When I was browning out in the Pike backyard to the soothing untz! untz! untz! untz! of late stage EDM while 3LAU funneled Natty Lite down his gullet and broke the airhorn on his soundboard, he didn’t exactly strike me as a music industry pioneer. But the same undercut-sporting DJ who broke NFT records before the acronym had even entered my eardrums is now officially just that.
Late last month, 3LAU announced the launch of Royal. Royal is a crypto platform where listeners can buy NFTs to support artists, in turn owning a share of the artist’s cashflow. In other words, he stole our goddamn idea.
For months, we’ve been beating this drum to anyone who will listen, which now includes y’all. NFTs are more than just digital trading cards. They are the future of ownership rights for artists everywhere, from writers to comedians. And, if you’re a creative who believes in fair compensation for your work, the time to get in is now.
Royal isn’t the only music-related utilization of the blockchain. BitClout, the so-called Crypto Social Network, is a similar project selling tokens for public figures like Ariana Grande and Elon Musk. (Theory being, if their clout goes up, their token will too.) We’ve seen high profile NFT projects from Vic Mensa and The Weeknd. And one musician is even selling the rights to deepfake her voice for a 50/50 profit share.
When you sell or buy an NFT on the blockchain, there is a permanent, irrefutable record of you doing so. The implications for reclaiming and monetizing your work are endless, and they’re our specialty. If you have a creative project in any medium you want to take into the future, we got you. Respond to this email and we’ll be in touch.
