Mike Shinoda, Warner Music, Alan Walker – Billboard
Mainstream buzz around NFTs is waning, but the Web3 music space is quietly gaining momentum. Sales volume across October’s top 10 projects rose sharply for the second consecutive month, driven largely by a high-profile drop from Warner Records’ new Web3 label and a new project with Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda.
Independent artists are also building strength, with primary sales doubling in October on Sound.xyz – the leading platform for independent drops – to a total of $200,000 according to Token Terminal. Meanwhile, last month saw a music project on the Solana blockchain enter the top 10 for the first time.
Total volume in the top 10 climbed 50% in October to reach 2,164 ETH. In dollar terms, volume rose by 73%, reaching $3.38 million helped by the rising price of crypto. Based on analysis of sales data from 19 different NFT platforms, independent releases and secondary sales volume on OpenSea, here are the 10 best-selling music NFTs and compilations in October 2022.
1/ Probably a label
Monthly trading volume: 1,196.95 ETH ($1,873,226 at month-end conversion rate)
Primary sale (Oct.): 499.95 ETH
Secondary sales: 697 ETH
Drop date: Oct. 6
Probably A Label is the new Web3 imprint of Warner Music UK. It sold 5,555 NFT access passes in early October, and was delivered in seven minutes through an exclusive drop site on OpenSea. NFT holders will shape how the label is run, collaborate on the development of a virtual artist and even share IP rights in some future projects. “This is a vehicle for us to explore new ways of working as a label,” says Sebastian Simone, vice president of audience and strategy at Warner. Billboard. “We believe Web3 allows artists to create with more freedom and connect with fans on a much deeper level.”
The label is a joint venture with Probably Nothing, an established Web3 brand founded by former restaurateur Jeremy Fall. The team is now preparing the first airdrop for holders – a free music NFT with production from Diddy.
See the collection at OpenSea.
2/ SAN Origin
Monthly traded volume: 502 ETH ($785,630)
Primary sale (Oct.): NOW
Secondary sales: 502 ETH
Drop date: Sept. 16
SAN Sound is a project that aims to launch a Web3 music streaming service, using a “listen-to-earn” model where holders earn crypto-tokens while streaming. It exploded to the top spot in September and held strong in October through secondary sales.
Over the past month, the project has encouraged holders to “soulbind” their NFT – permanently linking it to their wallet – so fans can access the streaming platform. Those who stake their NFT will also be eligible for a free airdrop of governance tokens that will allow them to vote on how the platform evolves.
See the collection at OpenSea.
3/ Secret Garden – “Wind Chime ft. Mike Shinoda”
Monthly turnover volume: 153 ETH ($239,445)
Primary sale (Oct.): 114 ETH
Secondary sales: 39 ETH
Drop date: 12 Oct
Secret Garden is a unique beat tool built on the Ethereum blockchain. Fans can interact with it by choosing which strains (drums, bass, synths) to activate until they find a beat they like. The project had early success through collaborations with electronic producers Robotaki and Smle, but Secret Garden launched its biggest coin yet in October with Mike Shinoda.
Shinoda joined the project as an advisor and created the music strains for the final Wind Chime compilation. It sold 2000 NFT players and went on to generate 39 ETH in secondary sales. Secret Garden is under the umbrella of the Capsule House NFT project which is among the most successful anime profile picture (PFP) projects founded by renowned digital artist Seerlight.
See the collection at OpenSea.
4/ KINGDOM – “Key Card”
Monthly turnover volume: 85 ETH ($133,025)
Primary sale (Oct.): NOW
Secondary sales: 85 ETH
Drop date: 15 July
The Bored Ape Yacht Club band remains in the top 10 for the fourth consecutive month due to strong secondary sales at OpenSea. In October, the project teased an upcoming airdrop where holders will get a free NFT or item sent to their wallet. Producers Hitboy and James Fauntleroy are still busy in the studio preparing music for the project.
See the collection at OpenSea.
5/ Block tones
Monthly turnover volume: 49 ETH ($76,685)
Primary sale (Oct.): NOW
Secondary sales: 49 ETH
Drop date: Sept. 16
Founded by Grammy-winning producer Gino the Ghost, Blocktones is a collection of 2,500 generative music NFTs. Each of them was created using a random combination of music strains. One of the collection’s rarest NFTs, with production by Timbaland, sold for 5 ETH ($7,825) this month. The team also ran an experiment where holders could sign a non-exclusive license using the wallet to allow Blocktones to stream their NFTs on a YouTube radio channel. Holders were sent $10 back as royalties straight to their wallets.
See the collection at OpenSea.
6/ Alan Walker & Ava Max – “Alone Pt. II”
Monthly turnover volume: 46.6 ETH ($72,929)
Primary sale (Oct.): 35 ETH
Secondary sales: ~11.6 ETH
Drop date: 20 Oct
“Alone Pt. II” is among the biggest dance tracks in the world with almost 500 million streams on Spotify. Now fans can own a small part of future streaming royalties. This is the third drop to be launched on the rising platform Anotherblock.
The company typically partners with a songwriter or producer to unlock a small percentage of a song’s streaming rights. In this case, the ownership comes from The Very Good — the publisher behind many of Sweden’s biggest songwriters. «The Alone Pt. II” drop offered 500 issues, each yielding 0.001% of future streaming royalties.
See the collection at OpenSea.
7/ Daniel Allan – “Glass House Remixes”
Monthly turnover volume: 35.02 ETH ($54,806)
Primary sale (Oct.): 9.9 ETH
Secondary sales: 25.12 ETH
Drop date: 20 Oct
Independent artist Daniel Allan first appeared on this list in July with his landmark Glass House collection. Now he returns with the remix package. Allan dropped four remixes Glass house EP via Sound.xyz’s new protocol – allowing him to host drops on his own website and Sound.xyz at the same time – making almost 10 ETH in primary sales. He also generated a ton of secondary sales on this collection and back catalog throughout October.
See the collection at OpenSea.
8/ Oshi – “U&I” and “Fight For This”
Monthly turnover volume: 27.84 ETH ($43,569)
Primary sale (Oct.): 10.54 ETH
Secondary sales: 17.3 ETH
Drop date: Oct. 6
Independent artist Oshi has been at the heart of the Web3 music scene since 2020. He was also the first artist to release an NFT on Sound.xyz when it launched in 2021. In October, he released two new tracks, generating more than 10 ETH in primary sale. Secondary activity also picked up with around 17 ETH traded on OpenSea and Sound.xyz’s newly launched marketplace.
See the collection at OpenSea.
9/ Kids of the Apocalypse – Noise Genesis
Monthly turnover volume: 1,283 SOL ($41,825)
Primary sale (Oct.): Free mint
Secondary sales: 1,283 SOL
Drop date: September 30
Kids of the Apocalypse (KOTA) is the first music project on the Solana (SOL) blockchain to make the monthly top 10. It is an ambitious music project with a dystopian graphic novel story that has been in development for several years, before Web3 became a popular concept . The 666 genesis NFTs grant holders access to the KOTA community and will act as a key for all future music drops.
The project was founded by Stefan Storm, a Swedish producer whose credits include Lady Gaga and Tiesto, and Derek Davies – the founder of Neon Gold Records. The NOISE Genesis project was free to create, but quickly generated more than 1000 Sol in secondary trading volume.
See the collection at OpenSea.
10/ Chillrx
Monthly turnover volume: 21 ETH ($32,865)
Primary sale (Oct.): NOW
Secondary sales: 21 ETH
Drop date: Sept. 16
Founded by Grammy-nominated producer Sidney Swift, Chillrx is a community record label where holders of the 10,000 NFTs get to participate in record decisions. The big goal, according to Swift, is to “win a mf-ing Grammy” as a community, via the label’s virtual artist called ChillPill. In October, Chillrx launched a new “staking” feature. Holders can lock their NFT (so it cannot be sold). In exchange, they receive a loyalty token $CHILL which they can use to buy exclusive songs and eventually access other NFTs. The Chillrx floor price doubled after betting went live, and more than a quarter of all NFTs are currently staked.
See the collection at OpenSea.
Methodology: The chart was compiled using data from primary music NFT sales across 19 different NFT platforms, independent releases and secondary volume data from OpenSea. Data was captured between October 1 – October 31, 2022. Crypto to US dollar conversion rates were calculated on September 30.
