A few months after Spotify began integrating non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into its platform, it is taking another step into Web3. The music streaming giant has announced a partnership with several NFT collections to allow holders to access special playlists.
Spotify experiments with NFTs
On Wednesday 22 February, Overlord, building a tokenised ecosystem around entertainment, announced a partnership with Spotify. Their community-created playlist is now available on the music streaming platform to all users holding a non-fungible token (NFT) from the Creepz collection.
Overlord x @Spotify
We’ve been selected as one of Spotify’s partners in a new pilot.
Exclusive pilot of their token-enabled playlists
Launching with a holder-curated playlistDetails below ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/MDTjPRCXS5
– Overlord (@Overlord_xyz) February 22, 2023
The other participants in this pilot project are the communities of Fluf, Moonbirds and Kingship. For three months, NFT owners from one of these collections will have access to a special playlist, including tracks by Queen, Missy Eliott, Snoop Dogg and Led Zeppelin.
For the time being, French users will not be affected. Spotify is only testing these features for Android users in the US, UK, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.
That said, this is a first example of the practical application of NFTs on the streaming platform. Indeed, in May 2022, Spotify was very vague when it announced its intention to integrate NFTs. We’re learning a little more about what the platform might look like in the future
Web3 and music
This announcement from the Swedish streaming giant will have had some effect on the cryptocurrency market. For example, Viberate’s native token (VIB) has climbed 34% in 24 hours, while Audius’ AUDIO is up 3.5% in the same period.
There are a growing number of initiatives that bring together the Web3 world and the music industry. The aim is to solve the problems inherent in this sector and to help artists develop their activity in the best possible conditions.
Obtaining funding is a real problem and artists often have to accept unprofitable contracts with major production companies or labels. Thanks to NFTs and decentralised lending features, platforms such as Opulous make it easier to raise funds for projects.
Until now, Spotify has simply offered artists the opportunity to create an NFT and post it on their profile. However, in the future, it is conceivable that the platform could allow the purchase of a token representing part of a musician’s royalties.
As for the relationship between artists and fans, many opportunities are also open. It would be possible to tokenise important moments: attendance at a concert, the sign that a fan has listened to an artist in the early hours, etc.
