Mike Shinoda’s NFT Project Launches on Secret Garden

Credit: Jonathan Weiner

In September 2022, news broke that Mike Shinoda, the co-founder of rock band Linkin Park, was teaming up with music NFT platform Secret Garden for an NFT collection. The NFT set, titled “Windchime,” would put NFT users in the driver’s seat to create their own music arrangements based on beats Shinoda designed. On October 12th, 2022, the collection launched.

Secret Garden initially tweeted the collaboration on September 27th. It wrote on Twitter, “Thrilled to announce our collaboration with @mikeshinoda on the Windchime Bouquet, his first Ethereum collection. Shinoda also joins us as an official advisor to help take Secret Garden to the next level.”

The platform pumped up the project by offering pre-mint spots to holders of several different collections, including Moonbirds. Today, 1,059 people have minted an NFT from the Windchime collection. It has a 55 percent unique owner rate and 0.05 ETH or $64 floor price. So far, there are six sounds, three leads, three leads-choke, six basses, and six drum beats that holders can choose from to create their own music.

This is not Shinoda’s first foray into the NFT space. Last December, he created the first NFT mixtape collection on the blockchain Tezos. The collection, titled “Zuggarats,” allowed holders to own their very own “mini-mixtape,” with the total NFT count numbering 5,000. Zuggarats holders also got first dibs at the Windchime collection.

If nothing else, Shinoda’s two NFT collections show that he is experimenting in the NFT space. His collections have involved NFT holders in unique ways and seem to be avoiding the stigma of most celebrity NFT drops, which NFT communities often see as “cash grabs.”

Music Bets Big on Web3

While many industries have bet big on Web3, few have bet as big as the music industry. From individual artists to recording labels, the music industry has seemed gung-ho about the next iteration of the internet ever since the bull market in 2021. Here are three stories involving the music industry and Web3.

First, there is Napster. Two weeks ago, the company best known for pirated music announced it was making a comeback as a Web3 company. To jump start its ecosystem, it plans to give away billions in cryptocurrency tokens as incentives to developers, musicians, and fans.

Second, there is the partnership between Warner Records and “Probably Nothing.” A month ago, the two combined to create a Web3 music label called “Probably a Label.” The two had collaborated previously on a 5,000 NFT collection titled Stickmen Toys.

Third and finally, there is MTV. Three months ago, the company created a new award category: “Best Metaverse Performance.” It did so to account for the number of music artists making performances in virtual worlds. Charli XCX and Blackpink were among the first nominees.

Shinoda’s NFT collections show innovation in the context of music NFTs. And as the other stories show, the music industry appears bullish on Web3 as a whole. Perhaps Shinoda’s collections will give the NFT music sector a jump-start in the bear market.