As my long-term readers will know, I've been searching for a Web3 platform/Website to host my music as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), due to not being completely satisfied with SoundCloud and Band Camp.

Why music NFTs as opposed to traditional hosting?

There are a number of reasons why I want to go the NFT/Web3 route:

• SoundCloud: I stopped using SoundCloud when the ToU and/or privacy policy changed to include clauses/terms I didn't like. There was also no way for fans to pay for tracks they listened to and downloaded.
• Band Camp: Don't get me wrong here. I like Band Camp, but it takes about 25% off the asking price (before Paypal takes a further 23%) for anything that gets sold on it (be it a single track or full album), forcing me to inflate the asking price. It's also old-fashioned and doesn't offer streaming capability like Spotify does.
• Spotify: I don't want to use Spotify to allow anyone to stream my music without paying for it. I also don't want to use it since Spotify backed Joe Rogan (whom spread misinformation about COVID 19) over Neil Young.

With music NFTs, as a collector (NFT holder) you can take part ownership in an artists creation to:

• Own a limited edition of a song to hold or trade later

• Support your favourite artist, where funds go directly to them with no middle man (such as Band Camp)

• Invest with an artist, where artists offer royalty and revenue splits with their collectors

“As an music NFT creator, you give your fans a whole new way to engage and, more importantly, own a piece of your work. You allow for your most loyal fans to support and invest in your career long term.”
 — Pooksomnia; Web3 Music & Music NFTs Simplified: A Simplified Guide; “What Are Music NFTs?”; Accessed 2024/09/16

What I've Tried

So far , I've tried Audius and BitSong, but not found something that works for me.

• Audius: I can upload content and organise it in albums, but I can't figure out how to earn Audius tokens ($AUD) from the site. My emails to the Support team about that remain unanswered.
• BitSong: While I can connect the Keplr wallet to the main Website and BitSong Studio, the studio is still in beta and is missing many features that only exist on the testnet (such as the ability to upload songs to create NFTs). Unfortunately, trying to connect Keplr to the testnet version of Bitsong Studio results in an HTTP error code of 400.

What I've Yet to Try

Having not found something satisfactory, I searched for other platforms, in the hope of finding something that allows me to create albums and upload songs that can be purchased and sold as NFTs. Here's what I've found and will be investigating:

• Glass Protocol (https://glass.xyz/): Glass protocol is a Web3 platform/site for hosting videos, much in the manner of Odysee or Youtube. I could take the content I've currently got on Youtube and re-upload it to Glass and/or Odysee.
• Zora (https://zora.co/): Zora is an NFT marketplace that allows minting audio, music and video NFTs. It also provides a platform on top of which others can build.
• Catalog (http://beta.catalog.works/): Catalog is built on top of Zora. It provides a music-focused experience/interface to Zora.
• Sound (https://sound.xyz/): Sound is “a collaborative music movement” that “connects artists and listeners to take ownership over the culture they create together”. Sound allows artists to broadcast/host listening parties, during which fans can buy NFTs to show support. Sound is still in early stages and requiring artists to submit an application and be approved before they can host their own drop.
• OneOf (https://www.oneof.com/): “OneOf is an NFT marketplace built on Tezos and Polygon with a focus on providing accessible and affordable digital assets for music, sports, and lifestyle. OneOf has music NFT editions available from various well-know artists, and you have the option of purchasing with not only crypto, but debit and credit card as well.”
• Decent (https://www.decent.xyz/): Decent provides a multi-chain NFT suite, making the creation and transaction of all NFTs user-friendly. “It also doesn’t matter which blockchain or token you’re using…”
• Royal (https://royal.io/): “Royal is a company that allows you to invest in music and split royalties. […] Royal enables anyone to own a piece of their favourite music by earning royalties alongside their favourite artist(s). Artists can decide what percentage of their songs royalties they would like to list for sale.
• Bolero Music (https://www.boleromusic.com/): Bolero “allows fans to invest in music through social tokens, NFTs, and even receive exclusive pieces of art, video clips, documents and tickets.”
• Manifold (https://manifold.xyz/): Manifold focuses on ”artist owned smart contracts. […] Manifold gives artists control over how they choose to release.”
• Gala Music (https://music.gala.com/): Gala is a music discovery platform that rewards listeners with exclusive content. Artists get paid in $MUSIC, Gala's token. Content is stored on jukebox nodes, backed by IPFS.
• Origin Story (https://www.story.xyz/music-nft-marketplaces): “Origin Story powers marketplaces spanning across industries, including Real Estate, Web3 collections, and Music NFTs. […] Origin Story is partnered with Exceed to bring Music NFTs massive utility, from streaming royalties to real-world experiences for fans. […] The platform’s native token, OGN, is used as a value-accrual token, and users can stake the token to earn revenue generated by Origin Story’s marketplace fees.”
• Objkt (https://objkt.com/): “Objkt is the leading platform in the NFT music industry and provides artists with a way to sell their NFTs and give fans a way to stream and purchase NFT music. Objkt is also one of the only NFT platforms that allow users to stream NFT music.”

Conclusion

I just want to find a platform/Website that allows me to host my music and makes it easily accessible to potential fans, without a middleman taking a large cut or streaming it for free. Although I've tried various options, I've ended up disappointed with them. However, I still have a number of options to explore, some of which look, well, quite decent. Only time will tell. Now I'm off to try the listed platforms/sites and report my findings.

Until next time,
Snark out!

Post Image copyright Metaverse Post