IOI
The concept of buying and selling NFTs is not new, but it is a new thing that performer’s are exploring as they release and promote their new music, artwork, and memes as NFTs.
NFT
The non-fungible token can be compared to a collectable baseball card, which is “one of a kind”. At present, the fungible token is usually some form of digital art (a meme, a .gif file, a drawing) or music.
NFTs, on the other hand, are not physical pieces like vinyl albums or paintings. They exist as a computer code that is part of a decentralized database called a blockchain. The way cryptocurrencies are used and traded can be viewed as an NFT’s analog.
Why NFTs are a Hype?
NFTS is very lucrative for people. It is more economic for artists to profit from the decentralization than the centralized music industry allows.
Recent examples include 3LAU’s record breaking sale of his new album NFT for $11.6 billion in just 24 hours. Grimes’ sale of digital art for $5.8 million in 20 minutes turned many heads.
The return on investment pays off way more than the $0.0054 per stream on Spotify, so everyone from Kings of Leon to your local soundcloud rapper are getting involved in NFTs.
With a decentralized system that does not adhere to gatekeepers, corporate tastemakers, or ad-supported algorithms, the platform provides the possibility to create new revenue streams.
Eventually, there will be an overarching cryptocurrency, $audio, created just for musical NFTs. Artists can receive payments in $audio from a platform like Open Sea, and then sell them back for USD or euro.
Things You Need to Get Started
- The art has to be yours original! (music, video, or digital image)
- Open Sea’s website makes it easy to create an account.
- Gas fees purchased with cryptocurrencies (the equivalent of delivery taxes)
- Use Google Chrome to download MetaMask wallet extension to download a crypto wallet (app or physical storage device) suggested by Open Sea.
- IP address of your wallet (a unique code)
- A seed phrase may be useful if you forget or lose your password.
This year will yield much information about NFTs and their longevity, but it will be worth it to be there when it could be the biggest change in the music industry since Napster led to peer-to-peer file sharing and a sea change.
As the centuries roll along, the time has come for power to be returned to creators, cutting out significant middlemen and centralizing the industry into one of musical, artistic, and economic prosperity.
To what extent it will continue to benefit artists as it grows depends on how many makers and musicians take advantage of its ability to sell their work directly to collectors.
