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3LAU’s Music NFT Platform Royal Announces First Drop Featuring Nas

BY Langston Thomas •

January 06, 2022

Considering 2021 was a massive year for music NFTs, it feels as though the time of community music ownership may finally be upon us. Just a few months after launching their new platform Royal, Justin Blau and JD Ross have taken another step towards decentralizing the music industry by recruiting hip-hop legend Nas for the marketplace’s inaugural drop.

Following the release of 3LAU’s “Worst Case” — which was distributed as a collection of Limited Digital Assets (royalty-bearing NFTs) — Royal will be offering up the streaming royalty rights to two Nas songs. The drop is scheduled to go live on Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. ET at royal.io and will be the first live sale of NFTs on the platform.

Without further ado.. we're honored to announce Hip Hop legend, innovator and entrepreneur @Nas will be the first artist to drop his music on royal on January 11th! https://t.co/TkyWvOJOvY pic.twitter.com/hQGGXVuPhz
— royal (@join_royal) January 6, 2022

With this latest move, Royal has expanded upon its mission to offer collectors ownership in songs via NFTs. By bringing on top-tier, Grammy-winning recording artists Nas for Royal’s genesis drop, the growing platform is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in both the NFT space and music industry.

The collection will feature Nas’ tracks “Ultra Black” — the lead single from his 2021 Grammy Award winning-album King’s Disease — as well as “Rare” — a single from his 2022 Grammy Award-nominated album, King’s Disease II. Both songs were originally released via Nas’s independent label Mass Appeal and will be available to collect via Royal on Jan. 11 with “Ultra Black” dropping at 1 p.m. ET and “Rare” dropping at 9 p.m. ET.

A limited supply of 760 tokens total will be available for “Ultra Black,” with streaming royalty ownership separated out into three tiers. Gold tier will offer owners 0.0143% streaming royalty ownership for $50, Platinum tier will offer 0.0857% streaming royalty ownership for $250 and Diamond tier: 2.14% streaming royalty ownership for $4,999.

Until now, fans have only been able to support their favorite artist by streaming/purchasing their music, attending shows and buying merch. With Royal, fans can now invest directly in musicians, connect with them in new ways and experience shared wealth as they rise to prominence.

“I am always looking for new and unique ways to connect with my fans,” said Nas via statement. “I am excited to partner with Royal on their new endeavor in order for my fans to connect with my music in a new way.”

Created by Blau and Ross, Royal has seen resounding success since its launch in Oct. 2021. Through tokenizing music rights, Royal has communicated NFTs to be a useful tool not only for up-and-coming, digitally native artists but as a way to onboard new fans and bolster the communities of even the most seasoned superstars.

“Having Nas be the first artist to sell royalty rights through Royal is an incredible affirmation of our mission,” said superstar DJ and Royal CEO/Co-founder Justin Blau. “It’s proof that artists across genres feel strongly about democratizing ownership of their music, and that they want to be connected to their listeners on a deeper level.”