NFT Project Spotlight: Hume’s Music NFT Metastars 

Hume is a Web3 report label growing a roster of digital artists referred to as “Metastars.” 

What Is Hume?

Hume is likely one of the world’s first Web3-native report labels. It focuses on harnessing the ability of blockchain know-how to create deeper connections between music artists and their followers.

The label pioneers what it calls “Metastars,” utterly digital artists that Hume NFT holders assist affect and develop. The Hume website defines Metastars as Metaverse-native, universally influential, digital music artists who exist in each the Metaverse and the bodily world. Hume’s objective is to turn out to be the main Web3 report label devoted to selling digital artists and onboarding them and their followers into its music collective. Crypto Briefing sat down with Hume co-founders David Beiner and Jay Stolar to seek out out what impressed them to launch Hume, their backgrounds within the music trade, and the way NFTs play a pivotal function in making a community-driven digital artist platform. 

Angelbaby and the Metastars 

Hume’s first Metastar is angelbaby, an NFT from Non-Fungible Labs’ FLUF World assortment. Earlier than changing into Hume’s foundational Metastar, angelbaby was already a longtime artist in their very own proper. They’ve performed a number of reside exhibits this 12 months at main artwork and music occasions, together with Art Basel Miami and South by Southwest. Moreover, angelbaby’s music has constantly topped the charts for the best-selling music NFTs on platforms like OpenSea and Audius. 

Nonetheless, in Hume’s world, angelbaby takes on a brand new function as one of many founding members of the hume collective. The challenge has make clear the mysterious artists’ background, revealing them as a time traveler from the 12 months 3045. 

The story goes that within the far future, censorship is rampant, and all inventive expression is managed by an oppressive pressure referred to as the Xani Republic. Angelbaby has come again in time to the current day to discovered a gaggle of insurgent artists to battle in opposition to the Xani Republic. This group, generally known as the hume collective, is devoted to preserving inventive expression and the open Metaverse in any respect prices. 

“Angelbaby went by means of a gate that introduced them again in time, they met me and David, they usually’ve been introducing us to different Metastars. In order loopy as that every one sounds, there’s a deep story,” mentioned Stolar, highlighting how Hume is an train in inventive world-building and a brand new approach for followers to attach with their favourite artists. “Our world is not only growing these instruments that may allow you to work together together with your followers in new methods, however growing every Metastar as half of a bigger narrative world that they’re all a part of,” he added. 

Creator Backgrounds

Apart from Hume’s revolutionary world-building by means of the eyes of angelbaby, the collective’s different founders every have their very own tales to inform. Jay Stolar, Hume’s Chief Artist Officer, has an in depth background in efficiency, songwriting, and music manufacturing. His claims to fame embody writing songs for Aloe Blacc, Selena Gomez, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Demi Lovato, and producing music for hit multiplayer video games like League of Legends and Fortnite. 

Throughout Stolar’s time producing music for different artists, he realized the traces between the actual and digital have been changing into more and more blurred. “What I began to understand was that primarily, numerous these tasks have been being handled as in the event that they have been [for] a digital artist,” he defined. 

For instance, the tasks Stolar labored on with Riot Video games for League of Legends concerned producing music for digital artists who’re additionally playable characters within the recreation. Whereas some initially doubted whether or not followers would be capable of join with digital artists in the identical approach as artists in the actual world, tasks comparable to Seraphine and K/DA proved that digital artists might be profitable, opening the door to an entire new paradigm in music manufacturing. “That led us down a path the place we actually fell in love with the thought of digital artists early,” mentioned Stolar. 

Whereas Stolar was discovering the untapped potential of digital music artists, his fellow Hume co-founder, David Beiner, was exploring blockchain know-how and the rising concept of the Metaverse. “I used to be getting deep in Web3 and Ethereum, beginning to consider NFTs and the Metaverse, and the extra I talked to Jay, I used to be like, what’s the distinction between writing songs for Selena Gomez, or a digital artist we are able to develop and construct the trajectory for,” he recounted. 

This realization marked the start of what’s now referred to as the hume collective, one thing the pair have by no means seemed again on. “We had this normal perception that now appears apparent—we’re going to have digital merchandise, we’re going to have digital identities, these digital identities are going to blur the traces between the bodily and the digital, and so that you’re going to have totally digital artists who’re additionally blurring the traces between each these worlds,” Beiner added. 

Hume Genesis NFTs

In keeping with pioneering a platform for digital music artists, Hume has elected to make use of digital belongings within the type of NFTs to bridge the hole between artists and their followers. When requested why NFTs have been the only option for the hume collective, Beiner gave two fundamental causes: group and mental property. 

NFTs have lengthy been acknowledged for his or her capability to impress communities on-line. By means of their capability to grant perks comparable to voting rights, Discord entry, or airdrops to holders, the nascent blockchain-based know-how has made coordinating communities and rewarding members simpler than ever earlier than. 

Nonetheless, Beiner takes this a step additional within the context of the connection between music artists and their followers. Along with understanding precisely who a digital artist’s followers are, Hume’s Genesis NFTs will enable their holders to make choices on the way forward for the Hume group. “We’re an enormous fan of creating choices,” mentioned Stolar, cautious to distance Hume from present token voting mechanics popularized by DAO governance constructions. “The rationale we don’t just like the phrase “voting” is as a result of Hume’s not a DAO; we’re not going to have group proposals. It’s extra of a narrative, [in the story] of the Hume Genesis sooner or later, everybody had one, and they might meet at a spot and make choices collectively,” Beiner defined.  

There are 1,000 Hume Genesis NFTs that have been dropped without cost to those that met sure standards, comparable to holding angelbaby POAPs or proudly owning angelbaby music NFTs. After the drop, the genesis NFTs revealed into considered one of three tiers: Uncommon, Extremely-Uncommon, and Legendary. Relying on the tier, every genesis NFT will give its holder an elevated quantity of affect within the Hume decision-making course of. 

Concerning extra advantages from holding higher-tier NFTs, Beiner hinted at perks comparable to unique dinners, going backstage at occasions, and precedence entry to Metaverse live shows. “I’ll let your creativeness undergo all the probabilities of what you can do,” he mentioned. “Angelbaby wouldn’t be very blissful if we began speaking about issues which are going to occur for every tier,” Stolar added jokingly.

Beginning with Hume’s first Metastar, angelbaby, every digital artist launched by means of Hume may have their very own genesis NFT occasion, and all Hume Genesis holders will likely be assured NFTs for all artists over the subsequent 18 months. Little is thought in regards to the subsequent genesis drops except for that every one will likely be bigger in measurement than the Hume Genesis assortment. 

Every Metastar’s genesis NFTs will give holders the chance to assist develop them and their music profession. Potential choices revolving round music manufacturing embody which songs ought to make it onto albums, which tune the artist ought to launch as singles, and deciding album cowl artwork. “If in case you have 1,000 passionate followers, allow them to ‘get within the room with the artist,’ allow them to be a part of the method. They’re those listening. They’re those who like it most,” Beiner defined. 

The Way forward for Music 

Though Hume continues to be in its early levels of improvement, Beiner and Stolar are assured that NFTs will finally change the way in which we work together with and devour music. They see Web3 and blockchain as the subsequent massive technological evolution in how individuals work together with music, akin to the report participant permitting for possession or digitization making music transportable.

On the identical time, the pair acknowledged that bringing music NFTs into the mainstream is not going to be simple. “Music NFTs have positively not gotten the identical quantity of affection or consideration as PFP tasks or visible artwork, and there’s positively been an enormous barrier there,” Beiner mentioned.  

On the digital artist aspect of issues, Stolar recommends testing angelbaby and their music to know the idea of a digital artist totally. “We’re solely years away from there being a time the place there are, I feel, hundreds of thousands of individuals taking over digital avatars to signify themselves as artists,” he posited, sharing his optimism for the thought.

Whether or not Hume will reach its imaginative and prescient of changing into the premier Web3 report label will largely rely on the success of music NFTs as an idea. Different Web3 music platforms comparable to Audius, Catalog and RŌHKI are additionally serving to develop music NFTs, however like Hume, have but to seek out mainstream adoption. Nonetheless, as blockchain know-how grows, extra artists will seemingly see music NFTs as a viable choice to attach with their followers in a approach that was by no means beforehand potential. 

Disclosure: On the time of scripting this function, the writer owned ETH and several other different cryptocurrencies.