There are several reasons why people become diehard fans of music, irrespective of their preferred genre. They might jam to music through their headphones while working or pay close attention to it using high-end sound equipment. They might attend festivals or go to live shows in intimate locations. They might follow their favorite musicians on social media or keep an eye out for songs trending on YouTube. Some people may even aspire to become well-known singers, DJs, or business figures.
By fusing the ease of digital access with the exclusivity, features, and possible financial incentives of blockchain-based technology, NFTs can enable all these audiences to receive more of what they want. This is indeed the case with Armin van Buuren and blockchain firm Ripple.
Ripple Joins Armin van Buuren’s Armada Music to Launch an Album in the Metaverse
Ripple, a well-known blockchain firm, collaborated with Styngr, a music integration platform, and Armada Music to develop the exclusive Web3 game called Maladroids (a video game built on the XRP network).
Armada Music, one of the dominant players in its industry, was founded by three well-known DJs: Armin van Buuren, Maykel Piron, and David Lewis.
The agreement will help the play-to-earn game Maladroids launch a music album, according to the press release. Maladroids, the P2E game created by the modular Ripple ecosystem on XRP, allows players to compete with one another and win XRP tokens as prizes. The CD will also heighten the participants’ anticipation for the debut of Maladroids.
Additionally, the music integration company Stinger and the record label Armada Music pledged to deliver two prominent EDM performers: Tom Staar and Kryder. They will perform brand-new songs monthly for the first 180 days of the game’s release.
The music entities intend to offer consumers audio emotes and NFTs in conjunction with future features.
The Styngr’s Co-Founder Alex Tarrant mentions that “seamlessly launching an entire album through a game is a groundbreaking opportunity. We are thrilled to collaborate with record labels like Armada Music to bring brand new tracks from some of EDM’s top artists to blockchain gaming that leverages the best-in-class capabilities of the XRP Ledger. To do all this in a game as fun and competitive as Maladroids is truly something special.”
What Does This Mean for the Metaverse?
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were made available to fans of two of the biggest dance music festivals earlier this year.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Coachella, a multi-day music and arts festival hosted in California, had to postpone its festivities in 2020 and 2021. This April, it resumed and gave attendees more possibilities than usual. Among those features were the digital treasures created by Solana, including the “Coachella Keys Collection,” “Sights and Sounds Collection,” and “Desert Reflections Collection.”
Tomorrowland, debatably the biggest music festival in the world, engaged with the Metaverse. It partnered with cryptocurrency exchange FTX to offer Web3 and NFT experiences to its fans at renowned concerts in Belgium this summer and the one in the French Alps in March 2023.
The CEO and Founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, noted that it is “exciting” to witness a partnership between the crypto sector and the music industry. He added that the projects of Tomorrowland will provide visitors with a fun and interactive approach to obtaining admission to exclusive events.
A Growing Metaverse
In comparison to 2019, the metaverse market grew at a 3.3% annual rate in 2020. This growth is linked to online video games’ increased popularity and consumer preference for online retail product purchases — a key player in the metaverse technological community. Its GPU market, which had a value of $22 billion in 2020, is anticipated to increase at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 31.87% through 2028.
According to the Bitcoin Prime, this year alone has seen investments in the metaverse total more than $120 billion, which is more than ten times the $13 billion made in 2021. Furthermore, according to the paper, the metaverse’s value might reach $5 trillion by 2030, equal to Japan’s GDP.
NFTs entered the market in 2021 for $40 billion, although their potential hasn’t even been fully realized. If 2021 was the year of digital collectibles and collections of generative art, 2022 is expected to be the year that music-based NFTs make a significant breakthrough.
