Cooper Turley, founder of Coop Records, is changing the way we think about music through the innovative use of NFTs and blockchain technology. Appearing with Jacob Berman on the Web3 Frontier podcast, Turley shared his journey from recognizing the potential of initial coin offerings (ICOs), decentralized finance (DeFi), and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to focusing on the emerging field of NFTs, particularly in the music industry.
Recognizing that musicians weren’t utilizing NFTs to their full potential, Turley invested in early-stage projects like Catalog and Sound that were pioneering the intersection of music and blockchain. This led to the establishment of Coop Records, a venture fund dedicated to supporting artists and early-stage platforms in the music NFT space.
Turley believes in the power of NFTs to revolutionize artist compensation, giving them control over their revenue and providing a direct link to their fans. He sees NFTs as the digital evolution of physical music formats like CDs and vinyl and envisions a future where music is more often embedded in NFTs.
Through his “Invest in Music” podcast and newsletter, Turley shares the journeys of different artists and collectors, highlighting the importance of focusing on music over the novelty of the technology.
Despite the current challenges in the crypto market, Turley remains optimistic. He predicts volatile but exciting times ahead for the NFT and crypto markets, with the potential of artist valuations reaching unprecedented levels due to the transformative power of NFTs. He envisions a future where artists are worth billions through public valuation, a single song could sell for a million dollars as an NFT, and the total market cap for NFT music exceeding a billion dollars in the next few years.