In a time in which musicians are finding it harder than ever to make a music career a viable lifestyle, the British singer-songwriter Josh Savage has pioneered an alternative. After exchanging handwritten love letters via post during lockdown, he wrote a collection of songs inspired by the experience which became the ‘Love Letters’ album. While his lyrics explored one of music’s most prevalent and timeless themes, he plotted an inventive twist for its launch by releasing the album exclusively as a music NFT collection. An NFT – a non-fungible token – is a unique digital asset that is hosted on the blockchain and can be openly traded.
https://opensea.io/collection/love-letters-music-nft
Fans quickly became super-engaged: ‘Love Letters’ became the UK’s #1 music NFT collection and has to date generated a staggering £120,000 in revenue – a figure which would require 48 million streams to match via Spotify.
In its simplest form, ‘Love Letters’ consists of eight songs which explore the thrills and fears that come with a new love. But there’s a lot more to the ‘Love Letters’ music NFT collection than a traditional album. Each of the eight tracks is released as three different versions (a studio recording, and solo guitar and piano versions). These provide the soundbites for a total of 888 unique pieces of artwork, each of which features a lyric and was painstakingly created by hand on paper with real physical objects, before being photographed and framed. The various combinations of artwork include different elements which define its rarity: for example, 32.8% of the art created features a rose while just 0.9% of the items contains a coffee stain.
Fans can choose their own way to consume the music: they can simply stream the tracks via the OpenSea platform, or they can collect all eight songs across different pieces of artwork. The NFT collection ensures that ‘Love Letters’ is free to listen to, but relatively expensive to own. At the time of writing, prices for each part of artwork start at 0.13ETH (approximately £175). Fans also gain rewards depending on the rarity or combination of art that they own. If you collect all six lyrics from one song, you receive a signed print. If you own one of the 3.6% pieces of artwork that features a gold frame, you receive VIP tickets to all future headline shows for life!
Each artwork can of course be resold – giving fans the opportunity for their investment to grow in value, and providing Josh with a secondary resale fee. It’s a platform which benefits everyone: fans can engage with the project casually or intensely immersively; and they can spend nothing or invest money that they can potentially make a return on; and it generates enough income for Josh to make music his full-time profession.
Josh says, “It’s been incredible to see their support translate into real wins – like Angie in Australia, who initially invested $100 and later saw a return of $4500! Releasing ‘Love Letters’ in this revolutionary way has been a transformative experience. It’s allowed me to share my music and the deeply personal journey behind it in a way that’s more meaningful and accessible.
This approach has not only changed my life, but it’s also empowered me to invest in my career in ways I could only dream of. Most importantly, it’s brought me closer to my fans. We’re growing together in this first-of-its-kind digital movement in a global community where kindness knows no borders. This isn’t just about music; it’s about community, connection, and shared growth. I’m so grateful to be on this journey with such an amazing group of people from all around the world.”
‘Love Letters’ can also be experienced within ‘The Letterverse’. It’s a fully immersive virtual odyssey that invites fans to delve deep into the album’s narratives via a plethora of interactive features and a dedicated world for each song.
Josh is also preparing to drop ‘Carry Me Home’ as a fundraiser to cover the cost of his US work visa. This innovative approach to fundraising leverages the power of music NFTs, offering a more engaging and rewarding experience compared to traditional fundraising platforms. Supporters will receive a digital treasure that authentically proves they were at the beginning of Josh’s journey – if he makes it big in the States, they can legitimately prove they helped make that happen and potentially resell the treasure at a higher value. It’s akin to owning one of Ed Sheeran’s signed CDs that he burned and sold at shows for £5 before he was famous, which have recently sold at auction for £50,000.
Prior to this moment, Josh Savage has carved out a unique career without the guidance of any external labels, managers, promoters or pluggers. He has always had a gift for doing things slightly left-of-centre: couch-surfing for three years as he played 700 shows across four continents during his Living Room Tour, and breaking the record for the most cities (100+) played by an artist for Sofar Sounds. It was also led to more conventional achievements, which include playing to 100,000people as guest to Robbie Williams in Munich, touring as support to Snow Patrol whose frontman Gary Lightbody admires his work, and exceeding 9 million streams at Spotify.
Originally from London, Josh Savage is now based in Berlin and has more projects in the works: a brand new EP which will follow next month and the upcoming GM Good Music podcast in which he’ll talk to other musicians who are leading the way in the NFT community. Given the success of ‘Love Letters’, expect his future music projects to also be exclusive NFT releases.
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