The music NFT drops with Diplo, Nas, and The Chainsmokers have culminated in Royal’s marketplace going live, and the company is also working on developing a mobile app.
During the past month, the world has witnessed some of the most exciting developments in the music industry. One of these innovations is the introduction of Royal, a marketplace, which will help bring music NFTs to the masses. This is an important step because it will make it easier for people to access music they enjoy. In addition, the marketplace is expected to help the creators of music earn royalties-hence the name, Royal.
Creator royalties
While there are many NFT platforms out there, most of them are not designed specifically for music. However, Royal is leveraging the Ethereum sidechain Polygon to create a marketplace that allows users to buy and sell music NFTs. The platform’s marketplace will feature detailed statistics on each asset, including the song’s streaming data and revenue, along with an automatic payment interface.
The Royal market combines streaming data from Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and SoundCloud Premium, in addition to a few other services. The site is powered by an Ethereum sidechain, Polygon, and it leverages the Polygon community to allow users to trade tokenized music rights without having to own any of the tokens themselves.
Connecting artists and fans
Among the leading names in the music NFT space is Royal, which has just launched a marketplace for music royalty rights. The platform is designed to enable musicians and fans to connect on a more direct level. It pulls data from streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music and offers users a chance to purchase shares in songs from artists.
Royal is a startup founded by EDM DJ and music producer Justin “3LAU” Blau and home-buying startup OpenDoor founder JD Ross. Their goal is to create a marketplace for music NFTs that is easy to use, and a good fit for both musicians and fans.
The platform allows artists to sell fractional shares of their songs to fans, which can be bought for any price. For example, a small artist might be able to generate $10,000 for a single song, while a Taylor Swift could potentially generate…well, you get the idea.
Own a piece
Royal is a marketplace for fractionalized music. It allows artists to sell their music to fans in a fractionalized ownership model, similar to shares of stock. But it’s more than just a platform for music rights.
It’s also a platform for fans to invest in their favorite artists. The platform offers investors a variety of tiers of ownership, from an EP to an album. Those who invest can expect to receive royalties when their favorite song streams.
It’s not the first NFT marketplace, but it’s the first one for music rights. Royal has secured investment from Coinbase Ventures, Paradigm, a16z, Stefflon Don, Atomic, and Joyner Lucas.
How it works
Royal allows users to purchase shares of a song, based on its popularity. Users can then earn royalties through platforms like Amazon, Spotify, and Apple Music. Users can also earn royalties on-chain or off-chain.
Blau and Ross have created a music rights marketplace that is based on a new infrastructure that helps artists mint limited digital assets. Artists can also sell their royalties to fans through Royal. This allows fans to earn royalties alongside artists and finance future albums. Currently, musicians take home about 12% of the revenue pie. However, more people are streaming music, which means more royalties for artists and more music for fans. A true win win.
The platform’s listings provide streaming data from Apple Music, Prime Music, and Spotify, along with payout estimates. Royal also offers a mobile app to users.
Final thoughts
Royal plans to give fans and investors exclusive benefits. Fans who purchase NFTs will get access to exclusive merch and promotions. Royal artists will also be able to earn royalties on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. Master recording rights is something that Royal will also offer in the future.
As the contagion and fallout from the FTX disaster spreads it is heartening to see legitimate use cases for blockchain and NFTs. This along with bitcoin and ether showing strength is good news for those who still believe in the technology that underpins the crypto market.
Jay Speakman is a technology writer based in San Francisco, California. He writes on the topics of blockchain, cryptocurrency, DeFi and other disruptive technologies. Clients include Avalanche, Be[in]Crypto, Trust Machines and several blogs devoted to blockchain gaming. He will not rest until fiat currency is defeated.
