Music and non-fungible tokens seem to go hand in hand in 2022. The latest news is that Snoop Dogg and Billy Ray Cyrus are combining forces to launch a hip-hop-country single with the new Animal Concerts 50,000-piece NFT drop.
Cointelegraph is producing the artwork for the collection, which will be available for purchase on Crypto.com. The NFT will come with several IRL utilities, such as access to concert tickets, backstage passes, merch, and free tickets to Animal Concerts’ “Meta-Concerts.”
In the press release for the song by Snoop Dogg and Cyrus, Cointelegraph writes that this will not be the last collaboration between the company and Animal Concerts. More NFT collections paired with high-profile musicians are set to follow.
As for the song itself, Billy Ray Cyrus says his philosophy on making music is to have “no limitations, no rules, and no preconceived notions.” In his words, he likes to think “like there is no box.”
Music NFTs on the Rise in 2022
The song is not Snoop Dogg’s first exposure to the world of Web3.
Widely considered the persona behind NFT art collector Cozomo ‘de Medici, Snoop Dogg has been an active investor and builder in the NFT and metaverse space. He has collected Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks NFTs, released his collection of Snoop avatars titled “Doggies,” and promised to turn the “Death Row” music label into one that produces music NFTs.
Other musicians and players in the music industry are also getting in on the act. The Bob Dylan-cofounded NFT marketplace Snowcrash recently signed a deal with two of the top recording labels in the business. Warner Music Group has paired with Splinterlands to allow musicians to create arcade games and bring additional sources of revenue.
Musicians have experimented with the NFT format, releasing albums as NFTs or fractionalizing the ownership of songs so that fans can receive royalties.
Some in the music industry see NFTs as a positive force, capable of reversing the trend in Web2 that saw musicians struggle to earn just wages. The criticism particularly comes at Web2 streaming services, which pay musicians pennies on the dollar and require thousands of streams before the musician can make a living wage.
Time will tell if Snoop Dogg and Billy Ray Cyrus’s song will be a hit, but there is little doubt that the train keeps rolling for music NFTs and Web3.