By
Godfrey Benjamin
August 9th, 2023
The launch of the music NFT project for artists is the next step for Billboard with the increased use of NFTs in branding and promotion within the music industry.
Renowned music media brands, Billboard and Universal Music Group (UMG) are collaborating with Unblocked to launch ChartStars, a music NFT project on the Flow blockchain.
ChartStars will feature licensed digital artwork representing the achievements and milestones of the Billboard Charts. The project will harness past Billboard charts to create digital collectables. This will utilize album art and visual clips from music videos of different artists.
Following its lineup of world-class artists and music labels, UMG will celebrate its songs that debut in the top 25. These songs will be assessed based on the length of time on the chart, multiple songs on the chart at once, historic chart records, and others.
Six times in 64 years, UMG has placed nine of the Top 10 on Billboard’s album chart. Other than this, in 2021, UMG occupied the No. 1 spot for about 10 months consecutively. In the process, the company also set a new record. The first set will be ready for purchase by May and can be bought by making credit card payments for the assets.
Music NFT project Collaboration Good for Fans and Artists
According to Michael Nash, UMG’s Executive Vice President of Digital Strategy, they “are excited to collaborate on this product innovation.” Nash believes the partnership will create more avenues for artists to gain while bonding with their fans.
President of Billboard, Julian Holguin, believes the project will help music fans capture and own snapshots of their best moments with their favorite artists. He said:
“These digital collectables will celebrate and commemorate special chart achievements with visually stunning creative.”
Additionally, fans will compete for rewards, gamifying the process. This will be achieved through collector leaderboards, challenges and true utility designed into the smart contracts. There’ll also be special access at live Billboard Events.
NFTs and the Music Industry
The launch of the music NFT project for artists is the next step for Billboard with the increased use of NFTs in branding and promotion within the music industry. According to a Forbes article, musicians are using web3 tools to change the face of fan engagement.
Just in January, American rapper Nas sold the rights to two of his songs as NFTs. Likewise, in February, Coachella collaborated with FTX US to create NFT passes to a music festival. John Legend also launched an NFT platform for artists. Also recently, UMG partnered with Curio to launch its NFT projects.
