NFT haters are going to have a hard time convincing popular musician and producer Grimes that NFTs are “worthless Jpegs.”
According to an interview she gave with the technology magazine Wired, the Canadian singer made more money from non-fungible tokens in 2021 than she’s made in her entire career.
Part of her success with NFTs can be attributed to perfect timing. Back in 2021 when NFTs were on fire, Grimes released her “War Nymph” collection on the curated marketplace Nifty Gateway. The NFTs featured unique digital artworks set to Grimes’ music. The drop earned around $6 million in revenue, with a 1:1 music video selling for $400,000.
However, since then — as we all know, the NFT market has been in a slump. In response to this, Grimes said she was disappointed with how quickly crypto and NFTs got “polluted” from “people trying to make as much money as possible.” She added that she believed in NFTs as way to compensate artists, “especially digital artists.”
Grimes has been bullish on NFTs despite the bear market. In March 2022, she spoke at the Avalanche Summit in Spain, where she told audiences that she had plans for a metaverse children’s book in partnership with Avalanche and Web3 AI platform OP3N.
Known as a boundary-pushing artist, Grimes is also bullish on AI. Rather than fighting back against AI copycats or ignoring them altogether like most artists do, the singer recently invited fans to use an AI version of her voice to make new music. She even offered to split the royalties from the new tracks 50/50.
Musicians Continue to Innovate in Web3
An artist as big as Grimes publicly stating that she’s made more money from NFTs than from her entire music career is sure to send ripples through the music industry. But Grimes isn’t the only musician who’s been experimenting with Web3. Because of the advantages Web3 technology gives artists, many world-class musicians have entered the space. Here are two of the most interesting projects.
First, in June 2022, Snoop Dogg teamed up with Transient Labs for a new NFT collection that lets holders access exclusive content updated from his tour, “The High School Reunion Tour” with Wiz Khalifa. The “Snoop Dogg Passport Series” is billed as the “the first ever evolving tour” collectible, since the content is loaded directly onto the NFT and updates throughout the tour.
Next, in February 2022, just before her Super Bowl Halftime performance, Rihanna turned her hit song “Bitch better have my money” into an NFT that gives holders a chance to earn streaming royalties for life. The world-renowned singer sold 300 NFTs tied to the song at the price of $210 each. Fans who bought the NFT track receive 0.0033% streaming royalties, paid out monthly.
There are dozens of other musicians invested in Web3, and it will be interesting to see if any come forward to comment on Grimes’ earnings and perhaps share their own Web3 stories. At Rarity Sniper, we’d certainly be happy to talk to them.
To learn more about Web3 in music, check out our latest deep dive: What is NFT Music?