How 22 Year-Old Emery Kelly, An Indie Artist Found Success with NFTs, Talent, and Social Media

Is it a pipe dream to work with major record labels and not cut revenue by being present on major streaming platforms? Emery Kelly's case proves it’s possible. Today's article will attempt to explore how the 23-year-old artist caught the eye of millions of people on Twitter and Instagram, as well as the admiration of fans in the United States, Asia, and the crypto community of Corite, a Stockholm-based digital music distributor aiming to transform the record industry through blockchain and NFTs.

Having the same goals in mind

It would be unfair to say that Emery Kelly owes his success solely to Corite. He has worked with Disney Music Group and Hollywood Records in the past. At the age of 22, when we began working together, he had already appeared in a Netflix series and released many songs as a member of the Forever In Your Mind band.

However, his initial goal was to take his art to a whole new level. At our first meeting, he told us that he never stopped looking for opportunities to become an independent artist.

We were all aware of how difficult it can be for an emerging musician to go through all the stages when dealing with large recording corporations. Emery knew we understood what he was looking for, and we saw his potential, noticing he could achieve much more with the right community's support.

Playing fair and rewarding those who had faith in you

The first and most important thing that drew Emery to the fan funding concept was the opportunity to reward his fans not just with a concert ticket, especially in the post-pandemic space, or a piece of merch, but to grant them a share of the future revenues generated by streaming in return for their backing and support.

A few words on fan funding: this funding model eliminates intermediaries such as labels, agents, lawyers, and many other deal-makers, who typically charge up to 80% of the revenue that an artist makes. With the fan funding set up, you as an artist decides how much you are willing to share and get as a royalty advance, and you only share it with your true believers.

And Emery got a chance to put it to the test when he released his debut single, "Gotta Know," which quickly and easily raised more than $4,000, out of which 5% went to Corite.

Emery also decided to let half of the money raised go to a clean water initiative. Thus, fan funding not only deepens the artist-fan connection but can also aid in the resolution of some of the world's most pressing issues.**
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The origins of S.O.M.E and the NFT collection that bears its name

Emery has worked for five long years to create his future album S.O.M.E, or Some of My Emotions. He’s had the support of people like David Phelps, Midi Jones, Dale Becker, Nathan Phillips, Freaky Rob, Daniel Richards, and Darryl “DC” Reid..

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When attempting to explain the concept of "Some of My Emotions," Emery thinks of his songs as different ways of dealing with whatever life throws at you.**
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So we did our best to incorporate this concept into the collection of "emotional" glasses, created by Indian designer and illustrator Sinmon : anger, fear, boredom, admiration, joy, sadness, vigilance, and surprise. The Emotions are based on the Wheel of Emotions by Ph.D. Robert Plutchik who organized emotions in positive and negative and by intensity. Emotions can even blend together like colours, creating new emotions.

Non-fungible opportunities for true believers

Let's be honest. Nobody would refuse an autograph from their idol, and NFTs are the next step in this evolution. Without the involvement of external validators, a fan can purchase a piece of art that was created by an artist and will never fade.

Emery's story is no exception. The release of the NFTs devoted to his future "S.O.M.E" album showed that digital merch is as powerful a tool as a traditional souvenir with a band's logo or singer's portrait. Furthermore, there were hidden extras as part of some of the NFTs and each came with a different level of Fan Power, which will be possible to redeem on the CO platform when its released.

The Fan Power is a token that shows your engagement with an artist. . Moreover, the money raised from the sale of the NFT will be used to promote Emery’s single Gotta Know and further boost his chances of cutting through the noice when his album is released.

On the day of the NFT drop, November 2nd, we all got to see how digitally-driven fan power transforms into a bright offline experience. Over the course of the NFT drop, Emery and Corite sold a total of 2,000 NFTs, which totaled over $200,000. A single tweet about the album, and the associated NFT drop received over 345,069 impressions, 16,000 reposts, and 10,000 likes. In total, the campaign generated 784,000 impressions. The NFT collection was supported by and 50 crypto influencers, including and , as well as respected music and NFT media outlets. Thus, all of the work put into this collection and the promotion ahead of the album has paid off.

Some advice for those just starting out

Today's world, with its opportunities, demonstrates that no matter how many stars are born each year, there is still room for newcomers and always will be. Thanks to cutting-edge technologies, it is now possible to succeed without being filthy rich or making a killing. All it takes is the courage to speak up and the determination to persevere if the first attempt fails.