Here Are the Biggest Music NFTs in July: KINGSHIP, Sia, Notorious B.I.G. & More
NFT sales across music rebounded in a big way in July.
After weeks of uncertainty and low volume, in July a heartbeat returned to the NFT market. The sales numbers are still a long way from the highs of 2021 when monthly music NFT primary sales reached as high as $27 million, but the Web3 music space showed signs of life in July with more than $8.5 million in trading volume among the top 10. That’s eight times higher than the month prior. In fact, the No. 1 project alone generated three-times more volume than June’s entire list.
Notably, two major labels made their splashy entrance into the space with collections from Universal Music Group (UMG) and Warner Records. And a new trend emerged: Projects are increasingly launching from their own websites, rather than relying on existing Web3 platforms as a launchpad. In the first half of the year, music NFTs were dominated by native crypto platforms like Royal, Sound.xyz, Catalog and others. Fast forward to July, and only two drops in the top 10 came from an established Web3 platform. Based on analysis of sales data from 15 different NFT platforms, independent releases and secondary sales volume, here are the 10 biggest-selling music NFTs and collections in Web3 in July 2022.
1. KINGSHIP – “Key Cards”
Volume traded: 2,175 ETH ($3,680,100 at month-end conversion rate)
Primary sales: 950 ETH
Secondary volume: 1,225 ETH
The Bored Ape supergroup put together by UMG dropped 5,000 Key Cards this month, which sold out instantly and went on to generate more than $2 million in trading volume on secondary markets. The band is made up of four characters from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (and one UMG-owned Bored Ape manager) through a unique licensing deal with the apes’ owner, Jimmy McNelis.
Founder of Universal’s Web3 imprint 10:22PM Celine Joshua told Billboard that the collection is about more than music. “KINGSHIP is a membership, a club and a brand.” The project will soon reveal its first brand partnership, as well as the Grammy-award winning artists behind the music.
2. Stickmen Toys
Volume traded: 1,110 ETH ($1,878,120)
Primary sales: 0
Secondary volume: 1,110 ETH
It was a battle of the major label NFTs last month, with Warner Records’ Stickmen Toys taking the second spot. Stickmen Toys was free to mint but quickly racked up over $1.8 million in secondary volume as fans picked up their favorite designs.
Warner also partnered with Bose, so collectors can redeem a limited edition pair of headphones or bluetooth speaker. As for the music, each of the 5,000 Stickmen Toys comes with a 30-second clip of generative music, created by feeding different musical stems (bass, drums, vocal samples) into an algorithm.
3. Sia – “SOULS”
Volume traded: 950 ETH ($1,607,400)
Primary sales: ~621 ETH
Secondary volume: 329 ETH
Sia — an avid NFT collector with a crypto alter-ego known as Bianca de’ Medici — released a collection of 10,000 NFTs called SOULS in July featuring her own vocal samples. In a video to announce the release, Sia said, “Each soul has its own personality, its own mood, its own energy.” They can sing, dance, wiggle and tell you if they’re feeling happy or sad. Like a cute, musical sidekick.
The collection also raised 29.3 ETH ($49,517) for The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and mental health organization for LGBTQ+ youth.
4. SUPERF3ST – “Founder Pass”
Volume traded: $495,385
Primary sales: $468,500
Secondary volume: 15.89 ETH
SUPERF3ST promises to be the world’s “next iconic music festival.” And it’s powered by NFTs. Launching in 2023, the festival is created by Superfly, the team behind Bonnaroo and Outsidelands.
As of the end of July, the project has sold 937 out of 3,333 founder passes, priced at $500 a piece, giving holders the opportunity to vote on how SUPERF3ST develops and offers exclusive access to the festival when it launches.
5. Notorious B.I.G. – “Sky’s the Limit”
Volume traded: $300,000
Primary sales: $300,000
Secondary volume: N/A
“Yes it’s me, the B.I.G. Competition rapper ever since 13.” Biggie’s iconic Fulton Street freestyle was immortalized as an NFT in July, and sold out in 10 minutes via NFT platform OneOf. Holders of the NFT are now collective owners of the freestyle which — for the first time — can now be licensed and sampled by other musicians.
Collectors also get access to an exclusive “Sky’s The Limit” community. Biggie’s estate has leaned heavily into Web3 this year, recently launching a virtual reality metaverse called “The Brook.”
6. Hume Collective – “Genesis”
Volume traded: 140.81 ETH ($238,250)
Primary sales: 0
Secondary volume: 140.81
Hume is one of the first metaverse record labels, home to a roster of “metastars” or virtual artists. Last month, the label’s debut artist angelbaby snuck into the top 10 with lead single “Otherside”. This month, it’s the turn of the Hume record label itself.
Hume dropped 1,035 “Genesis” NFTs as a free mint to its community. The collection gives fans the power to influence record label decisions, as well as free access to future metastar mints. Although the Genesis mint was free, the collection generated more than 140 ETH in secondary trading volume.
7. Daniel Allan – “Glass Houses”
Volume traded: 86.59 ETH ($146,337)
Primary sales: ~70.7 ETH
Secondary volume: 15.89 ETH
Daniel Allan is close to becoming Web3’s first breakout native artist. Over the last 18 months he built a thriving Web3 community and crowdfunded his career through NFTs. Last month, he launched a new EP and his most ambitious NFT project yet, “Glass House.” Released fully independently, the collection of 1,000 NFTs sold out overnight before triggering a wave of trading on secondary markets.
The EP was launched as a Web3 exclusive and won’t be available on traditional streaming services until September.
8. Timmy Trumpet – “Life Like This”
Volume traded: $92,384
Primary sales: $89,000
Secondary volume: 2 ETH
Multi-platinum artist and DJ Timmy Trumpet dropped “Life Like This” on Royal last month, offering up a percentage of streaming royalties to collectors from day one. The highest tier NFT — the diamond token — gives holders 1% ownership in the song, as well as VIP passes to a Timmy Trumpet show and a virtual listening party.
9. Violetta Zironi – “Moonshot”
Volume traded: 46.91 ETH ($79,371)
Primary sales: N/A
Secondary volume: 46.91 ETH
Violetta Zironi is another independent, grassroots success story to come out of Web3. Zironi has built a passionate fan base, spending hours on Twitter Spaces almost every day, talking to the community about the promise of NFTs and helping new artists get started.
The persistence has paid off. Zironi’s Moonshot project sold out over the course of a few weeks in April and June. Now it’s picking up steam on secondary markets with more than 40 ETH traded in July alone. The collection of 2,500 NFTs is based around five different songs with unique artwork, hand-drawn by her father, a Disney illustrator.
10. Billboard Chartstars x Fewocious
Volume traded: $62,500
Primary sales: $62,500
Secondary volume: N/A
Billboard collaborated with renowned artist Fewocious for the annual Pride cover story in June, and followed it up with an exclusive NFT collection for Billboard Chartstars. The collection went on sale at the end of July and sold out within minutes.
The collectibles give holders exclusive access to FewoWorld paint parties and select Billboard events. A portion of the proceeds went to The Trevor Project, the world’s leading suicide prevention charity for LGBTQ+ youth.
Methodology: The chart was compiled using data from primary music NFT sales across 15 different NFT platforms, independent releases and secondary volume data from OpenSea. Data was captured between July 1 – 31, 2022. Conversion rates from Ethereum to US dollars were calculated on July 31.
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