12 Steps to Collect a Music NFT & Mint Your Own
I committed to minting a song on the blockchain by the end of 2021. Here's how I did it.
I wished for a step-by-step guide, but couldn’t find one. SO, I MADE ONE. You're welcome. ;)
Each step is a whole world unto itself and the process took me 2 months (you'll go faster with this guide), but I learned so much and encourage you to research every aspect on your own. THIS IS NOT FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE, it’s just my own personal experience, one path among infinite paths. I hope it's helpful.
Most platforms in web3 are in the beta testing phase of development, so they're changing and improving all the time. If you notice something here is outdated, please let me know so I can keep this accurate for others to use, too. Thanks!
STEP-BY-STEP
1) Watch a couple youtube videos about how to keep your crypto wallet secure, how not to get hacked.
2) Bookmark a currency converter such as this one on your browser.
3) Get an account at a cryptocurrency exchange platform like Coinbase.
4) Buy ETH on Coinbase (for this exercise, you probably would need at least $25 in US Dollars)
5) Get a MetaMask wallet (it’s a Chrome browser extension)
6) Send ETH from your Coinbase account to your new MetaMask wallet.
7) Sign up for a Mint Songs account at mintsongs.com by connecting your MetaMask wallet. (Follow the chat prompts to have Mint Songs send you a little MATIC to get started, so your first mint is “free”).
8) Configure your wallet for the Polygon chain (how-to article)
9) Confirm you received the MATIC sent by Mint Songs in your MetaMask
It will be on the Polygon Mainnet, not Ethereum Mainnet, so just make sure that’s where you’re looking in the wallet. (how-to article)
10) Convert ETH to wETH (you’ll pay Mint Songs fees in MATIC and buy songs in wETH) at bridge.Umbria.network (how-to video)
From Mint Songs discord: “Just be sure to disconnect your wallet afterwards, as you should always do when connecting to websites: WETH -> MATIC (staying on the MATIC blockchain): polygon.technology ETH -> WETH (between mainnet and MATIC blockchains): bridge.Umbria.network. Mind you, if you’re sending ETH to MATIC you still pay the ETH txn fee. That’s why it’s so cheap to go WETH -> ETH on Umbria, because you only pay the MATIC txn fee.” ("txn" = transaction)
11) Disconnect your wallet from the bridge network. (click on wallet extension icon in browser menu, click on the three dots to the right of your wallet name, select Connected Sites and disconnect from there)
12) Buy a music NFT! If you need a suggestion, allow me to shamelessly recommend the first NFT I minted on Mint Songs! 50 editions were minted 12/31/21. It's the first song from my first album - and I think it totally stands up even though it was made 15 years ago. Weirdly, it's like a mirror to see where we are with web3 AND it features my grandma's voice. It reaches in all directions, it was meant to be first.
Now, which song will YOU mint??
From here you can use the step-by-step on Mint Songs FAQ to mint your own work. After all that other stuff, this part is a piece of cake.
WHY MINT SONGS?
There are lots of ways to offer and collect music in web3. I am not affiliated with Mint Songs, just to be clear, but found it easy and inexpensive to get started. They were recommended by people I admire in the space and they met with me one-on-one about the platform and their vision.
In this case, artists mint a limited number of "editions" of a song to the Polygon blockchain under a standard Mint Songs contract. Then the editions are available to be purchased/collected as NFTs on the Mint Songs website.
When a collector purchases an edition, the instructions in the smart contract dictate what happens next: the record of ownership for that unique edition of the song is transferred from the artist to the collector; 95-97% of funds from the sale (in the form of MATIC cryptocurrency, since that is the currency of the Polygon blockchain) are automatically transferred to the artist (you can see the transaction and funds in your wallet) and 3-5% to Mint Songs. These transactions are recorded on the blockchain and your collectors now have your song in their wallets!
Like I said, so much of web3 is in beta right now, so I ran into lots of hiccups, but the Mint Songs team was responsive and helpful every step of the way.
Even on New Year’s Eve.
On 12/31/21, just hours until my self-imposed deadline, I minted 50 limited editions of a music NFT.
The song didn't show up on Mint Songs until later due to sync issues, but that didn't dampen the excitement. Ironically, in the crush of speed, web3 is teaching me to be patient.
LEARN MORE
If you’re curious about web3, get on Twitter and listen to the conversations there, ask questions, get answers. Here's a great calendar of scheduled live Spaces on web3 topics.
Yes… Twitter. I'm @erinivey and there are lots of web3 goodies posted and shared over there for you.
Tell me if you use this guide, if you've collected or minted! I'd love to know.
Take care!
Erin