Grammy Winning Producer Scott Storch Says NFTs Are the Future of Music

• Eight-time Grammy winning producer Scott Storch is launching his first set of NFTs on April 20.
• Pieces will blend original music from Storch with live illustrations from digital artist “Brilly.”
• Storch said he sees NFTs as likely becoming a bigger player in the music industry.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

The NFT craze has hit the music industry. Now, eight-time Grammy award-winning producer Scott Storch is getting in on the fun. 

Storch is launching his first set of NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, on April 20. The music-industry veteran has teamed up with David Brodeur, known as the digital artist “Brilly,” to launch five NFTs that will be available for purchase in a series of open editions and auctions exclusively on Nifty Gateway, a top NFT platform.

The launch represents Storch’s first foray into the NFT space, which he sees as an out-of-the-box approach to releasing music. The producer, who has worked with artists like Dr. Dre, Beyoncé, Snoop Dogg, and Justin Timberlake, said that making NFTs is in line with his goal of doing new things within music. A general desire to innovate more in music has defined his return to the industry following an eight-year hiatus, he added.

Storch’s upcoming collection will blend original beats with animations and illustrations created by Brodeur, and will tie into the overall cannabis theme related to the April 20 launch date.

Why drop music through NFTs?

Typically, an artist who sells an album, song, or merchandise keeps an average of 12% of all the profits, Rolling Stone reported back in 2018. The bulk of the profit goes to record labels and streaming companies. While NFT platforms take a small percentage of each sale, artists get to keep the majority of the profits and also get a cut of every secondary sale of the NFT.

“It’s a direct portal to the world and not going through any labels or anything like that,” Storch told Insider. “It’s just a different way of releasing music. It’s more intimate with the audience than just going the corporate route and then going through that whole cycle before it sees the light of day.”

In addition to the pieces on sale, Brodeur also recorded Storch’s hand movements in the studio as he played some of his most iconic tracks, including “Cry Me a River” by Justin Timberlake. These videos, which will be overlaid with graphics from Brodeur, will likely be released as free bonus content for people who purchase the single edition NFTs.

“This is the master and the genius behind all these pieces that so many people love,” Brodeur said. “And that movement of him creating those experiences are forever going to be captured on the blockchain.”

The upcoming drop is Storch’s first project of its kind. But he isn’t the first person to sell his music through an NFT. In March, rock band Kings of Leon became the first music group to release an album as an NFT. DJ and remixer 3LAU has also sold $11.6 million worth of NFTs, including a custom song.

Storch said he could already see himself doing another drop similar to his first in the future.

“It would be cool to do a whole project on NFT, like a whole album, and release it through there,” he said, adding that he believes the NFT medium is something more people in the music industry will gravitate towards in the future.

“It’s showing signs of doing some pretty amazing things already,” he said. “So I’m curious to see how it all turns out.”