5,000 NFC chips sold out in 11 minutes: Ennio provokes the streaming industry with “Shark Tank” – and proves that his concept works.
The Munich indie-pop musician Ennio makes a clear statement with his new album. With “Shark Tank” he criticizes the music industry – and with his unusual release concept, he turns the industry’s usual processes upside down.
The new LP, which was released on April 8th, did not go online on any streaming platform. The album is only available via Ennio’s online shop and on his upcoming tour. The songs are stored on an NFC chip. One day before the release, Ennio uploaded a clip in which he explained the concept: The NFC chip can simply be held on the cell phone and loads the songs in MP3 and WAV format directly onto the device. The chips look like small mini CDs of the album and can also be used as a key ring.
An album that lives
Plus: The files on the “Mini CD” can be adjusted later. Ennio promised to regularly upload new sketches and ideas to the chip during his upcoming tour – the songs and musical drafts are constantly evolving. In Ennio’s words: “This album is not a finished product, but it is alive and you are part of it.”
With this type of release, the musician deliberately has no overview of streaming numbers or the reach of the album – and that is intentional. During the writing process, he asked himself why he was making the music: “It can’t be that I’m making music for an algorithm, what it likes. This music is for you. The album should live.”
The LP is particularly important to Ennio. In addition to many personal topics, he clearly criticizes the greed of the music industry with the title song “Shark Tank”. He compares them to sharks who are only interested in profits and streaming numbers. Ennio opposes this: in 2025 he founded his own label Orgel Enterprise – now he is openly defending himself against streaming services.
5,000 chips sold out in 11 minutes
The strategy worked. Sales of the NFC chips started on Wednesday, April 8th at 4 p.m. – and the online shop was sold out within a very short time. 5,000 of the “mini CDs” were sold out in just 11 minutes. Ennio reported immediately afterwards and was surprised by the onslaught. He promised his fans that he would soon be able to offer new chips in the shop. The “mini CD” can be pre-ordered in the online shop for 16 euros and will be shipped from April 24th. The chips will also be available on the Shark Tank Tour, which starts in Hamburg on April 15th.
Not an isolated case – but a radical step
Ennio is not the first to use NFC technology. Other artists have already used the medium, but released their albums on streaming platforms at the same time. Ennio goes one step further and consistently foregoes services like Spotify, Apple Music and Co. In doing so, he joins a growing movement: more and more musicians are actively deciding against offering their art via large streaming platforms. Pink Floyd’s live album “Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81” cannot be found on Spotify to this day because the band initially resisted streaming services. Frank Ocean’s album Endless is available exclusively on Apple Music. In addition, more and more artists are only dropping singles in advance as YouTube videos and only releasing the streaming version with the entire album.
With the chip, the music belongs to the listener – it is no longer just “borrowed”.
Proceeds for musical equipment in schools
The proceeds from the sale of the NFC chips will flow into music equipment for schools to make it easier for children to pursue a music career. Because that’s what Ennio would have wanted in his own youth: someone who believed in his dream.
Exclusive interview in Musikexpress
Today, Thursday, April 9th, Musikexpress meets Ennio for an exclusive online interview. If you would like to find out more, you can go to Instagram at @musikexpress_magazin Stop by – the video goes online at 6 p.m.
