What Is a Music NFT Marketplace, and How Do You Use It Advantageously?

by David Patterson
23 Apr 2023

Being seasoned in computer science and having surfed the entire software development stack, David has something to say about how it all works. He’s also well aware of the gambling industry's best practices for turning client-customer concepts into workable models. Additionally, David's zest for cryptos makes him precisely that guy whose comprehensive expertise can save you from unnecessary (and costly!) mistakes.


A Microphone 
Music NFT Marketplace

Whether you are a collector interested in rare digital art items or a musician who wants to build the community and monetize your songs, you might like the idea of using new technologies involving non-fungible tokens. Let’s explore the best NFT music marketplaces and what opportunities you can use to your advantage.

What Are NFT Tokens… and How Can They Be Audial?

What are NFTs?
The NFT inscription on the background of NFT pictures

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital assets that prove ownership of a unique item or artistic piece. Unlike cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoins or Ethereum, NFTs cannot be divided into smaller units and cannot be swapped out one for one. Songs, pictures, videos, in-game items, and even documents can be tokenized and stored on the blockchain, which ensures transparency and security.

NFTs introduced a new way for content creators to monetize their work. They can tokenize their digital creation and list it on an NFT marketplace for music, where it can be sold and traded with an additional royalty percentage for authors. 

Music NFTs usually imply tokenized songs, but they could also mean something else related to music.

Music NFT Marketplace Definition

To build an active fan base and monetize their work, artists may list their creations on the NFT marketplace for musicians as non-fungible tokens. 

Music marketplaces concentrate on the trading and selling of music-related digital collectibles. They allow composers and singers to sell their works as NFTs, providing a new revenue stream and a unique way for fans to support their favorite musicians. Marketplaces provide mechanisms for creators to earn additional royalties from every subsequent resale on the secondary market. 

Music NFT marketplaces can also help creators promote their work and gain exposure to new audiences interested in collecting unique digital artworks. Music NFT marketplaces verify the authenticity and ownership of NFTs to ensure that buyers purchase genuine and unique digital assets.

Successful Audial NFT Collection Examples

Ultraviolet

“ULTRAVIOLET” NFT collection
DJ and electronic music producer 3LAU sold an album titled “Ultraviolet” as an NFT collection

In February 2021, Grammy-nominated DJ and electronic music producer 3LAU sold an album titled “Ultraviolet” as an NFT collection for $11.6 million. The collection included 33 unique items. The buyer of the token also received a physical object – a vinyl edition of the album.

When You See Yourself

Album "When You See Yourself."
The rock band Kings of Leon earned over $2 million in sales after releasing their album “When You See Yourself” in the NFT edition in March 2021

The American rock band Kings of Leon earned over $2 million in sales after releasing their “When You See Yourself” album in the NFT edition in March 2021. Three types of non-fungible tokens served various purposes, such as granting VIP perks at concerts and providing access to exclusive audiovisual art and a digital download of the album.

First Rays

In 2021, a collection of NFTs called “First Rays” was released by Canadian artist The Weekend. This digital assets collection contained a unique combination of audiovisual art pieces and exclusive album clips from his latest release, “After Hours.” The tiers in which the NFTs were distributed ranged from several hundred dollars to thousands of dollars, and all units sold out extremely quickly after going on sale.

WarNymph Collection

Digital artworks titled "WarNymph."
Canadian musician and artist Grimes sold a collection of digital artworks titled “WarNymph” as NFTs for $6 million

In February 2021, Canadian musician and artist Grimes sold a collection of digital artworks titled “WarNymph” as NFTs. The collection included 10 unique pieces of art, each with its audiovisual component, and a portion of the sales donated to various charitable causes. The NFTs were sold for $6 million in just 20 minutes.

How to Buy Music NFT Products?

Create a wallet

To buy something on the marketplace, you must install a wallet and top it up. Most NFT marketplaces require Metamask for Ethereum and Phantom for the Solana blockchain. You can use Apple Pay to purchase crypto and top up your wallet.

Choose the best NFT platform for music

The music NFT ecosystem is vast: platforms have different purposes and features. You can buy concert tickets as NFTs or albums or go to the Web3 music streaming platform.

A brief guide to the music NFT ecosystem
Music NFT ecosystem is vast: platforms have different purposes and features.

Connect your wallet 

To start using the platform, connect your wallet to a marketplace website.

Choose an audial non-fungible token

Now you can apply some filters and choose the chain, price, and category you are interested in to find something for you to buy. 

Buy an audial non-fungible token

Once you have chosen a digital collectible you want to buy, you can either buy straightaway or make an offer which means you set your price, then an author can accept your offer, and you will get the non-fungible token for your price. Notice that others can also make offers for a higher price, so the creator is more likely to accept their offer.

And How Do You Sell Your Music NFT Masterpieces?

If you are a music creator and want to monetize your work with modern technologies, you can tokenize your songs and list them on the marketplace.

Choose a marketplace and a blockchain where you want to mint your non-fungible token

The most popular NFT blockchains are Ethereum and Solana, meaning that these blockchains power most platforms, and most NFT transactions are performed on these chains.

Top blockchains by NFT trading volume 2024
The most popular NFT blockchains are Ethereum and Solana

Create a crypto wallet

To create a non-fungible token, you must use cryptocurrency to pay a network commission. Most marketplaces require Metamask.

Top up your crypto wallet via an exchange

To list your song on a marketplace, you will have to pay for gas (a commission that validators of a network such as Ethereum takes for adding your transaction to the blockchain). This fee varies depending on the current demand for network resources and the current price of Ethereum. To mint a digital collectible, you must top up your wallet to pay the network’s commission.

Connect your wallet to a website of the marketplace

To start creating non-fungible tokens, connect your wallet to a music NFT site.

Start creating your first audial non-fungible token

The most popular NFT marketplace, OpenSea, allows users to create NFTs for free. You have to pay only once to initialize your account. Like all marketplaces, OpenSea will take a service fee of 2.5% when your item is sold. Nevertheless, if you want to change the price of your work, you will be required to pay an additional fee for gas. 

Now you are ready to publish your work. Click on “Create” to start your Music NFT release! Upload audio in MP3, OGG, or WAV format. Then provide some information about the song and the author. Tell a unique creation story to draw attention to your work.

After creation, you can list your digital collectible for sale!

3 Audial NFT Marketplace Sites Review

OpenSea

OpenSea website screenshot
OpenSea is the most popular NFT marketplace

OpenSea marketplace supports all types of NFTs, including non-fungible music tokens. It supports many blockchains, such as Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Arbitrum, Polygon, and Avalanche.

It allows minting digital collectibles for free, and after completing a sale, it will charge 2.5% of the total price. As for other pleasant bonuses, the marketplace allows you to set an additional royalty percentage and earn up to 10% from every resale of your work.

Async

Async website screenshot
Async is considered to be the best NFT platform for musicians

Async is considered to be the best NFT platform for musicians. Besides uploading and selling music, Async allows you to make new music NFT from scratch using an in-built “music builder” tool. By creating various layers to your music, you increase the rarity of your audial non-fungible token.

Because of its user-friendly interface, Async has already attracted 9500 creators who are interested in monetizing their work with the help of the NFT marketplace music. NFT creators are eligible for a royalty of up to 10% for each secondary sale. Minting on this music NFT market is free of charge. However, the platform charges 20% for the first sale and 2.5% for all sales on the secondary market. 

Nifty Gateway

Nifty Gateway website screenshot
Nifty Gateway is focused on partnering with top artists and brands to create digital collections of limited edition and high-quality NFTs

Nifty Gateway is focused on partnering with top artists and brands to create digital collections of limited edition and high-quality NFTs. The platform offers free minting and listing NFTs for sale. Digital artists can earn royalties of 10% of their digital collectibles’ sales at Nifty Gateway.

To start selling your work on this platform, complete a form detailing your experience. You must specify the purpose of working on the marketplace and share creative ideas you plan to implement on the site. You will also need to provide links to your works sold as NFTs and a video presentation of yourself. The platform selects artists who can list their work on it. That’s why Nifty Gateway is unsuitable for beginners without experience and a loud name in the crypto industry.

Other NFT music sites

Suppose you are interested in other music-related NFT platforms. In that case, you can also visit AfterParty or YellowHeart to buy tickets for concerts and live streams of musicians, Audius Music to see Web3 streams, and FWB to join the Web3 music community.

So, What Does the Future Hold for Musical Arts?

The present music industry offers limited opportunities for up-and-coming talents in the art world. Musicians seek new ways to monetize their work and find new fans. Music NFTs are one of the innovations hailed as groundbreaking in the music industry by bringing many benefits to content creators. 

The use of music NFTs can guarantee that the money from the sales of the work goes directly into the hands of the content maker rather than involving record labels. Further introduction of non-fungible tokens in this area will ensure good growth of the entire music industry

Conclusion ✨

With the emergence of young musicians and the increasingly rapid development of technologies, the music industry is beginning to change and provide new ways for creators to monetize their work and build an active fan base. As the crypto market recovers in 2024, new investors and crypto enthusiasts jump into the NFT sector and look for new opportunities. 

If you are an ambitious artist, you can try to tokenize your works and enter the NFT market. If you are a collector and want to catch a new trend and add something unique to your collection, explore NFT music sites and look for something interesting for yourself.

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