Web3 Metal's Sound.xyz January Music Drops

Hello, returning Web3 Metal readers, and a special shout out to our new readers and those who are less familiar with web3 music. You can start building your next music collection today with the help of Web3 Metal. The journey starts here!

Like millions of others around the world, I have records I’ve collected and piles of CDs bought, traded, and burned through the years. Thanks to us becoming so digitally obsessed, these things have become sacred and unique in our modern age. However, holding things in your hands is becoming SO 20th century.

I’ve bought online music before, mp3 versions of my favorite artist’s new song or album, but in the world of web3, the MP3 has turned into something with much more potential than just owning a copy of the music.

Yes, I’m talking about NFTs, but anyone unfamiliar should stop themselves before they throw a fit and leave the room. It’s not ALL about getting ripped off and blindly gambling. On the contrary, many music NFTs live on what are called music NFT market makers. This is just a central digital marketplace where artists put their music up as NFTs for fans to buy.

What you get when you buy an NFT version of a song can differ drastically across experiences. Imagine if a track you purchased from Apple Music was tied to a unique logarithmic hash that authenticated its uniqueness and your ownership of it.

Often NFT ‘drops’ are in limited batches, let’s say it is 1 of 200 versions of your new favorite song available. You buy, or mint, the song and add it to your collection, sitting on it for a few years. Next thing you know you see that artist on TV performing and realize you have an original NFT of the hit song.

Now you have the power to keep it to show off in your collection or you can sell it to the highest bidder. Sometimes you can do even MORE depending on the extra perks provided by the artist and the marketplace they choose.

Ranging from simple account perks to artist meet and greets, owning some music NFTs can also give you additional unique perks in the form of IRL or digital merch and more. Some artists have even attached things like commercial use rights or shares in royalties to the purchase of their NFT music, despite the questionable legality of some of these use cases.

One of the more established NFT music marketplaces is Sound.xyz, where you can buy NFTs with a crypto wallet you create with just an email. Now, while Sound is not a sponsor, they do have an ever-increasing selection of new metal music being uploaded.

To celebrate, we are releasing an ALL-SOUND.xyz dedicated issue and accompanying playlist featuring recent metal music never before covered by Web3 Metal. Strap yourself in and discover some new music!

Follow Web3 Metal on Sound.xyz and make sure to check out all our playlists while you’re over there!