Warner Music Group partners with OpenSea amid broader push for NFTs in the music industry Crypto Update

By Anushree Dave

Warner Music Group /zigman2/quotes/218669580/composite WMG +0.03% has partnered with popular non-fungible token marketplace OpenSea to help artists create fan communities using NFTs.

The partnership will let artists signed to WMG create unique NFT drop pages to engage fans and build an online community, according to a press release from WMG. Fans who purchase an NFT from an artist have the opportunity to get access to limited-edition projects or engage directly with the artist.

This isn’t WMG’s first foray into the Web3 space. Last year, the music label partnered with technology company Genies to create avatars and digital NFT wearables for WMG artists. Earlier this year, WMG partnered with digital collectible platform Blockparty to allow artists and creators to participate in NFT swaps.

In the music industry more broadly, there has been a significant push to bring artists and fans closer using NFTs. In February, Universal Music Group /zigman2/quotes/229501281/delayed NL:UMG -0.32% worked with NFT platform Curio to create digital assets. In May, Spotify /zigman2/quotes/207488629/composite SPOT +1.05% announced testing a new feature that lets artists promote NFTs on their profiles. In August, Sony Music Entertainment signaled plans to use NFTs to authenticate live music recordings after filing a trademark application through the U.S. patent and trademark office.