREE

Let’s Get It

115- one of my favorite outputs thus far pic.twitter.com/16KZPbdCWm

— Ed Balloon.eth (@Ed_Balloon) July 21, 2023

Tell us the vision behind your newest project on Prohibition.

It’s going to be one of the first projects that is actually going to display box braids and locs on the chain.

I had done a drop on SuperRare called, Trap Balls on a Loc Tree. It was a music piece and I was using my locs, and I manipulated it in a way where it was like a tree branch and I had these balls on it, and it was really cool. I loved it. I had a few people asking me questions regarding that. It was in a way where there was a disconnect there. That kind of triggered me. But I didn’t really want to talk about it.

I’m afraid to talk about it because I’m not sure how it’s gonna be looked at. As a Black artist, it’s always a very difficult fine line between what you can talk about and what you can’t. I was afraid, and I wasn’t too sure why. But I did know from these conversations, I found myself kind of triggered.

It brings me back to a lot of times growing up people said “Hey, you need to shave your hair, or you can’t have your locs, or you’re not going to get that job, or you’re not going to be able to do this, you’re not going to be able to do that.” What I found so odd was that hearing these things brought me back to that place from these conversations in this ecosystem. We have PFPs of animals wearing durags and I’m like, “Oh did we not know that durags are actually here for hair protection?” There’s a disconnect there.

So this project, I was like, “How do I talk about this now?’ I said, “We’re going to code box braids and locs and we’re gonna put these bad boys on the blockchain.” My goal is to make sure that we’re showcasing the beauty when it comes to our hair, the art that goes through it, the process, and the time. Sometimes when we get our hair done, it hurts. People don’t understand that. I wanna showcase the colors, but also how you feel dope and fresh when it’s done. It’s these beautiful things that I was trying to bring to life through this project. This is art to us as well. We love the designs that we make with them. We love how they sway in the wind. This is us and accept us for us.

Oh my goodness!! the ED RUN COLLECTION IS TAKING OFF!! Oh my gosh ! Welcome new members to the fam!!! FYI – 50 percent of secondary sales go to buying art form underrepresented artists in the space !

— Ed Balloon.eth (@Ed_Balloon) July 29, 2022

What is the mission of The Ed Balloon Generational Wealth Fund?

I really want to be able to be in a position where I can buy art from artists of color, specifically Black artists in this space, because unfortunately, it’s still very difficult for artists of color to sell their art. So I [decided] I need to find a way where I can have this fund that goes to support that.

I felt like this was a way also to be an example for other projects that want to incorporate this because I wasn’t seeing that. It’s something that I still champion and try to do as much as I can with it. I also still try to give visibility to the artists that we do collect as much as I can with my platform.

What’s your spicy take on the NFT space?

Maybe it’s not that spicy, but I still think a lot of platforms don’t know how to move in this space currently. They’re doing things that have already been done, assuming that it’s going to help them. But, that only traps them, because the space is always changing. If you’re not able to have your own vision, then you’re not gonna be able to move with this space. My goal is to help but I feel like a lot of times they’re not trying to go to artists, which is weird because we are the voices of reasoning and we have a lot of the vision.

This interview transcript has been edited for concision and clarity.

For the full and uncut interview, listen to our podcast episode with Ed Balloon.

There’s a disparity between genres in Web3 music. While hip-hop and electronic (and, to a much lesser extent, pop) undoubtedly dominate the space, each seems to exist in its own microcosm. Considering the technological dependency of electronic music, it makes sense that the genre has easily found a foothold in Web3, but what about the others?

Hip-hop may be the most genuine reflection of the NFT space. We’re not talking about mainstream rap/hip-hop, though. While on the one hand, superstar electronic DJs like 3LAU, Dillon Francis, and Steve Aoki have solidified their lasting names in Web3, frontrunners of the hip-hop scene have been relatively few and far between.

Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, and a handful of others seem to be here to stay. Still, it can’t be ignored that countless stars, like Lil Uzi Vert, Trippie Redd, A$AP Rocky, and so many more have become involved in NFTs just to turn around and almost immediately pull their names (and profits) out of the ecosystem. All things considered, how is hip-hop supposed to flourish in Web3?

Who’s leading hip-hop in Web3?

The grassroots nature of blockchain tech has helped hip-hop achieve a rather steady base in Web3. While numerous industry leaders have become involved in the pop and electronic sectors of Web3 music, erecting their own unique platforms and developing virtual artists, hip-hop has remained a genre helmed almost solely by digitally-native creators within the NFT community.

This isn’t to discount NFT ventures like SongCamp or innovative music projects like Arpeggi Labs, quite the contrary. While independent successes are significantly additive to the Web3 music space, hip-hop highlights a sticktoitiveness that all market sectors might learn from.

To see the innovation happening on the ground floor of Web3 hip-hop, we need look no further than creators like multitalented artist LATASHÁ, who has been almost single-handedly defining the music video NFT market while acting as a steward of Web3 events via Zoratopia. And while those like LATASHÁ aid in infrastructure and art, rappers like Heno., Black Dave, MoRuf, and so many more are, in real-time, setting the tone for independent prosperity on music NFT platforms.

What might the future hold for Web3 hip-hop?

A bootstrap movement by all accounts, hip-hop has seemingly taken over as the backbone of Web3 music. This is perhaps not blatantly apparent to those outside and looking in at music NFTs, but to participants in the industry, it’s undeniable. Yet, while other sectors of the NFT market have begun to trickle toward mass adoption, some have been left questioning when this might happen for Web3 music.

Looking toward the future, what would it take for mainstream hip-hop to make the leap into Web3, and vice versa? While the very surface of this intersection has been explored by the aforementioned industry giants securing staying power in Web3 hip-hop, the question is also being explored by individuals and brands — including Soulection, Death Row Records, and now, Rolling Loud.

Through a PFP project called LoudPunx, Rolling Loud hopes to enter the NFT space, cultivate community, and become an incubator for hip-hop in Web3 all in one go. While this eventuality may still be a ways off, the NFT community can still help support the creators of culture by sharing their art, spreading the word, and uninhibitedly celebrating the biggest music NFT moments of 2022 and beyond.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic flipped the music industry on its head. With musicians cut off from their primary sources of income, live shows halted and merchandise sales dropped off. For most, the money just stopped coming in. As the months dragged on and things didn’t get better, it became difficult to see a light at the end of the tunnel. But then NFTs happened, and suddenly artists were getting paid their dues via the blockchain. Then, in 2021, something clicked, and the music industry embraced non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Throughout the past few years, well-established and up-and-coming musicians adopted and adapted to a new form of musical art known as NFTs. Through influential collaborations, high-profile releases, and even multimillion-dollar sales, one thing became certain: Music NFTs would continue to revolutionize the way musicians and fans create and build community.

FURTHER READING: The Music NFT Bible: A Guide to the Future of Sound

So in keeping true to our goal to empower the creators of culture, throughout the past year we’ve continued to track how the music NFT space has developed and how artists have benefited as a result. In celebration of the many Web3 artists and creators that have continued to make waves throughout the market, here are the biggest NFT moments of 2022.

Royal and Nas’ first-ever NFTs sell out in minutes

In January, the music NFT was off to a start with hip-hop legend Nas being immortalized on the blockchain. In a dual-part drop, Nas teamed up with 3LAU to release his first-ever NFT collection on the superstar DJ’s platform, Royal. The collection — which was the first live sale of NFTs on Royal.io — consisted of 1,870 NFTs across two separate drops, both of which sold out in record time, and generated more than $560,000 in total revenue.

Coachella’s NFT collection offers lifetime festival passes

As one of the largest and most popular festivals in the world, Coachella unveiled an array of digital collectibles in a move to embrace NFTs. Their NFT offering that took place in February made significant waves. Why? That month Coachella released plans for a multi-part NFT drop in partnership with (now controversial) crypto-exchange giant FTX.

Featuring a total of 11,010 NFTs across three collections, Coachella Collectibles offered fans the opportunity to purchase lifetime festival passes, unlock unique on-site experiences, physical items, and more. And while things may have gone awry when FTX collapsed, the venture remains a major moment for the music NFT space, and NFT ticketing.

Dillon Francis signs residency deal for Bored Ape NFT

Throughout 2022, popular producer/DJ Dillon Francis, whose long list of accolades includes a 2018 Latin American Music Award and Latin Grammy nominations, continued to make a splash in the music NFT space. But in March, he added a historic deal to his list of accomplishments by agreeing to an exclusive residency with Big Night in exchange for an NFT from the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection.

Specifically, Francis received BAYC #378. Notably, the deal also includes a record collaboration with the Web3 electronic duo ESCAPΞPLAN, which consists of two Bored Apes from the BAYC collection, ETHan (#4321) and zeETH (#309).

Snoop Dogg releases first Death Row NFT mixtape

Less than a month after Snoop Dogg acquired ownership of the legendary Death Row Records — the label that saw his rise to fame — he released a set of songs as an NFT mixtape on OpenSea, called Dogg on it: Death Row Mixtape Vol. 1. Launched on the Polygon blockchain, it features beats, acapella, and full songs created by Snoop in collaboration with artists from around the world.

A new contender in the growing music NFT market at the time, “Dogg on it” NFTs offered full rights to their owners, making the collection an enticing drop for the hip-hop fandom within the NFT ecosystem. In April, Snoop would also release called Death Row Mixtape Vol. 2, featuring an even more extensive roster of Web3 artists and musicians.

NFTs take over the Grammys

In April, around the same time as Snoop’s drop, NFTs kicked down the door at the music industry’s most prestigious awards show: the Grammys. Partnering with Tezos-based NFT platform OneOf, the Grammys revealed an official NFT collection as part of a three-year plan to integrate NFTs into the overall Grammy experience. The inaugural collection was headlined by critically-acclaimed fine artist ThankYouX, 3D animator and Adult Swim contributor Andre Oshea, and Emmy-winner Emonee LaRussa.

Coachella x ODESZA NFT breaks Solana 1/1 sales record

On April 18, an exclusive NFT featuring a 360-degree immersive experience of the Antarctic Dome at Coachella sold for $145,000, breaking the Solana blockchain’s single NFT (non-PFP) sales record. The NFT, which features work from nine renowned digital artists and a musical score by ODESZA, clocks in at just under six minutes but offers a near-perfect visual experience of the one-of-a-kind projection dome experience of Coachella’s REGEN.

Pussy Riot and Salem Ilese Drop ‘Crypto Boy’ in support of reproductive rights

In the spring of 2022, American singer and songwriter Salem Ilese once again became a viral sensation after her song “Crypto Boy” gained traction on social media. In keeping with the spirit of the track, Ilese opted to collaborate with Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova on an NFT release with a philanthropic mission.

As opposition to women’s reproductive rights was growing rapidly in the U.S., Ilese and Tolokonnikova tapped viral TikTokers Sad Alex, 30, and July for a music NFT collection based on “Crypto Boy.” 100 percent of the proceeds from the collection’s primary sales went directly to the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Crypto Boy is a historic moment in web3 music as one of the first songs in crypto to go viral and showcases the power of coming together for an important cause.

All of the proceeds from this drop will be donated to The Center for Reproductive Rights.https://t.co/Egp6Yk7m15

— sound.xyz (,) (@soundxyz_) May 24, 2022

The project launched on Sound.xyz and was widely promoted by the platform. On Twitter, Sound.xyz stated that the drop was “a historic moment in Web3 music as one of the first songs in crypto to go viral and showcases the power of coming together for an important cause.” Ultimately, the project, which was aptly named “Crypto Boy,” acted as yet another testament to the power of NFTs to be used for philanthropy.

SongCamp launches Camp Chaos NFT collection

In March, SongCamp — the collective Web3 laboratory experimenting at the edges of music and blockchain technology — set forth on one of the most sizeable ventures the music NFT space has ever seen. Set to create 45 songs to be released as an NFT collection totaling over 20,000 unique tokens, Chaos was incepted as a 77-person “headless band.”

As SongCamp’s third-ever project and its most adventurous endeavor to date, Chaos was comprised of musicians, visual artists, engineers, and more. With Chaos, finally launched in May, the SongCamp community put forth new and unique methods for splitting revenue and created an innovative and first-of-its-kind use case for Web3 music collaborations.

Pharrell Williams joins Doodles as Chief Brand Officer

During 2022’s NFT.NYC in June, Doodles made a variety of announcements, with one of the most notable being that music industry legend Pharrell Williams would be joining the beloved PFP project’s team as Chief Brand Officer. This news came a mere one-and-a-half months after former President of Billboard Julian Holguin was brought on as Doodles CEO.

Although it remains to be seen exactly what the long-term plan is for Pharrell x Doodles, it was also announced around the same time that Doodles would be breaking into the music industry via Doodles Records — with a Volume 1 compilation to be released, including original music with executive production from Pharrell.

LimeWire returns from the dead as a music NFT platform

Similar to other discontinued brands and services, legacy peer-to-peer file-sharing client LimeWire saw an opportunity to reinvigorate itself as an NFT and Web3-focused brand. After closing a $10.4 million private token sale in April, LimeWire launched its marketplace in July, including featured collections with Travis Barker, Soulja Boy, Dillon Francis, A$AP TyY, and more.

Bored Ape-masked DJ takes over the main stage at Tomorrowland

Ape Rave Club, a DJ, and production project that is said to be backed by “some of the most exciting producers and creatives in dance music and NFTs,” took center stage at the 2022 iteration of the renowned Belgian electronic dance music festival Tomorrowland. A single DJ, who wore BAYC merch and a full wraparound Bored Ape-styled helmet, made Ape Rave Club’s live debut, playing an hour-long set that included the track “Dance Alone” to a crowd of thousands.

Cooper Turley launches a Web3 record label

Cooper Turley, an NFT collector, investor, and advisor known for his influence in the DeFi and DAO sectors, has, against all odds, remained at the forefront of the NFT music space for as long as anyone can claim. With a hand in projects such as the exclusive, token-gated community Friends With Benefits, decentralized music-streaming platform Audius, and more, in September Turley furthered his mission as a champion of the NFT space by launching his very own non-traditional record label/investment fund.

While hailed as a Web3 record label, upon the launch of his Coop Records, Turley was sure to take the distinction between his new blockchain-based entity and endeavors of the legacy music industry. Dictating that it is to be more of a venture fund/incubator focused on Web3 artist development, he said that $10 million would be deployed to seed stage music companies, artist-specific seed rounds, and, of course, music NFTs.

Warner Music Group partners with OpenSea

Although global music and entertainment company Warner Music Group (WMG) had been slowly making its presence known in the metaverse all throughout 2022, in October, the brand effectively solidified its position in Web3 by announcing a collaboration with OpenSea. The partnership between WMG and the world’s leading NFT marketplace would provide a platform for select artists to build and extend their fan communities into Web3.

Sound crosses $5 million in secondary sales volume

Sound.xyz, a platform that combines streaming with minting, made a splash in November when its marketplace secondary sales crossed the threshold of $5 million. While the major proponents of music NFTs had long been attempting to communicate the value of tokenized music to their cohorts, this feat from Sound added yet another palpable figure to the conversation, further increasing the viability and profitability of Web3 music.

Anderson .Paak performs at The Gateway

At nft now x Mana Common’s The Gateway during Art Basel, the NFT space converged in Miami for a celebration of culture and a glimpse into the future of decentralized creativity. While attendees enjoyed free entry to experience the wealth of art activations and influential panels hosted throughout the bustling five-day Web3 metropolis, the festival ultimately culminated with a surprise performance from DJ Pee .Wee, the alter ego DJ moniker of Anderson .Paak. The crowd attending the top-tier performance filled an entire street in Downtown Miami, showcasing the vibrance of the Web3 community.

Over the past decade — and even longer in some spheres — the legacy music industry has been prone to harsh criticism. And for good reason, considering the lopsided nature of music biz revenue that leans, seemingly irrevocably, away from artists. Yet, this is an industry that has always been dependent on creators and technology to thrive, and through Web3, artists are finding that by cutting out the middle man, they themselves can harvest the fruits of their labor.

While NFTs continue to create ripples throughout tech, finance, and the various creative sectors, the music industry alone seems to be presenting the most illuminating litmus test for how blockchain technology could facilitate co-creation and co-ownership of intellectual property. In Web3’s near future, no longer will artists lose out in an industry that was made for them. This is why we can uninhibitedly celebrate the biggest music NFT moments of 2022 and beyond.

The Alpha:

• On December 14, dance music icon Armin van Buuren is launching Armin’s All Access (AAA). This budding community aims to provide his fans with a deeper way to engage with him and his music on Web3, according to a press release shared with nft now.
• The drop will feature artwork created by Dutch crypto artist Rik Oostenbroek, best known within the space and the wider art world for his stunning 3D art.
• Owners of AAA NFTs will enjoy a vast host of exclusive benefits, such as previews of unreleased tracks from van Buuren, audio versions of exclusive DJ sets, select merchandise, and a private Discord channel that promises “direct contact with Armin van Buuren.”

Why it matters

EDM royalty Armin van Buuren already has extensive experience in building communities. In 2001, he launched the A State of Trance radio show, which currently boasts a listener base of roughly 44 million, according to a press release shared with nft now. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing lockdowns, the Dutch producer gained a newfound appreciation for the power of community, and set to work hoping to create digital analogs to the communities he’s built in the real world through his various concerts and tours over the years. “I started my journey an odd twenty years ago looking to build strong connections with people from all over the world through music,” van Buuren said in the press release.

“The pandemic caused a rift and made me realize just how important it is for me. Chatting in my Discord channel, which I launched a few months ago, took me back to the days of chatting with everyone in the IRC chat as I recorded the A State of Trance episodes, and that’s the personal touch I crave.” With the upcoming launch of Armin’s All Access (AAA), he may finally get a taste of that personal touch once again. Following the project’s launch on December 14, holders of AAA NFTs will gain unbridled access to exclusive van Buuren content. This will include unreleased cuts, exclusive DJ sets, and, most crucially, access to a channel that will put holders in “direct contact” with the Dutch musician.

Tellingly, the craving for community and that “personal” touch also influenced van Buuren’s decision to enlist the help of his fellow countryman Rik Oostenbroek to bring Armin’s All Access to life. “We got in touch online, talked a lot and realized we’d both been going through similar phases in life before, during, and after the pandemic,” van Buuren said in an interview with nft now. “As we connected, I felt he would be able to create something that would reflect all that, as well as, the soul of the community I decided to launch, so I asked him, and he was happy to take up the project. It’s been an absolutely incredible collaboration since.”

What’s next

The upcoming launch of Armin’s All Access will serve as van Buuren’s formal debut in the world of NFTs. Despite Oostenbroek’s prior experience in the NFT art world, the development of AAA didn’t come without its fair share of obstacles. “While Rik had to think carefully about the artwork itself and all it would embody, my team and I had to consider what perks or content would resonate with the community and my fanbase the most,” he said. Thankfully, he had an entire career’s worth of experience to help guide him through the process. “Years ago, I became the first artist in the world to push an entire radio show onto Spotify, and that came with a set of challenges similar to what we encountered throughout this process. But we learned a lot of stuff about Web3 along the way, and that has made me really excited about the possibilities.”

Of course, following the release of Armin’s All Access, van Buuren will be joining a long list of his contemporaries who’ve successfully leveraged blockchain technology to create deeper modes of engagement for their fans. Notably, this includes longtime collaborator Steve Aoki, who has been extremely bullish on all things NFTs for years up to this point.

In van Buuren’s eyes, NFTs come with a host of unique benefits over Web2 platforms like Patreon when it comes to keeping fanbases happy and engaged. Much of this boils down to the rapid growth of blockchain technology, which has enabled NFTs to surge quickly into public consciousness. “Its rapid growth is bringing about new developments on [a] daily basis, a lot of which can be just right for building a community or promoting music,” he said. “I honestly believe that it’s the future, mainly because of the seemingly endless possibilities. And it’s just so cool to be working with an incredible digital artist whose art pieces never cease to blow my mind.”

But wait! There’s more

Who says your Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT has to live behind a screen for its entire digital life? Beyond access to the BAYC community, one of the key perks of owning a Bored Ape is getting the rights to its respective IP. Over the years, this has given holders plenty of opportunity to create additional value from their investments.

However, for some creatives who’ve picked up NFTs from one of the most expensive collections on the market, this investment goes deeper than watching a line go up and down. Owning an Ape means the opportunity to build something that could potentially do what Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz did two decades ago: create a musical and cultural phenomenon that successfully straddles the line between reality and fiction.

So are any Bored Ape-led musical outfits in a position to challenge Gorillaz’s top spot on the growing virtual band pantheon? Let’s find out.

Congo: Timbaland’s arch nemesis

After blessing the airwaves with hits like Ginuwine’s Pony in the 90s, Timbaland gradually established himself as one of the music industry’s most prominent players. Today, the multi-platinum-selling producer hopes to leverage his influence and golden touch in Web3. How? Through one of the music industry’s most enduring ways of generating hype and excitement around a project: beef.

When Timbaland first acquired his Ape, it was simply known as Bored Ape #590. Today, the Ape goes by Congo, and he’s got a bone to pick with Timbaland. However, unlike most music industry feuds, the two directly traded blows on the same track, Has A Meaning. Of course, putting together such a feud would mean putting in actual work in the real world. To help sell this illusion, Timbaland maintained a hands-on approach in putting together the track’s music video. Speaking on this unorthodox publicity stunt in a prior interview with nft now, Timbaland explained, “The difference is [that blockchain-based characters] don’t die. [They] stay in the metaverse, it’s a different world.”

Indeed, the metaverse may prove to be the key to Congo reaching his full potential as Timbaland’s rival. For anyone interested in keeping track of this rare man vs. author conflict in hip-hop, a full-fledged metaverse experience with Congo is currently in the works. Will more established players in the music industry take this unique intertextual approach with their NFT IPs?

Universal Music Group’s very own Bored Ape Band

In November 2021, Universal Music Group made headlines when it announced its intentions to form a Bored Ape supergroup of sorts: Kingship. Founded under UMG’s Web3 imprint 10:22PM, Kingship immediately positioned itself as a Web3 parallel to Gorillaz as soon as the world discovered its existence.

So, given that it’s been well over a year since these Bored Apes formed a band, surely they’ve at least delivered one song fans of the idea could rally around, right? Not quite. Currently, Kingship merely has NFT passes granting users unlimited access to its future events and projects it has lined up.

In lieu of making music, the team behind the project has been building out a roster of real-world creatives that will enable them to bring this Bored Ape band into reality. Headlining Kingship’s music leads is producer and songwriter Fauntleroy, best known for previous collaborations with the likes of Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, and more. That points to a good chance that when Kingship does end up releasing music, it will slap.

Not every Bored Ape band has taken its sweet time to deliver music to its potential fanbase. The Bored Brothers — a virtual duo led by OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder and noted musician and producer Kygo — came onto the scene in March 2022 with a music NFT, video, and more. The duo’s first single, “Drip,” dropped exclusively on sound.xyz on April 22, 2022, and quickly sold out to 300 collectors for 30 ETH.

“This project stems from an overwhelming desire to curate and create music outside our respective genres. We’re flirting with everything from deep house to Miami bass and deeper dance genres like Phonk,” reads the band’s description on sound.xyz.

With successful launches already under its belt, the Bored Brothers’ eventual mission to provide users with an immersive fan experience via the metaverse looks less like a pipe dream and more like a logical next step forward.

Escapeplan demos how Web3-native curation may look moving forward

Escapeplan, created by Big Night Talent, is a producer and DJ duo featuring two BAYC NFTs as its members. WME made headlines when it signed the band in March 2022. Soon after, the duo released their first single, “Jungle” featuring rapper Rich the Kid. Through ownership of the one-of-one Trippy token, one holder can claim four percent of all royalties generated by the single moving forward.

Fans speculated that it wouldn’t be the last time this duo would virtually work with another notable name in the mainstream music industry, and they were right. In late November 2022, Escapeplan followed up its earlier success with the release of “Bad Girl,” a track featuring DJ Sak Noel as part of its creative team.

So, will there ever be a Bored Ape band big enough to rival mainstream artists? It’s too soon to tell, but these four could be on their way to going platinum in the metaverse.

Few artists have achieved staying power at Snoop Dogg’s level. A name synonymous with rap music and hip-hop culture, the LBC legend has remained at the forefront of trends far beyond the original scope of his career. That, of course, now includes trends in the metaverse.

A prominent player in the NFT space, Snoop is considered a seasoned veteran of blockchain-based music endeavors. With major feats like a multi-million dollar ($45 million by some accounts) collection with Gala Music, numerous NFT mixtapes, and the reconstruction of iconic Death Row Records as a Web3 label under his belt, when Snoop makes NFT moves, people take notice. This is precisely why his latest venture with Billy Ray Cyrus and The Avilla Brothers has started to gain traction with NFT enthusiasts and general consumers.

By way of interactive metaverse concert company Animal Concerts, Snoop, Billy Ray, and The Avilla Brothers are bringing their celebrated 2022 collaboration “A Hard Working Man” to the blockchain in a unique fashion. Constructed as a multifaceted project, the trio’s single has been transformed into a PFP collection, a gamified NFT experience, and a tokenized incentives program.

A hard-working NFT collection

In contrast to other music NFT releases — including those from Snoop — “A Hard Working Man” was created for the explicit purpose of fan interconnectivity. Separated into a three-tiered drop, the collection touches on community building and asset utility through a gamified drop experience that yields exclusive redeemables.

Connecting with the messaging found in the song “A Hard Working Man”, the overarching PFP collection itself speaks to the virtues of quintessential Americana. In each NFT, Snoop and Billy Ray are depicted in attire associated with hard-working jobs. From electricians, construction workers, and farmers, to doctors and firefighters, Snoop and Billy Ray are thrust into skilled labor positions, wearing the clothing and expressions you’d expect from their blue-collar alter-egos.

While signing up to participate in the three-tiered drop can be done via Discord, Animal Concerts — the true mastermind behind this venture — has taken things a step further by introducing an interactive, gamified platform for fans to earn points and win prizes. By joining the “A Hard Working Man” allowlist, users have the opportunity to complete various quests to earn points that place them on a communal leaderboard. Those at the top of the leaderboard can win more than 100 free NFTs. At time of writing, this unique feature was already live, bringing fans into the fold long before the primary sale (date TBA) has been announced.

Of course, the “A Hard Working Man” collection emphasizes more than the potential profitability of NFTs, since participants in the drop will have the opportunity to obtain vastly more than a single token. In fact, those who collect a Snoop x Billy Ray piece can choose from a broad variety of incentives.

Everything from live concert tickets and backstage passes to flyaway packages to party with Snoop will be up for grabs to a select few who collect an NFT from the forthcoming collection. Similarly, holders will also gain access to Snoop and Billy Ray’s Animal Concerts powered metaverse performance, subsequent giveaways, member events, and more.

Building toward the future of metaverse music

While such a high-profile celebrity-involved collection is surely a strong step toward mass adoption of NFTs, there’s more to “A Hard Working Man” than meets the eye. As possibly the most ambitious endeavor to come from Animal Concerts thus far, the project speaks to Web3’s innate ability to help creators and IP owners build a deeper and more engaging community in collaboration with fans.

We’re not just talking about the various unique ways IP is brought onto the blockchain. NFTs are helping to revolutionize fandom as we know it. And this Snoop, Billy Ray, Avilla Brothers, and Animal Concerts collab illustrates how Web3 affords artists a more robust way to engage with their fans and followers while also allowing fans more access to their favorite artists.

On speaking to the power of the Web3 artist-fan connection, Animal Concert’s CEO Colin Fitzpatrick noted that fans can now place a palpable bet on underrated artists they believe have potential. “Everyone who’s hardcore into music is discovering new bands. You see a band, and you go, ‘they’re gonna be huge,’” Fitzpatrick said in an interview with nft now. “Isn’t it amazing to have that opportunity? To say, ‘I’m gonna buy in now, and they’re going to blow up. And I have proof that I was right in the beginning, and maybe I can even benefit financially from royalties.’ That’s a complete game changer.”

Going beyond the interconnectivity features of NFTs, Animal Concerts is tapping into a market less traveled by many within the Web3 music space. Called a “next-generation traditional/metaverse record label” by Fitzpatrick, the company aims to redefine what live shows could be in a digitally-native era.

“We’re democratizing concerts because we can bring them to everyone all around the world on any device. Not just the few who were lucky to get a ticket to their favorite band in a small city,” said Fitzpatrick. “And I think that’s a really cool thing. Because we enable artists to deliver once-in-a-lifetime fan experiences online and in the metaverse, and then we work with them to create and launch [NFTs] on their behalf.”

As many NFT purists will tell you, there’s room for everyone in the metaverse. Yet those, like Animal Concerts, who are actively working to make entertainment accessible for everyone, are undoubtedly among the most valuable. To learn more about “A Hard Working Man”, the $ANML token, and the quickly growing Animal Concerts ecosystem, visit the company’s official website here.

Miku Hatsune was viewed as an oddity when she released her first demo track in 2007. A seemingly disembodied voice created by Crypton Future Media, Miku was a wonder at the time, only capable of existing via a singing-voice synthesizer technology called Vocaloid.

Over the years, Miku’s influence grew, and she became a virtual pop star. From influential collaborations to world tours, this animated and fully digital recording artist helped the music industry explore the possibilities of what was achievable through virtual reality, paving the way for those like Yameii and FN Meka to become viral sensations.

Now, with the power afforded to creators via Web3 and blockchain tech, virtual influencers are becoming a regular part of pop culture. From users creating entire personas around their owned NFTs to CryptoPunk rappers and Bored Ape DJ duos headlining events, physical and digital experiences are melding in new and exciting ways.

Just as the music ecosystem has shifted in response to NFTs, yet another iteration of the recording industry is emerging in the wake of virtual artists. And at the forefront of that new iteration lives Player Zero, a Web3 record label that, like the advent of the virtual pop star, is changing how we perceive the future of music.

What is Player Zero?

Player Zero is a Web3 record label that, as record labels go, is about as digitally native as you can get. While most legacy labels are rooted in the real world and focused on acquiring and building talent and brands in real life, Player Zero is creating an ecosystem that revolves entirely around Animated Virtual Artists (AVAs).

A joint venture between hitmaker Dr. Luke and Web3 collective Digital Arts & Science, Player Zero aims to develop a vast roster of AVAs and corresponding metaverse experiences. To do so, Dr. Luke has already tapped a strong cast of music industry veterans who have worked with Demi Lovato, Zara Larsson, Twice, Fergie, and many more.

Similar to Miku, Yameii, and FN Meka, AVAs are virtual artists that exist solely in the digital realm. Some may be powered by Vocaloid and artificial intelligence, others may be the product of a team of producers, singers, and songwriters, but each AVA exists digitally, on the blockchain.

AVAs are powered by NFTs, which is perfectly illustrated by Player Zero’s first virtual offering, Amari. Although Amari is quickly turning into a metaverse pop star with her debut single “Deeper,” the character herself comes from the popular PFP NFT collection CyerBrokers created by crypto-art OG Josie Bellini.

However, Player Zero didn’t simply obtain the Amari NFT for use as an AVA. It collaborated directly with the CyberBrokers community to create her backstory, personality, sound, and more. As other AVAs are created in the image of NFTs, like Doodles, Meebits, Bored Apes, and more, communities surrounding these projects might be offered a say in its development.

“We love to partner with communities that already exist,” said Lawrence Vavra, music industry veteran and one of the founders of Player Zero, in an interview with nft now. “Because we’re members of those communities and have been really bullish on Web3 for the last year and a half now. So we have like, a bunch of cool NFT community AVAs, but still, we also have ones that we made from scratch.”

Through initiatives like Amari that dig straight into the heart of the NFT community, Player Zero has is building itself as more than a record label, in hopes of becoming a comprehensive entertainment brand rooted in Web3 music.

“To us, [a Web3 record label] really means that you’re able to make community-centric things come to life,” said Vavra. “We come from the record business, and we understand what goes into building an artist,” said Vavra. “As fans, we all know the musician, but there are, in most cases, tons of people — like singers, songwriters, and producers — behind an artist that help make it go.”

With Player Zero, Vavra said he and his team endeavor to give artists and creator communities the opportunity to release art in a digitally native way that circumvents the dilution of the music industry. This is why AVAs are created for the NFT community, by the NFT community, bound only by the constraints of blockchain technology and collective imagination.

How does Player Zero work?

Similar to other blue-chip NFT projects, Player Zero works on a membership-based model. At the very top of that model exists the Player Zero Founders Pass, which are essentially a golden ticket that gives holders access to nearly every future drop and initiative to come from the budding Web3 record label.

Founder Passes are exclusive, with only 100 ever to be released. The first 50 passes were minted at an exclusive presale event, the remaining 50 were only attainable via auction. One pass will be auctioned every 24 hours, and the final Founders Pass will be sold on November 3, 2022.

But Founders Passes aren’t the only way for NFT enthusiasts to gain access to the Player Zero ecosystem. Since AVAs are developed and released, Vavra said collectors will have the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of these characters’ “careers.”

“Every AVA that we put out is going to have a Genesis Pass, which should really incentivize early adopters to get into the project,” said Vavra. “Think about how it’s always worked: you come across a band, and you love this band, and the band starts getting bigger and bigger. Then it gets to the mainstream and as an early adopter, you’re on to the next thing.”

With Genesis Passes, Vavra said that early adopters have the opportunity to get rewarded instead of snubbed by their favorite artists. As AVA’s develop, collectors of their Genesis Passes will have a say in creative direction.

The Player Zero team collaborated with our community-led Writer’s Room to develop Amari’s backstory and motivations so that they fit within the parameters of the CyberBrokers universe.

Keep an eye out for Amari’s origin story, coming soon to @PlayerZeroHQ! pic.twitter.com/WJ3WwCsAPu

— CyberBrokers (@CyberBrokers_) September 16, 2022

To Vavra, greater control in creative direction could involve deciding which artists to collaborate with, what sort of merch they should release, or even which versions of their songs should make it through to streaming. In short, Vavra’s vision is for fans and early adopters have real incentivizes for building in the Player Zero universe.

Could AVAs be the future of Web3 music?

As the Web3 and metaverse era entices more to live their lives entirely online, AVAs seem to be perfectly in line with the interests of a digitally-native culture. Just as we saw concerts and festivals transition to becoming virtual experiences during the COVID pandemic, it’s possible that music acts could also become completely virtual experiences.

Crucially, Player Zero is vastly different from the other Web3 native music platforms that have emerged of late. Services like Sound.xyz and Catalog have empowered independent artists to release their creations on the blockchain, but Player Zero is more of an incubator for community-driven projects that both align with the general NFT ecosystem and the backend of the music industry (so, songwriters, producers, and more).

That doesn’t mean that the lines between established platforms and Web3 labels like Player Zero can’t be blurred though. Instead, it’s more of a reminder that the NFT ecosystem could be ready and receptive to such an entity. As far as Vavra is concerned, the NFT space and the world at large are undoubtedly ready for Player Zero, and a future where virtual beings can become chart-topping superstars.

“Even five years ago, I would’ve said that I don’t think people are going to really be able to connect with music unless there was a story behind the musician,” said Vavra to nft now. “I think now, because of Web3, because of Zoom, and because of COVID, people will connect with the music, and it doesn’t have to be a human person for them to connect.”

However, it’s too early to say for certain whether changes happening in the music industry due to Web3 will last. But as the metaverse continues to expand and consumers continue to show a desire for virtual experiences, Player Zero could become the a leading voice within the Web3 music ecosystem.