How you can still make money with Music NFTs

Despite a few stumbles, the world of NFTs is growing larger every day, so there is no time like now for musicians to get their foot in the door. Here’s how to succeed with music NFTs…

by Jonathan Carmel of Symphonic Blog

There are many advantages to utilizing NFTs as an artist, but it’s often challenging to attract or convince an audience to buy them. While the Music NFT movement is growing, many people still don’t even know what they are, how to buy them, or why they exist. In this post, we’ll give you several key focus points to ensure the greatest success releasing NFTs as an artist. Let’s dive in…

Consider Your Time in the Space

If you have no knowledge of Web3 and NFTs, or are just starting out, the best first step is to just observe and connect!

Find some artists you like who are already releasing NFTs, join their Discord, follow them on Twitter and connect with other people in the artist’s community. Introduce yourself, ask questions, and enjoy the inevitable slew of memes. 

From there, you can start to branch out on these respective platforms and observe the everyday news happening in the Web3 space. You will start to notice trends, consumer behavior, and even make some friends along the way who are oftentimes more than willing to help in any capacity. Who knows, these new friends may even be your first collectors when the time comes to release your own NFT!

Build Your Community

One of the key aspects of success in Web3 is a strong community. NFTs serve many functions for an artist, but one of the most important is fostering a community of your most loyal supporters.

The best way to start is by essentially just doing what was recommended above! Build your own Discord, create your own Twitter, and nurture your own presence in Web3. Ideally you will attract a mix of new supporters who are already in Web3 and old supporters who care enough to make the leap into this emerging vehicle. This is your foundation, and you want to make sure it’s as strong as possible.

Eventually, you can go a step further and start to collaborate with your supporters. Since you will be tasked with creating the music and the content, it can be wise to enlist certain active members of your community to handle other tasks that you may not have the time for. (This can include Discord moderation, website creation and general input on creative direction.)

Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment

There is a growing number of music specific NFT platforms that offer varying services for you to try out. Some focus on 1/1 releases, some focus on music videos, and some even focus on stems. The idea is to try whatever piques your interest.

You’ll gain knowledge, experience, and hopefully some new fans, with every new release/strategy you try. With the Music NFT industry still being somewhat in its infancy, now is the perfect time to experiment!

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World Building / Storytelling

Despite the relatively small size of the Music NFT market today, there are still a large number of daily releases spanning multiple platforms and blockchains. A good way to not only stand out in the space, but to also continue building on your community, is to find some creative, immersive ways to release your music. This can be especially fun once you feel comfortable navigating the tech side of things. (Of course, we are here to help with that if you need it.)

Maybe there is a deeper story behind your song or album. Or maybe you can involve the community in your roll out with some sort of participation or collaboration or you want to experiment with actual world building through the Metaverse. There are so many ways to showcase your vision and exercise your creativity.

Be creative, and just have fun with it!

Pricing / Supply

Pricing your NFT and determining supply of your NFT is an art form in itself. Currently, it’s pretty cheap and easy to access music through streaming, so you have to consider what type of supporter you are targeting with NFT releases as these tend to be more expensive and exclusive. You may not cater to everyone all the time, and that is ok!

For example, you may sell a 1/1 single edition NFT at a higher price point versus a 10,000 supply NFT for a lower price point. With the 1/1 edition being more exclusive, you can incorporate special perks that only pertain to the purchaser of that NFT. In the case of the 10,000 edition collection, you can still incorporate perks, but these can be more general as the amount of collectors is much greater. The good news is, there will absolutely be an audience for each and every scenario!

Use trial and error to your advantage here to get a real gauge on what your particular community is willing to spend for your music. In tandem with the points above (world building, community engagement, etc.) you can make a strong case for valuing these experiences higher than a traditional streaming release.

Promote. Promote. Promote.

If your NFT release doesn’t initially sell out, don’t worry!

Don’t be afraid to continue promoting and building your presence in Web3. The more you do and the more you grow, the better chance someone will find your old work and buy it, even if it’s months down the road.

In Conclusion…

The Music NFT space is very new and constantly evolving. Try to manage expectations and just enjoy the process. At the end of the day, this is a tool to further connect with your supporters to collectively build something special.

Be creative, foster your community, and embrace the opportunities in Web3.

Good luck!

Jonathan Carmel is Symphonic’s Web3 Lead with almost 10 years in the Music Industry across Management, Touring, and Business. Since 2020, Jonathan has focused solely on Web3, making it a mission to help as many artists as possible build a career in the space. Ownership, creativity and community are what drives him to serve artists in Web3.