(Kitco News) - The popular music streaming platform Spotify has announced a new pilot test for blockchain-powered “token-enabled playlists” that allows users who hold certain non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to access a list of curated music.
The new service was announced on Twitter by Overlord, a Web3 gaming ecosystem, which revealed its partnership with Spotify on Wednesday, saying, “We’ve been selected as one of Spotify’s patterns in a new pilot. Exclusive pilot of their token-enabled playlists. Launching with a holder-curated playlist.”
Holders of the lizard-themed Creepz NFTs, which are part of the Overlord ecosystem, can now access the token-enabled community-curated playlist offered by Overlord by connecting their Web3 wallet holding the NFT with Spotify.
Following the announcement, the sales volume of Creepz surged by 239%, leading to a 27% increase in the floor price of each NFT to 2.25 Ether ($3,719) on the OpenSea and LooksRare NFT marketplaces.
Some of the other projects that have signed up for the pilot project include Fluf, Moonbirds, and KINGSHIP. KINGSHIP, which arose out of the Bored Ape Yacht Club project and was created by Universal Music Group, is the only other project taking part in the pilot that has thus far confirmed its involvement.
We, KINGSHIP strive to ALWAYS be at the forefront of technology and music.
— KINGSHIP (@therealkingship) February 22, 2023
Now, we're taking this commitment a step further by launching a brand new token-enabled playlist with @Spotify!
This is a special curated playlist exclusively for KINGSHIP Key Card (NFT) holders. ?? pic.twitter.com/5ftjk8OgC6
The tracklist for KINGSHIP includes hits by Queen, Missy Eliott, Snoop Dogg and Led Zeppelin and requires users to hold a Kingship Key Card NFT to access. All curated playlists will be actively updated during the three-month testing period and can only be accessed by community members via a unique link.
Currently, curated playlists are only available for Android users and the pilot program has been limited to the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.
Following the announcement from Overlord, multiple tokens for Web3 music platforms – including Audius (AUDIO), Vibrate (VIB) and Rhythm (RHYTHM) – enjoyed a nice rally in price as crypto investors looked to get out ahead of the next potentially market-moving trend.
Audius got an extra boost in momentum on Thursday after it announced that it had added support for the popular social media platform TikTok which will allow new users to create accounts by linking to their TikTok profile. The integration also enables users to share Audius songs in their TikTok videos.
|
| Mastercard and Polygon launch a Web3 accelerator program for musicians |
This is not Spotify’s first foray into the world of blockchain as the global streaming platform previously experimented with integrating NFTs into its service in May of 2022 when it allowed a select group of artists to promote NFTs on their profiles.
With a roster of more than 489 million users from around the world, Spotify has the potential to introduce an entirely new cohort of users to the blockchain ecosystem as the industry looks to increase its level of adoption.
And the music market, in general, represents a fertile industry ripe for integration with blockchain technology as smart contracts empower musicians with a new set of tools to connect with their audiences, monetize their songs, and receive royalties for every purchase and resale of their material.
