DeFi Market
Disclosure: Robert Stone owns a Liquid Genesis NFT, which pays a royalty into his wallet. He is also Deputy Editor of Crypto Magazine, which is published by CMC Group, the company that runs Liquid NFTs and issues FUSD. DeFi Market Journal is not owned by CMC Group. Some Liquid links on this page are affiliate links. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy.
A music NFT is a token that proves you own something tied to a track: a numbered edition, artwork paired with the song, backstage access, and occasionally a share of future income. It isn't the song itself, and it doesn't usually give the buyer the copyright. Getting clear on exactly what the fan receives is the first job, before any talk of platforms or price.
It's been proven, loudly
In February 2021 the DJ and producer 3LAU sold about $11.7 million of NFTs tied to his album Ultraviolet, including tokens that gave buyers a cut of streaming income. A month later Kings of Leon became the first major band to release an album, When You See Yourself, as an NFT, with golden-ticket editions that promised front-row seats for life. Those were peak-mania numbers. The model underneath them, selling scarce editions directly to your biggest fans, still works at any size.
Prefer to watch? The short version in under a minute.
Splits: settle them before you mint
If a track has more than one creator, set the royalty split in the contract so every sale pays everyone automatically. Arguing about who's owed what after the money arrives is the most common way music NFT releases turn sour. On Liquid the smart contract is deployed for you, and its creator guide shows sliders for sending part of the royalty back into the collection or to charity, but not a split between several collaborators. If your track has more than one creator, check with Liquid how the royalty will be paid before you mint.
One catch, covered in full in our royalties explainer: most big marketplaces now make resale royalties optional. A split is only worth something where the marketplace actually pays it. Liquid NFTs is one that pays the creator a 10% royalty on every resale by default. You can lower that share and send part of it back into your collection or to charity, and a further 5% of each resale is added to NFT liquidity across the platform. Check which platforms enforce royalties before you choose.
Where to release
Music-first platforms have fans who already buy music and players built for it: waveforms, album bundles, tiered editions. General marketplaces have more traffic but a crowd that mostly came for visual art. Compare the fee, whether the audience buys music, how audio actually plays on the page, and whether royalties are enforced. Liquid takes audio files as well as images and video; to list a track you need the audio files, a 500 by 500 pixel logo and a 2000 by 667 pixel banner. Test with a single track before putting a whole album there.
Pricing and editions
The pattern that works: a handful of expensive 1-of-1 or signed collector editions for superfans, plus a larger, cheap edition anyone can afford. The superfans pay for the release. The cheap edition builds the list of wallet addresses you can reward later with early access and airdrops. On Liquid you pick the token standard for each collection: unique collector editions use ERC721, and a larger edition where every copy is the same uses ERC1155, the option Liquid suggests for tickets and passes. You also choose whether a fan can mint one at a time or buy several. Price from your real fan base, not from 2021 headlines. On Liquid the mint price is set in FUSD, and fans can pay in FUSD, USDC or the native token of the chain you mint on, such as ETH, BNB, POL or BESC.
Make the release an event
Pick a date, play the track live or on a stream beforehand, and announce it everywhere you already have an audience. For a bigger release, coverage on a crypto or music publication brings in collectors who don't follow you yet, which is what our multimedia packages are for. The step-by-step mechanics are in our guide to minting your first collection.
