Last week, Spotify rolled out a test which allowed artists to display their NFT collections to users. According to Music Ally, some users in the Android users in the US were able to access and view NFT galleries from artists including Steve Aoki and The Wombats. Both have been ardent supporters of the NFT boom. Speaking to Music Ally, a spokesperson for Spotify said, “Spotify is running a test in which it will help a small group of artists promote their existing third-party NFT offerings via their artist profiles.”
Selected users for the test are able to view galleries of NFTs on artists’ Spotify profiles, and are then able to tap to view them and purchase them through external market places such as OpenSea. Spotify will not be collecting commission on any purchases made through the feature.
Reporting for The Verge, Emma Roth detailed her experience of the test. “I noticed I had access to the test after updating Spotify. When I navigated to both Steve Aoki’s and The Wombats’ artist pages, I saw that the NFT gallery sits beneath the artist’s header and song list,” explained Roth. Some users were also asked to complete a survey of their experience following the test. Roth goes on to note that while major corporations like Spotify and Instagram have been attempting to capitalise on the NFT surge, the NFT marketplace has been in decline. Citing The Wall Street Journal, Roth notes that NFT sales have dipped some 92% over the past eight months.
Meanwhile, producer Pharrell Williams made headlines after launching a new NFT platform, GODA (Gallery Of Digital Assets). Backed by a number of prolific figures in the music industry, GODA is being pitched as an NFT marketplace that allows artists to trade work in a way that “feels organic and true to their creative voices.” According to Williams, “We created GODA to enable the best contemporary artists to harness this new opportunity but do so on a platform that respects the world-class nature of their work, reputation, and accomplishments.” GODA’s first drop is expected in the coming months and will include ‘mint passes’ that guarantee users access to future drops. Artist Nina Chanel Abney will be responsible for the platform’s inaugural artist collection thereafter.
