Streaming In Web 3: A Look At Music And Film NFT Marketplaces

November 17, 2022 by Mimi Phan

The NFT world is bigger than you know. Well, unless you read our blogs (we kinda chat about it all the time!). But really – think of a niche, and there will almost certainly be a related, growing NFT market.

Education? Check. Sports? Check. Photography? Check. Gaming? Check, check, check!

With choice often comes confusion and indecision, so we’re here to cut through the noise. We’ve already put together a guide to our top 5 NFT exchanges – now it’s time to get a little more specific.

Which NFT marketplace is best for music? What’s the best music NFT platform? And is there a specialist film NFT platform yet?

Let’s take a look.

What are NFTs?

Don’t worry, we won’t harp on with the boring stuff. But here’s a quick intro for those who are new here.

The first NFT was minted in 2014, but digital collectibles (another name for NFTs) properly burst into global mainstream consciousness last year.

The acronym stands for non-fungible token, which simply means a unique digital token stored on the blockchain. NFTs can represent both physical and non-physical items – it could be intellectual property, the deed to a house (!), a piece of art, or a ticket to a show or music event. With NFTs, users can prove ownership of a unique asset. This can manifest in some seriously exciting opportunities!

What are music NFTs?

Okay, so what is a music NFT? Who’s making music NFTs, and where can I buy them?

Music NFTs are the work of musicians, represented as digital tokens and stored on the blockchain. An artist might release a set of NFTs as an album, and then also release the music video as an NFT. Typically, a music NFT will contain one song – although not always. It’s a way for musicians to develop closer and more direct relationships with fans, and also properly monetize their work, since there’s no need for middle men (for example, record labels).

Take Bajan Rapper Haleek Maul, who confirmed to Coindesk that his total earnings from five NFT music sales totaled 81 ETH (around $250,000 at the time) – compared with annualized Spotify earnings of just $17!

Many big names have already harnessed the power of music NFTs. From Grimes netting $6 million in March 2021, to Snoop Dogg cashing in over $44 million in four days with his Stashbox NFT collection.

Which NFT marketplaces are best for music?

So what’s the best music NFT platform? While specialized film marketplaces are a little further behind (more on this below), there’s a strong choice for musicians looking to move into the NFT space.

Music-specific NFT marketplaces are booming. While OpenSea (the largest generalist NFT marketplace) and others cater to music NFTs, many artists choose music specific marketplaces. Here are the ones we think you should know about.

Catalog

Catalog is the best-known marketplace for “single-edition” music NFTs – 1/1s, as they’re referred to in NFT land.

This music marketplace is a firm favorite with both artists and fans alike. Artists can add records to the open music library, set “buy now” prices or go to auction, or take a collector offer. Incredibly, artists receive 100% of initial sales and also gain royalties in the form of “creator shares” each time records are sold on the secondary market.

Sound.xyz

The Web 3 ethos runs directly to the core of the Sound.xyz platform. At the time of writing, the header reads: “$3,842,746.49 earned by artists from fans on Sound”.

Like Catalog, Sound is big on everything we’ve come to know and love about Web 3. The artist keeps 100% of the proceeds generated by the sale. The platform fuses community listening, streaming and minting, allowing artists to launch listening parties for new releases, with a series of limited edition NFTs.

The success rate on Sound is pretty unmatched – most collections have sold out – and listening parties happen daily.

Royal

Royal is a novel music marketplace that allows fans to own a piece of their favorite tracks – and receive royalties for each stream!

The platform is a highly curated affair. Artist and marketplace founder 3LAU (along with his team) hand-picks both the artists, and songs are minted on site.

What are film NFTs?

So what about film NFTs? It will be no surprise to hear that film NFTs are *our bag* here at MH.

As movie lovers enamored with what the world of Web 3 might bring, it’s hard not to gush over the potential of film NFTs. We’re super stoked about the potential for film NFTs to democratize the movie industry, empower indie filmmakers, and essentially blow up the whole centralized ecosystem.

In 2021, an independent film – Lotawana – became the first feature film to be sold as an NFT. Rather than selling downloads of the movie as NFTs, the filmmaker, Trevor Hawkins, sold official frames from the movie – like a type of digital poster. Some included tickets to the film’s digital premiere, and some were shares in the film’s ownership (at $1,000 a pop).

Which is the best film NFT platform?

While there’s no doubt that NFTs have the power to upend the film industry, the industry hasn’t carved out a specific marketplace niche with the haste seen in the music industry. But there are certainly some exciting platforms springing up…

NiftyFilm

A next-generation film production company and NFT marketplace, NiftyFilm is dedicated to empowering independent filmmakers.

The marketplace is growing – currently its NFT offerings include those from its own NiftyFilm Studios, as well as projects from Upstart Film Collective and Scrutiny Studio. The customized platform is built on solid values of partnership and teamwork: “enabling filmmakers to join forces, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in independent film for years”.

While NiftyFilm’s offerings are still highly curated, the platform is gearing up to introduce custom smart contract options, with the aim of helping independent creators offer custom utilities while growing a dedicated fan base.

Cheyni

The world’s first hybrid streaming and film NFT marketplace, Cheyni, has just launched with the aim of building an international film NFT community, partnering with film festivals and advertising agencies to build sustainable bridges between content creators and audiences.

The biggest difference with Cheyni TV NFTs is that each NFT is required to activate the benefits of the next NFT collection. “Our artist network will keep producing – they will build collaborations with brands and each other,” Can Eyran, founder and CEO, told NFTIFY. “With our sustainable value model, we aim to provide maximum benefit to NFT collectors.”

The platform launched in October 2022 with hand-picked NFT collections alongside a documentary following five Parisian artists. The French documentary series is set to be followed with one highlighting the craft of the platform’s Spanish, then Italian, then American artists. A celebration of indie filmmakers, this platform is certainly one to watch.

Featured image by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash