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The NFT has quickly become an unexpected symbol of unity. Many industries are embracing the world and possibilities of NFTs, and one of the most exciting industries to embrace NFTs is the music industry.
Music NFTs have become a central component of the NFT industry, and Royal, a music NFT marketplace with backing from 3LAU, is set to become one of the leading players in the world of music NFTs. In August 2021, Royal raised $16 million in Seed funding, and three months later, in November 2021, Andreessen Horowitz led a “Series A” investment round of $55 million.
Music producer 3LAU and friend JD Ross are two critical figures behind Royal, but $71 Million in funding combined with the expertise of music heavy-hitters couldn’t guarantee the smooth delivery of their mint drop.
Royal and Nas’ NFT Launch
Nas is one of the most successful Hip Hop artists of his generation, and he has managed to create great music while maintaining relevance for a long time. When plans began for Nas to partner in launching an NFT collection based on his works, it was only natural for the Grammy winner’s team to partner with the best-prepared platform.
With its combination of music royalty, technical expertise, and massive funding, they thought Royal could deliver a smooth and hitch-free NFT drop, but that wasn’t the case.
Initially, the mint was scheduled to begin on January 11 by 1:00 PM ET (6:00 PM UTC), and everything looked good until the scheduled time for the NFT drop. Less than 90 seconds into this high-profile drop, Royal’s platform crashed, leaving many confused while Royal’s staff and management went into disaster control mode.
How Royal managed their disaster launch
As a budding technology company, the last thing you want is a major mishap on one of your most important days, but as Royal has proved, accidents can occur at any time when you least expect them. After it became apparent that Royal’s platform had crashed, they took to Twitter to try and manage the situation.
On Twitter, the Royal team explained that due to extreme user demand over a short period, their servers could not handle the surge, which led to the entire system crashing.
https://twitter.com/join_royal/status/1480963094062972929?s=20
Aftermath of Royal’s failed NFT drop
Minutes after the server crash Royal shared the following on their Discord: “UPDATE: New date for the @Nas drop — Thurs, Jan 20. Same times, same place. Ultra Black at 1 PM ET. Rare at 9 PM ET. Thank you for your patience. The excitement is real. We appreciate you.”
It’s hard to understand why a company that has raised over $70 Million and partnered with some of the biggest names in tech and music cannot deliver a smooth NFT drop. On January 20th, the entire world will see if Royal has learned from their mistakes and invested in better technology.
