Token-gated mixtapes for your crush?

Spotify's token-gated playlists, Coinbase chooses ETH, and NFT Founders have had enough.

February 27, 2023

Community art by PepperMIN (Discord)

GM Baos,

Hope you got some time to touch grass or sand over the weekend. The Netflix F1 docu-series filled up our household over the weekend - did you catch Azuki #8494's cameo (on the side of the Redbull car)?

Today we cover:

  • Spotify's token-exclusive content

  • The Coinbase x Ethereum wedding

  • NFT projects up in arms with marketplaces

Spotify's token-exclusive content

Spotify unveiled another pilot with a handful of playlists which allow access only to NFT holders.

This new release dubbed token-enabled playlists provide exclusive access to holders who connect using their wallets.

Currently the pilot is only available to FLUF, Moonbirds, Kingship and Overlord communities but demonstrates possible use cases of web3 technologies. Token-gated experiences being introduced by Spotify open up a realm of possibilities:

  • Allow for exclusive content to specific fans

  • Create digital tiers for fanbases and reward top fans

  • Reserving behind the scenes and other bonus content

  • Enable tierings between free content and premium content

  • Create intimate experiences and accessibility to creators

Although currently only available for Android users, the pilot introduces users to connecting their wallet to a web2 app.

A preview is below:

The Coinbase x Ethereum wedding

Ethereum maxis are popping champagne and celebrating this weekend over Coinbase's announcement to launch an Ethereum Layer 2 network, Base.

Base was set up to provide a network for secure, low cost and dev friendly ecosystem to build dapps. In Coinbase's announcement they state:

"Ethereum has established itself as the most mature, secure and decentralised EVM chain. This makes it an ideal environment for deploying onchain applications that require the most security, like large institutional or business use-cases that settle on the order of billions of dollars."

The move by Coinbase is a vote of confidence in Ethereum and grow infrastructure and development for the next few years on the Ethereum network.

NFT Projects up in arms with marketplaces

With the on-going war between Opensea and Blur, one thing has become increasingly apparent - marketplaces are not here to serve creators, founders, nor collectors. Their bellies are only for traders.

A few NFT project founders have taken to twitter to voice their frustration on issues around fees, royalties, non-competitive behaviour and softcore blackmail to have their projects side with one marketplace over another.

Over the weekend @valhalla's Alex Lin

Similarly Roo Troop NFT announces they are siding with none of the marketplaces and are relaunch solely to allow trading of their NFTs on their own marketplace.

In many ways, this is what decentralisation should look like in web3. Middle men like marketplaces have no place in setting the rules for how projects can merchant their NFTs.

Bao-Sized News

Thread of the week

Want to get a little deeper into the issues NFT marketplaces pose on NFT projects?

Alex Lin dives into explain exactly why they decided to build their marketplace (a promise originally made during their pre-mint phase).

Dive in πŸ‘‡πŸ»

Made us Kek

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Have a good week :)

–Bernie