Music and NFTs: four predictions from a pioneer
While there are signs that NFT prices are coming back to earth, the music NFT sector is just getting started, in large part because the benefits of NFTs and web3 for musicians transcend the hype.
Kevin Primicerio, the Co-Founder & CEO of Pianity has built an NFT marketplace that enables artists and fans to create, collect and trade “unique musical artwork.” That makes him one of the pioneers of this momentus shift. and investors showsed their confidence in his vision last month quickly funding a $6.5 million seed round.
Unsurprisingly Primicerio is bullish about the future of music and NFTs and offered some informed predictions on where things are headed and why.
1. Vinyl shortage and exclusivity will be the perfect storm for the rise of NFTs
“Like NFTs, Vinyls gave fans the opportunity to collect and own something rare.”
“With vinyls being hard to come by these days and people wanting to own an exclusive piece of their favorite artists’ pie, NFTs are having (and will continue to have) their moment. Like NFTs, Vinyls gave fans the opportunity to collect and own something rare. But with the recent shortage, fans are looking for content that offers more than just sound – it offers an added bonus and benefits. NFTs offer utilities that give special perks to fans who purchase them, and this coupled with the need for collectible content will make it a perfect storm for music NFT sales.”
2. Other forms of entertainment will move to NFTs
“fans now are looking for ways to connect”
“The rise of Clubhouse made people want those intimate chats with their favorite influencers from a variety of different mediums that allowed you to directly connect with them. With Clubhouse’s recent fall from grace, fans now are looking for ways to connect with their favorite podcaster, self-help guru, and more. Enter NFTs. Other forms of entertainment like podcast episodes, exclusive workout sessions, etc. will likely pop up on NFT platforms in the near future – which will likely call for one-stop-shop NFT platforms that host it all.”
3. NFT Communities will grow and diversify
“Think fan specific meetups, merch, and chatrooms on platforms like Spotify, Instagram, Twitter, and Meta”
“As more people come to recognize NFTs as valuable assets, popular brands and public figures will attempt to capitalize on their exclusivity and utility. This commercialization of the NFT will create larger, more diverse collectives of post-mint holders that encompass more mainstream audiences and interests. Think fan specific meetups, merch, and chatrooms on platforms like Spotify, Instagram, Twitter, and Meta as it’ll enable these communities to organize outside of encrypted chat room spaces. Think fan specific meetups, shows in the metaverse, merch, and chatrooms on platforms like Discord and Whatsapp, as it’ll enable these communities to organize outside of encrypted chat room spaces.”
4, More artists will take their music off streaming platforms like Spotify and find new places to market their music
“they’ll be able to build the buzz and following – and actually get paid for their art”
“You might remember a few months ago when Spotify refused to remove Joe Rogan’s podcast following the controversy around his spread of misinformation resulting in many artists removing their music from the platform. This along with the platform paying artists, especially emerging artists, mere cents for each stream, is causing more and more people to take their music off streamers and find new avenues to sell and market their music. Many artists have started dropping their music on platforms like music NFT platforms where they know they’ll be able to build the buzz and following – and actually get paid for their art – and this will likely only increase as more and more artists ditch the streamers.”
Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.
