CoinMarketCap looks at the most exciting events in the NFT space — from LimeWire's deal with UMG for NFT licensing, to the first album royalties sharing using NFTs by The Chainsmokers.
LimeWire has signed a deal with Universal Music Group that could see top artists use its NFT marketplace for their projects. Meanwhile, a music duo will use NFTs to reward 5,000 loyal fans, giving them a share of the royalties from their new album drop.
Join us in showcasing the cryptocurrency revolution, one newsletter at a time. Subscribe now to get daily news and market updates right to your inbox, along with our millions of other subscribers (that’s right, millions love us!) — what are you waiting for?
NFT Markets Seeing a Small Relief After a Rough 2 Weeks
First, a look at the overall NFT market from Nansen.
Popular collections such as Moonbirds, Sandbox Land and Azuki are up 25-50% the past week.
Dubai’s Museum of the Future To Launch NFT Collection
Dubai’s Museum of the Future has teamed up with Binance to launch its first NFT collection.
The museum, which opened a few weeks ago, is already making headlines. In particular, its Future Talks series sold out days in advance. The 77-meter-tall architectural marvel is home to a plethora of interactive exhibitions that give visitors the chance to experience the technologies and trends that promise to shape the world.
“Museum of the Future’s partnership with the world’s largest cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem player makes a significant contribution towards Dubai’s plans to establish a new international digital asset ecosystem, which will, in turn, generate long-term economic growth within the digital economy,” said Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications.
The Chainsmokers Tap on NFTs To Share Album Royalties With Fans
In what could be described as a first in the music industry, the popular electronic music duo The Chainsmokers will be giving 5000 fans a 1% cut of the royalties from its new album drop.
"We’re trying to go deeper than wider with our fan base with this new album," said the Chainsmokers' Drew Taggart.
Taggart and Alex Pall told reporters that they had identified their most loyal fans by analyzing data from concert sales, Discord activity and music streams. 5,000 of these fans will each receive an NFT for free.
“A number of artists have done this in the past, but not for free. It was important for us to do it this way because this isn’t about profiting off some new tech for us. It’s about connecting more deeply with you and harnessing a new disruptive technology in an effective way that truly shows what is possible as we head towards a Web3 world,” said the pop-leaning EDM duo in an official statement.
In addition to giving holders a share of the royalties, the NFTs feature additional perks, such as access to a members-only section on The Chainsmokers’ Discord channel, as well as opportunities to directly interact with the artists.
As per announcements, NFT holders will receive quarterly or semi-annual notifications about when they will receive payments. And if someone decides to sell the NFT, a smart contract will ensure that a 7.5% cut goes to The Chainsmokers, which the duo says will be given to the album’s songwriters.
While the new album dropped on Friday, the NFT bonanza began on May 17. To distribute the NFTs, The Chainsmokers tapped on Royal.io, a platform that lets artists sell fractional music ownership in the form of NFTs.
Bored Ape Sells for $200 — Costly Mistake or Tax Evasion?
The previous owner received an offer of 200 USDC for the said piece. It is possible that the recent sale was just another costly mistake since the owner may have thought he was accepting an offer of 200 ETH instead of the 200 USDC. To put things in perspective, the Ape was sold for 99.9% below the current floor price of the collection.
Fireblocks Moves Into NFT Custody and Web3 Developer Tools
The new product, called Web3 Engine, will offer custody services, risk mitigation tools, treasury management and a tokenization mechanism for managing and minting NFTs. It will also provide access to platforms like OpenSea, Rarible, Uniswap and dYdX directly from the Fireblocks console.
"In order for this ecosystem to continue to grow, the community is tasked with solving a very critical problem: security. As we already provide a secure platform and a suite of development tools for businesses to build digital assets and crypto businesses, unlocking access to Web3 was an important next step. Now, with a fully tailored experience for connecting to Web3, we aim to accelerate the launch of a new wave of super apps."
Fireblocks has already onboarded a number of high-profile clients for the service. The likes of Animoca Brands, MoonPay, Stardust, Wirex and Celsius are already using Web3 Engine.
“The goal is to essentially bring all the security arsenal and capabilities that we've built for empowering financial firms to operate with crypto to this new group of players,” Shaulov added.
Spotify Experiments NFT Galleries on Artist Profiles
A spokesperson for the company told reporters that “Spotify is running a test in which it will help a small group of artists promote their existing third-party NFT offerings via their artist profiles.”
The test is available to a select group of Android users across the United States. Participants will be able to preview some NFTs via an artist’s profile page. They can also learn more about a particular NFT and opt to be redirected to an OpenSea page where they can purchase the item. Keep in mind that the streaming service does not support NFTs that are in video or GIF formats. For now, only a static image is displayed without any sounds.
As per the announcement, Spotify will not be charging any fees for NFT sales during the testing. The company’s spokesperson also noted that tests are aimed at improving “artist and fan experiences,” adding that “some of [these] tests end up paving the way for a broader experience and others serve only as an important learning.”
Meanwhile, it remains unclear if the NFT test will include other artists or if it is just limited to DJ and producer Steve Aoki and indie rock band The Wombats for now.
Getty Images Teams Up With Candy Digital on New NFT Marketplace
The Getty Images NFTs will curate photos from over 465 million images, including 135 million analog pieces, some of which have never been seen by the general public. The initial collection will be available in the coming months and will be minted on the Palm blockchain, an Ethereum-compatible sidechain that is touted as more environmentally friendly than the Ethereum mainnet.
As already mentioned, primary and secondary sales for the NFTs will happen on Candy, which already has NFT partnerships with NASCAR, Major League Baseball and WWE. It is worth adding that Candy also supports card and crypto payments.
"This partnership speaks to our mission to connect people with our high quality, exclusive visual content […] The fast-growing audience of NFT collectors represents significant opportunities for the company and our global photographer community.”
On his part, the CEO of Candy Digital Scott Lawin expressed his delight at the deal, stating that the partnership will "creatively bring these iconic and rare photographs from the last two centuries to life for people to experience and collect in a new digital format."
LimeWire Strikes First Major Deal With Universal Music Group for NFT Licensing
The UMG lineup includes top artists like Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, U2, The Rolling Stones, The Weeknd, Elton John and several others. Universal’s imprint labels also feature the likes of Interscope Records, Republic Records, Def Jam Recordings, Capitol Records, Motown Records, Geffen, EMI, Virgin Music and others.
It is worth clarifying that the partnership does not necessarily mean that any of UMG’s artists will launch their NFTs via LimeWire. However, that possibility is now open since UMG will provide licenses that will allow LimeWire to work with its artists on music-based NFT projects.
“We’re thrilled to open up the LimeWire NFT ecosystem to Universal Music Group artists and fans and can’t wait to see the first creative projects being launched on the marketplace,” said Paul and Julian Zehetmayr, LimeWire Co-CEOs.
LimeWire has recently raised $10M in a private token sale, with investors ranging from Kraken Ventues to Crypto.com.