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NFTs next hit may be music industry, Mercuriadis says

As streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music gained mainstream popularity, Mercuriadis formed the Hipgnosis Songs Fund to acquire music rights.

The fund, which went public in 2018, has invested $2.5 billion acquiring the publishing rights to 64,000 compositions from such hitmakers as Timbaland, Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham, The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde, Rick James and Neil Young.

Now he is looking at another emerging technology for music: non-fungible tokens, one-of-a-kind digital assets - frequently artwork, photos, videos or digital files - that are traded on the blockchain.

Mercuriadis said the blockchain, which keeps a ledger of transactions across a network of computers, can bring a new level of transparency to music royalties.

NFTs also could provide a new type of collectible for music fans, such as music or videos, for the same price as a traditional tour book sold at concerts, Mercuriadis said.