Spotify plans to join the NFT digital collectibles craze and has sent out feelers to people who want to work in the Web3 ecosystem.
Swedish audio streaming and media services provider Spotify is the latest technology giant to jump on the NFT bandwagon. The move comes in the throes of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement during the South by Southwest conference that photo- and video-sharing app Instagram would soon allow minting of NFTs.
It seems tech giants and social media companies are starting to see the potential of NFTs. Twitter and Reddit have started developing new features to enable displaying or trading NFTs on their respective platforms.
In light of the emerging popularity of NFTs and other Web3 projects, even fashion brands, luxury car makers, and leading retailers are working on filing trademark applications related to such. For instance, Nike has already released several digital collectibles to signal their foray into the Metaverse.
Spotify Job Ads Fuel Buzz about Metaverse Immersion
Spotify has recently put out a couple of job recruitment ads to entice job seekers who would wish to work on early-stage Web3 projects. The job ads only served to fuel excitement among the crypto and music industries with the prospect of boosting artists’ earnings because of NFTs.
Although a spokesperson from Spotify declined to comment on the company’s NFT plans, the leaked job ads are pretty specific. The recruitment notice for a senior backend engineer for its “experimental growth” team explicitly mentioned “Web3.”
This small and full-stack team is responsible for driving growth through new technologies, like Web3
Meanwhile, in a separate job listing, Spotify advertised for the services of a manager to join its “Innovation and Market Intelligence” team. The ad disclosed that a candidate with experience in “content, creator, media, Web3, and emerging technology industries” would be perfect in helping the company “define Spotify Moonshots,” a term used for ambitious new projects.
Not a Maiden Voyage into Crypto Tech
The sending of job feelers is not Spotify’s maiden foray into crypto tech. It will be recalled that the company was one of the first collaborators on Facebook’s crypto project, Diem (previously called Libra).
During its unveiling in 2019, Spotify’s CEO, Daniel Ek, said during a podcast that cryptocurrencies and blockchain enable users of “a service like Spotify . . . to be able to pay artists directly,” more so in regions where only a few people have bank accounts.
“That can open up massive opportunities where all of a sudden, a user in Japan might pay a creator in Argentina. And that opens up huge opportunities for how we can further our mission,” Ek said about the ill-fated crypto project at the time.
Music and NFTs
There is already an existing relationship between some musicians and NFTs. Rapper Snoop Dogg and Grammy-nominated DJ Steve Aoki are proud NFT collectors, while rock band Kings of Leon and Canadian musician Grimes have sold their music in NFT form. Even major labels like Warner and Universal have collaborated with NFT projects, including a virtual band headlining characters from popular NFT collectibles Bored Ape Yacht Club.
Start-up music platforms Royal and Catalog have also started selling NFTs created by musicians. Both companies have implied that crypto tokens are a more lucrative alternative business model compared to other streaming services like Spotify. Spotify has been known to pay artists fractions of a penny each time their song is played.
Meanwhile, YouTube is also starting to pool Web3 talents in light of its announcement about integrating NFTs and collectibles with creator tools. According to the statement, creators will be allowed to mint NFTs of YouTube Shorts, the online video publisher’s infamous short video clips. This move will create additional revenue streams for its creator community.
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