Spotify's downfall and the rise of meme NFTs

Author

Moe Hayek
June 06, 2022

What up, family, 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦,

Seedphrase Daily here 👋, where we give you condensed information about Web3 and NFTs so you find opportunities as quickly as you can find some fried chicken! We hope you enjoyed your weekend because the markets did not.

Today’s estimated research time is 4 hours and 12 minutes condensed into a read time of 4 minutes and 16 seconds. Stay tuned to where we talk about:

  • 🎤 Here’s how this artist went from $300 a month to $60k with NFTs

  • 🧐 Market ran by memes?

  • ❤️‍ Coinbase rescinds job offers

  • 🥷 BAYC discord gets hacked and $260k worth of NFTs were stolen!

  • 🌱 NewSeeds

Making $300 a month with Spotify to over $60,000 with NFTs as an artist

An unsigned singer-songwriter from L.A., California, Iman Europe, made 22.2Ξ (USD 60k) by selling five singles and a music video as NFTs. In comparison, she only made roughly $300 a month from streaming on your regular platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. On top of that, she had more than 4M active listeners!

Web2 platforms like Spotify take most of the money from all the streams to pay their artists' minimal amounts. This is why Web3 is the future!

Web3 empowers creators giving them complete control of their business and what they want to create! Not only that, but Web3 is one of the biggest growing sectors today.

Are NFTs the way to go for independent artists?

Sales tend to revolve around 1 ETH regardless of artists' Spotify streams from the chart above. This shows that NFT collectors are willing to support less-established artists in Web3 no matter their history.

Artists can leverage music NFTs to both their advantage and their holders. When investors purchase the music NFT, they now own a specific copy of that music and could also earn royalties.

Music NFTs will transform how independent artists can make money and still make it a win-win for their fans! How fast do you think it will take for people to realize this? 🤷‍♂️

Market ran by memes?

Needless to say that memes that rise and gain popularity with no 'real' meaning behind the project sometimes just can't be explained in rational terms. Especially during the current bear market, meme projects are exploding in popularity while other "rational" projects may never make their first step.

Why are meme projects taking over Opensea?

Both derivative and meme projects are completely taking over, gaining thousands of ETH in volume within a few days! But is there a genuine reason for this?

Yes & No!

Let us explain.

Derivative projects thrive because projects like Goblintown.wtf ranked #1 on Opensea with tons of hype behind it. That causes investors that missed out to FOMO into any derivative project trying to flip a quick penny. These projects don't have real utility behind them. They are just using the hype for their collection. It's not a bad thing, and some people look to snipe these projects, playing the hype, which is riskier but can be very profitable.

Okay, what about meme projects?

Meme projects are being released every single day. However, we only hear about the ones that go mainstream. Have you heard of 'we are all going to die? LOL, yes, you read that right.

This is a perfect example of a project that quickly gained tons of hype, causing investors to FOMO in. A catchy name and cool art are enough to get something pumping for a few days. And in bear markets especially, we see a significant increase in meme projects as NFT enthusiasts seek ways to make a quick flip and regain losses.

This project smashed a 1ETH floor in just two days after release. With almost 6kΞ ($11M) volume traded, it shows how the right amount of hype in a project can get people to invest their money. Have you ever made money from a meme project?

Coinbase rescinds job offers

Now that billions of dollars are leaving the crypto market, Coinbase has been left with no choice but to suspend hiring for a wide range of roles and become the latest exchange.

Bundle up because it might be a cold winter 🥶☃️

Coinbase is the second cryptocurrency exchange to announce a shift in its business practices due to market conditions. Last weekend, Gemini's cryptocurrency exchange decided to fire 10% of its employees due to the upcoming crypto winter.

In 2020, Covid-19 was first introduced, and unemployment rates spiked to almost 15%! With businesses not making as much money, their first source of cutting expenses was to cut employees.

With the amount of fear in the market right now and billions leaving the space, exchanges are doing the same thing any typical business would do.

Seedphrase hates to hear that people are losing what feeds them and hope they can all get back on their feet quickly! These things are natural, though and will only pave the future. 🙏

BAYC discord gets hacked and $260k worth of NFTs were stolen!

Not again… 😅

The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) Discord server was hacked on Saturday, and the attacker managed to steal around 200 ETH ($360,000) worth of NFTs!

The hack took place after the project's community manager, Boris Vagner, compromised his Discord account, which the attacker used to post phishing links in both the official BAYC and its related metaverse project, Otherside's Discord channels.

An estimated 145 ETH (around $260,000) was stolen along with the NFTs, tracing the stolen funds back to four separate wallets.

Why have scams been so common recently?

NFT enthusiasts and the BAYC founders currently blame Discord's 'weak' security. However, there are two easy we can see it:

1/ Many of the recent phishing scams have been on the Discord platform, just like Seth Green last week, who lost his Bored Ape. The BAYC founder is currently blaming Discord for its lapse in security. Does the Web3 community need to transition onto another platform?

2/ Most people in the NFT space know that phishing scams and scam links are prevalent in the space. The attack could have been on any platform on which the victims could potentially repeat the same mistake. Meaning someone is bound to fall for it eventually.

The Seedphrase team always preaches not clicking on any link that will connect your wallet. However, when a project manager's Discord gets hacked and the scammer can drop links in multiple channels, it's understandable how people fall for it. The Web3 community needs another platform with much better security and caters to these types of things. How about a decentralized media outlet that specializes in Web3 projects? Better yet, a decentralized communications platform that's as accessible as Discord.

What are your thoughts? 🧐

Speaking of NFT artists, here are some cool NewSeeds:

Soulja Boy plans on entering the Cardano powered NFTs space Not the first this time but good for him!! 😂

That’s a wrap for today! Because the majority of NFTs community are formed on platforms such as Discord and Twitter, is the solution to the phishing scams to make a decentralized communications app for Web3 projects where people and projects can get verified? What are some of your ideas?

Make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for more content! And If you’re looking to find early opportunities to make money, tune in daily! It only takes 5 minutes. Or reply this email saying “ALPHA”

See you tomorrow. ✌️ 💎

Meme of the Day

Solana beat down…

Disclaimer

None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research!

Reply

or to participate.