Photo Credit: Andrey Metelev
Despite a reportedly 92 percent falloff in non-fungible token (NFT) sales in 2022 amid a broader “crypto winter” downturn, music NFT platform OneOf has managed to close an over $8 million “strategic round.”
Quincy Jones-backed OneOf, which announced a $63 million raise in May of 2021 and kicked off 2022 by inking a “label-wide partnership” with Warner Music Group, unveiled this latest $8 million round today. OneOf’s newest backers include Snow Hill Ventures (which counts as a managing director Forbes owner Miguel Forbes), Polygon investor Sangha Capital (also an existing stakeholder), the Chain Link Crypto Fund (where OneOf’s CEO is a general partner), the Mirabaud Lifestyle Impact and Innovation Fund, and Amex Ventures.
On the latter front, OneOf took the opportunity to reveal a collection of NFTs that will be available solely to American Express cardholders, as one component of “an exclusive pop-up event inspired by color theory and therapy.”
AE is poised to host the three-week happening – dubbed “The American Express Summer in Color Oasis” – in Bodrum, Turkey. And OneOf, for its part, is set to provide attendees with “a complimentary NFT collectible designed by renowned Turkish artist Selay Karasu,” according to higher-ups.
(Karasu’s work has been featured at Burning Man, which, after facing considerable operational difficulties due to lockdown restrictions and large-gathering bans, is quietly preparing to make a comeback on August 28th.)
Addressing his company’s $8 million raise in a statement, OneOf CEO Lin Dai touted the perceived long-term potential of Web3 notwithstanding the initially mentioned crypto downturn.
“We are excited and humbled by the belief and overwhelming support from our new and existing investors and partners to continue executing towards our mission of bringing the next 100M users into the NFT and blockchain space,” said Dai.
“As the Web3 market matures and consolidates, we see great opportunities in creating new commerce models, enabling creators of all shapes and sizes, from the biggest global brands to the newest independent artists, to unlock the real world potentials of this new technology,” he concluded.
Time will reveal NFTs’ precise impact and role in music moving forward, especially given the challenging economy’s effects on consumer spending habits.
Non-fungible token diehards like Snoop Dogg remain adamant that the digital items are the future of the industry, and it was only in May that Spotify started allowing select artists to plug NFTs on their profiles. Also in May, Pharrell Williams and Troy Carter rolled out NFT ventures of their own.
Moreover, Instagram added NFT support in June, while Warner Records partnered with Bose on a merch-backed NFT project in July – the same month in which Kingship, Universal Music’s notoriously press-averse digital group, reportedly sold through its entire NFT collection in a matter of hours.
On the other side of the “token,” certain artists’ NFTs have reportedly struggled to catch on, and some NFTs that fetched millions in the not-so-distant past have sold for comparatively miniscule amounts in 2022.