Spotify tests the ability for artists to promote NFTs on their profiles

Artists can already promote their products and tickets on their Spotify profiles. Now the streaming service is testing a feature that will allow them to promote their NFTs as well.

Artists testing

Steve Aoki and The Wombats appear to be two of the artists participating in the test, both of whom have been early adopters of NFTs. The test is being run for “select” users of Spotify‘s Android app in the U.S., who will be able to preview NFTs on the artists’ profile pages. They will then be able to click to view and purchase them on external marketplaces.

“Spotify is running a test in which it will help a small group of artists promote their third-party NFT offerings through their artist profiles,” said a Spotify spokesperson

“We routinely conduct a number of tests in an effort to improve artist and fan experiences. Some of those tests end up paving the way for a broader experience and others just serve as important learning.”

We understand that Spotify doesn’t take any share of NFT sales as part of the test. So let’s be clear: Spotify is NOT selling NFTs here: it’s just testing a way to allow artists who are selling NFTs to promote them on its service.

The data will help it decide whether to implement this as a full feature for all artists, but it will also clearly inform whether Spotify decides to do something more ambitious (and on-platform) with NFTs in the future.

This won’t be the only piece of information, either. This morning, some Spotify users tweeted about a survey they received from the streaming service asking for their thoughts on NFTs:

https://twitter.com/daydreamSereia/status/1524895109355130880

Current situation of streaming music

Streaming music is not going through a good time. At least from the artists’ point of view. There is a new rebellion underway over the issue of payments from streaming platforms, and NFTs have become a stumbling block for Spotify and company.

Already becoming a majority, almost a monopoly, because they have killed physical sales and rights sales to broadcasters, the streaming platforms are victims of their own success. Netflix spent $17 billion in 2021 to produce new series and movies, and despite this, subscribers have increased below expectations.

Something similar is happening with music. Spotify and company are getting more and more plays, forcing them to pay musicians more, but subscribers are not growing at the necessary pace, and competition is increasing.

Very few bands can make a living from streaming, so they have turned their attention to another source of income: NFTs.

Music and NFTs

Musicians such as Kings of Leon and Grimes have sold NFTs of their music. Major labels Warner and Universal have partnered on NFT projects, including a virtual band featuring characters from the Bored Ape Yacht Club.

In Bloomberg, indie artist Iman Europe describes how selling NFTs with his music has become his new livelihood: “With Spotify I was only earning €300 despite having over 4 million plays. Now, I earn 60,000 euros”.

NFTs make it possible to sell digital assets (music files, images, videos, documents, etc.) with a kind of “certificate of authenticity”, because they are associated with a unique key registered on a cryptocurrency blockchain.

Many indie artists are starting to sell variations and customizations of your music tracks, even songs and scores as NFTs, and that’s more profitable for them than the pennies streaming pays them for plays.

Spotify and company fear that platforms for buying and selling music NFTs will start to emerge outside of them, and artists will start to migrate there. Whether out of conviction or obligation, they have to get into the NFT business.

That’s why Spotify has posted two job openings related to Web3, which is a global way of calling the internet based on blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs.