Ripple, the leader in enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions, today unveiled the second wave of creators to receive funding for their Web3, non-fungible token (NFT) projects through Ripple’s Creator Fund. With Web3 transforming the entertainment and media industry specifically in music, the selected Creator Fund projects will bring to life use cases for tokenization in these sectors by leveraging the power of XRP Ledger's low-cost, instant settlement, and built in royalty structures - maximizing value for creators and their communities to consume content.

The independent creators focused on building functional use cases in entertainment and media on the XRP Ledger include:

• 9LEVEL9: A metaverse experience that provides a unique “front row seat” to live and virtual concerts, productions, conferences, and award shows through NFT tickets.
• Anifie: An NFT marketplace that helps content creators and artists in Japan capitalize on their fan base and community to launch NFTs that enables fan engagement and provides a digital experience to NFT holders. 
• Capital Block: A leading Web3 platform for sports clubs around the world, partnering with football clubs in Europe to launch an NFT membership for their fans to access exclusive content, in real-life game experiences, and Web3 benefits and rewards. 
• Cross-Metaverse Avatars: An avatar tool that allows creators to design and mint one-of-a-kind NFT avatars with multiple traits and colors. Holders can then use their unique avatars in video games and metaverse projects.
• NFT Master: An NFT XRP marketplace that will add a video streaming platform for creators to upload videos and get paid instantly using XRP Ledger’s payment channels or their issued NFTs as a streaming pass. The NFT will offer holders accessibility to watch exclusive videos and vote on upcoming content ideas without ads or paying for a subscription. 
• SYFR Projects: An intellectual property production company that provides production, publishing, and management services to artists. The company will digitize 100+ innovative music and video agreements as NFT agreements. 
• Thinking Crypto: An NFT project that will allow holders to access exclusive interviews with top crypto leaders in the space. Along with exclusive access, NFT holders will be invited to private digital meetings with the host of ThinkingCrypto, Tony Edward, where he will share candid thoughts and opinions on the future of crypto.

“Web3 technology continues to transform the creator economy by giving power back to the creators. We’ve seen real utility in NFTs with the art community and it is no surprise we are seeing tremendous growth from the entertainment and media industry as a way to cultivate relationships directly with their audiences and offer new content distribution channels,” said Markus Infanger, RippleX VP of Growth at Ripple. “With the support of our strategic partners and the Creator Fund, we look forward to helping fuel innovations built on the XRP Ledger.”

Launched a year ago, Ripple’s Creator Fund is a $250 million commitment to help creators with the financial, creative, and technical support needed to explore and craft NFTs and other tokenization projects on the XRP Ledger. Notable quotes from this year’s Wave 2 Creator Fund recipients:

• “With Ripple’s Creator Fund, we want to bring expanded commemorative NFT tickets and membership utilities to our www.nikotheatre.com patrons in 2023,” said Chris J Snook, Founder of 9LEVEL9. “We will feature diverse, pop-cultural concert experiences for a global audience of hybrid in-person and virtual “front row seats” with expanded metaverse parallel immersions and community on the XRP Ledger.”
• "We are pleased to partner with Japan's top broadcast station and some of the nation’s top musical talent and leverage the capabilities of the XRP Ledger to launch Meta-TV, which enables musicians to trade NFTs and build NFT communities on our XRPL metaverse, said” Yohei Iwasaki, Co-Founder and CEO of Anifie. “The XRP Ledger is transformative because it gives artists the ability to be in charge of their own communities with low gas fees and royalty functionalities. The XRP Ledger is also environmentally friendly, so musicians and fans can be proud of themselves for their socially responsible behavior."
• “As a leading Web3 agency for sports clubs around the world, we are pleased to be part of Ripple’s Creator Fund and look forward to building on the XRP ledger to increase fan engagement through our NFT membership,” said Tim Mangnall, CEO of Capital Block. “We see this as a long-term partnership and a big step in driving mass adoption of Web3 projects across sports fans globally.” 
• “For the first time, gamers are able to design, purchase, trade, and own one-of-a-kind NFT avatars and wearables, which they can take across the metaverse and games," said Kelvin Troy, CEO of Cross-Metaverse Avatars. “The XRP Ledger's eco-friendliness and low gas fees enable our customers and gamers to buy, sell, and trade their beloved digital assets on our marketplace efficiently without friction.”
• "The Ripple Creator Fund has allowed our team to stop and think about how we can use NFTs to solve problems, break down traditional forms of monetization, and reinvent how value is transferred,” said Andrew Kaskaniotis, Founder of videomaster and nftmaster. “This opportunity has enabled our team to bring some of the very best video content on the internet to the XRP Ledger where the creators can set the rules and the viewers are in full control." 
• “The Ripple Creator Fund and XRP Ledger are leveling the playing field for artists. It is up to teams like SYFR Projects who are in the thick of the music industry to innovate by leveraging the capabilities of the XRPL,” said Sean O'Leary, Founder of SYFR Projects. “With the support of the Creator Fund we will mint our artist WONDR’s music and scale our capabilities to produce and manage a growing library of artist-owned intellectual property.”

Independent creators can apply for Wave 3 in the coming months. For more information on Ripple’s Creator Fund, please visit: https://ripple.com/creatorfund/.