What are the best music NFT projects?
Today we’re going to take a look at some of the best NFT music projects right now. At this point, web3 has completely changed the trajectory of the music industry, and shows no signs of slowing down. Based on our own research across OpenSea and other important resources such as Water & Music, we were able to distinguish some very notable projects from the pack.
RELATED: Water and Music’s Year in Review: The Music World is evolving
This is not to say go out and buy these NFTs, we are more looking to highlight some of the outstanding projects. Remember that things in the web3 world are constantly changing, so we’ll update our list as we go along. All stats shown are as of November 14, 2022. Without further ado, here is our list (in no particular order).
1. SAN Origin
Image credit: OpenSea
Goods: 10,000
Creation date: September 2022
Chain: Ethereum
Hailing from the SAN music ecosystem, SAN Origin is one of the most popular music NFTs on OpenSea, and for good reason. To understand NFT, you need to understand the body behind it, SAN Sound.
According to their website, SAN is “a music-centric ecosystem dedicated to transforming access and experiences for independent musicians and their fans.” They essentially take the sophisticated areas of technology and use it to help artists of all kinds build.
Their NFTs can either be traded or “Soulbound” after minting, giving the coiner indefinite access to the ecosystem. This ecosystem is aimed at solving many problems, such as educating artists to build their brands (especially in web3), offering artists ways to understand the data behind their content, and even helping artists gain more exposure for their creations. This is only the tip of the iceberg.
Click here to view the project.
2. KINGSHIP
Image credit: OpenSea
Goods: 5000
Creation date: May 2022
Chain: Ethereum
KINGSHIP is an interesting NFT project, which seems beyond obvious. Consisting of three Bored Apes and one Mutant Ape, this “musical group”, so to speak, is signed to Universal Music Group’s 22:22 imprint, and they were the first to do such a project with Bored Apes.
If you were to check out the KINGSHIP site, you would come across the storytelling aspect of this very interesting project. The in-depth anecdote follows the artists on their path to greatness, dating back to their earliest days together at Really High School. In addition to the vivid storytelling that complements this interesting project, they’ve landed a brand collaboration with M&M’s, which is likely the first of many. The project has also included the likes of Hit-Boy and James Fauntleroy, weaving them into the devious story.
So far, the KINGSHIP story has four chapters, New Beginning, Rider, New “Music” Trait, and Kurt the Roadie. Any of the 5,000 tokens provide “access to music, exclusive content, utility, community and token-gated experiences over time.” In addition to their primary tokens, people have the option to purchase tokens for their respective characters such as Kurt the Roadie.
Click here to see the project.
3. PIXELATED by Sammy Arriaga
Image credit: OpenSea
Goods: 4000
Creation date: June 2022
Chain: Ethereum
Sammy Arriaga is no stranger to the pages of ONE37pm. As the headline of our previous article featuring Sammy states, he is no ordinary country music star. To emphasize that point even more, we’re about to take a deeper look at his web3 ventures.
PIXELATED by Sammy Arriaga is only one of his projects, but it has made it into this piece for its relatively high performance recently. The project is essentially one of the artist’s songs, structured in 4000 unique NFTs with 150 unique properties mixed between PFPs (profile pictures). There are 12 different versions of the song, all of which have been exclusively released through this medium. Between the 12 song versions and 150 design features, each of the 4,000 items is made to be distinctively different.
Some of Sammy’s other notable projects include METAGIRL by Sammy Arriaga, Pulse Pass by Sammy Arriaga, THE Airdrops by Sammy Arriaga and Sammy Arriaga – The Singles.
Click here to see the project.
4. Snoop Dogg – BODR
Image credit: OpenSea
Goods: 32
Creation date: February 2022
Chain: Ethereum
Snoop Dogg’s BODR album (Born on Death Row) was created specifically for web3, and at this point it’s clear why. The project has drawn in 901 ETH, which at today’s exchange rate (1 ETH to 1,234 USD) totals just over 1 million dollars.
Backed by Gala Music and Snoop (of course), this project was set to thrive from the start. Snoop has over two decades of music industry experience and performance experience, so he knows exactly what he’s doing at this point. This project (and the other Snoop-backed projects) is a shining example of web3 success for upcoming artists. This really shows how successful an endeavor like this can be, and how much more beneficial it is compared to the traditional music industry route of shamelessly pursuing label deals. Did we mention the album features the likes of Nas, TI, DaBaby, Nate Dogg, Uncle Murda, Wiz Khalifa and Lil Duval? This is Snoop’s third album under Death Row, but his first album as acting owner of the entity.
Click here to see the project.
5. The Orbs by BT
Image credit: OpenSea
Goods: 3,333
Creation date: February 2022
Chain: Ethereum
The Orbs by BT is another project supported by Gala Music. This has set itself apart from the pack with its unique approach to the content delivered. As described by themselves in their OpenSea bio, “The Orbs, created by BT, is a collection of 3,333 live animated three-dimensional objects, terrain, sky and stars with sound-reactive animation, camera movements, lighting and surface textures. The music itself, including live synthesis and sequencing, is generated in real-time and lives permanently on the blockchain.“
During the first 9 months, the project has accumulated 2,591 ETH in total volume on OpenSea, which as of today (11/14), roughly equates to over 3 million dollars.
Click here to see the project.
6. WVRPS by WarpSound (Official)
Image credit: OpenSea
Goods: 9,999
Creation date: January 2022
Chain: Ethereum
WVRPS by WarpSound has made it onto our list today thanks to its proven track record on OpenSea. Here’s the basic overview: WVRPS is the first collection of PFP and AI-generated music NFTs minted on the Ethereum blockchain.
The mission behind this project is somewhat questionable in the music community (regarding the automated aspects of this project, replacing the role of creatives), but regardless, the project seems to be well loved. With 6,152 ETH in total volume on OpenSea, the project has generated roughly over 7.5 million USD (as of 11/14).
Click here to see the project.
7. Moonshot by Violetta Zironi
Image credit: OpenSea
Goods: 2500
Creation date: April 2022
Chain: Ethereum
Of all the projects we highlight, Moonshot by Violetta Zironi is a particularly interesting project. Based on 5 songs written by Violetta, Moonshot features 2,500 hand-drawn pieces from her father.
So far, the project has approximately 850 owners of the corresponding NFTs, with 167 ETH in total volume so far. The hyper-personal feel of this collection of NFTs is what sets it apart from its competitors at OpenSea.
Click here to see the project.
8. Hume’s Genesis
Image credit: OpenSea
Goods: 1035
Creation date: July 2022
Chain: Ethereum
Created in July 2022, Hume Genesis is an NFT project that plays on the notion of the future. The project sets its story in the year 3045, and fills this story with futuristic Sci-Fi elements, which in many ways feel real. Hume aims to “build an open metaverse, free from the tyranny of the Xani Republic.”
Hume Genesis NFTs come in three tiers, and all holders gain access to the Hume Collective. The teams obviously create a kind of distinction in rank and access within the collective, but everyone who is a holder has the same relative motive: to be a member of the collective, and to have a part in building the careers of the “meta stars”. These metastars are artists created by Hume, which are rolled out in NFT form. The first of these characters is angelbaby.
Click here to view the project.
9. Reo Cragun: Frameworks
Image credit: OpenSea
Goods: 333
Creation date: September 2022
Chain: Ethereum
Frameworks is another project worth highlighting. This audiovisual project is in collaboration with both Sound.xyz and Bonfire.
Frameworks have been the first to use the Sound Protocol and host sound.xyz and reocragun.xyz at the same time. The project also claims to be the first of its kind to “have 5 golden eggs under one contract.”
The 333 NFT project contains 5 songs, and has pulled in over 24 ETH so far. While this number doesn’t quite match any of the aforementioned projects, it’s worth noting that it’s only two months old at this point. It’s been popular in OpenSea’s music category, and now we see why.
Click here to view the project.
10. FiFi Rong Music NFTs
Image credit: OpenSea
Goods: 41
Creation date: June 2021
Chain: Ethereum
FiFi Rong Music NFTs is a project that kept appearing on OpenSea’s music charts. If you happened to notice the date in the stats section, you probably noticed that this artist was pretty early on the music scene at OpenSea, especially compared to our other mentions in this piece.
To understand the project you need to understand the artist behind it. Fifi Rong is an avant-pop artist who calls the UK home. She was born in China, and the country’s culture has a home within her brand. Appealing to many demographics, FiFi Rong has made it onto our list as a shining example of exactly what underground artists should aim to do. The power of web3 helps upcoming talent make a full-time career all the more feasible without any special support from the company.
Click here to see the project.
