• Audius, a music streaming platform, allows users to showcase their Solana and Ethereum NFTs on the platform.
• Solana generates new industry hype as communities flocked to the new ecosystem to mint NFTs.
• TikTok partnered with Audius to enable users’ music to be used on the social media platform.

Music is an indispensable component of the younger generations’ lives, and musical preference reflects their personality. Similarly, NFTs as works of art in the digital format showcase comparable values as they pertain to specific cultural values. Audius, a decentralized music streaming platform, has embedded an Ethereum and Sollana NFT collections tab on its platform.

Collectibles Showcasing

Music and art influence each other to a certain extent, and increased prevalence of digital tools means that you can’t have one without the other. For example, Audius integrated a collectibles function on its platform in April, when the NFT wave first broke into the mainstream. With NFTs replacing the DeFi hype, Audius magnified its NFT exposure by launching a Solana NFT integration on the platform.

Audius silver-tier profiles, or accounts that hold 100 AUDIUS tokens, can now showcase their Solana on their profile, along with their already integrated Ethereum NFTs. Demand for Solana NFTs surged in the past weeks, with NFT projects such as Aurory, Sollamas, and Degenerate Ape Academy raking up millions in trading volume. 

Audius integrated through the multi-chain Phantom wallet, allowing users to directly link their NFTs through a Chrome extension. Forrest Browning, the cofounder of Audius, mentioned that its integration with the Phantom wallet is “miles better than anything you’d get with MetaMask.”

NFTs Are the Crypto Standard

Crypto’s de facto is NFTs. 2020’s DeFi summer transitioned into the NFT summer of 2021. Non-fungible tokens are extending blockchain’s use cases across many industry sectors as they put the spotlights on previously hidden subcultures. 

Both underground musicians and digital artists have been neglected due to their lack of mainstream exposure. By May 2021, the industry was focused on Ethereum as the number one platform to mint NFTs. With new blockchain platforms offering cost-effective minting solutions, unknown artists express their voice and creativity through a medium previously controlled by those with higher capital.

Fred Ehrsam, the cofounder of Coinbase, noted that 90% of NFTs would not hold value in the long run, comparing the hype with the Internet bubble. However, NFTs in the cultural sectors can unlock new possibilities for artists and musicians. While art collectibles have popularized NFTs, decentralized spin-offs such as social tokens can become a paywall alternative for the decentralized culture.

On The Flipside

• Solana does not have an open market such as Etheruem’s OpenSea, where market transactions can occur.
• Audius might seek to vertically increase its business and use its user base to converge onto NFT sales.

Music Found

Integrating Solana NFT can validate the network’s capabilities as it opens the possibility for 6 million Audius users to showcase their collections. Moreover, reports show that Audius will migrate off Ethereum onto Solana to “scale community-owned music streaming.”

The goal of the crypto space is not to perpetuate a “cult-like following” but rather to partner and create a stable and effective end product.

Attaching music to collectibles and vice versa enriches the cultural sector and also helps create a decentralized identity for cryptocurrency users. In addition, seemingly integrated solutions aid in the development and progression of the Web3.0 ecosystem, as users can rapidly identify with their peers based on their owned assets.

Why You Should Care?

Interlinking multiple types of NFTs helps normalize a hyped and speculative sector, decreasing investment uncertainty. Solana’s exposure as a lucrative and useful blockchain solution will increase and rush innovation as more competition helps create additional incentives. We believe Solana can rightfully challenge Ethereum.