Independent music label, distributor and publisher EMPIRE has partnered with the Web3 Nebula platform.

Nebula was founded by Alessandro De Luca and Fuad Hawit, and claims to be “a first-of-its-kind platform that allows fans to own the rights to pay royalties for any song available in their marketplace.”

with platform, fans can invest in the music available on the Nebula platform and earn royalty payments.

Royalties are distributed as tokens, which represent a certain percentage of the song. They also get a cut of each transaction, so every time a “token” is resold on the secondary marker, they get a commission on the sale, according to the Nebula website.

Nebula says it works with select A&R managers and individuals as part of its partner program and that royalty income can come from all streaming services.

The platform has already featured more than a dozen artists, including Tupac, Snoop Dogg, and Cruz Rock.

Through the alliance with EMPIRE, the label will feature artist and entrepreneur Money Man and will release his full EP via Nebula later this year.

EMPIRE’s foray into the Web3 space comes as the company doubles down on its digital music era focus across its label, distribution and publishing units.

In late 2021, the label paid a $1 million advance to Money Man entirely in Bitcoin via the Cash App. The payment marked the first advance paid entirely in Bitcoin to an artist, by a record label, at that time, according to EMPIRE.

EMPIRE focuses on developing early-stage artists, helping launch the careers of multi-platinum and Grammy Award-winning Anderson.Paak, Yung Bleu, Fireboy DML Young Dolph and more, and more, by entering into bespoke deals .

The label says its deals are “always in favor of the artist.”

“Instead of passively consuming music, a fan can now foster a deeper connection with their favorite artist by owning a fraction of their song, with royalties secured on the blockchain.”

Fuad Hawit, Nebula

“Without community, an artist is nothing. That’s why we built Nebula. Instead of passively consuming music, a fan can now foster a deeper connection with their favorite artist by owning a fraction of their song, with royalties secured on the blockchain,” said Nebula co-founder Fuad Hawit.

“It’s a whole new music economy, and it’s the natural next step in digital music.”

“With Nebula, we are changing the way an entire generation interacts with music and artists through transparency and innovation.”

Ghazi Shami, EMPIRE

EMPIRE founder and CEO Ghazi Shami says the partnership with Nebula will pave the way for new advances in entertainment and Web3.

“With Nebula, we are changing the way an entire generation interacts with music and artists through transparency and innovation,” said Ghazi.

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