Will NFTs be the bridge between the music industry and blockchain?
Renowned multi-Grammy-nominated artist deadmau5 is back in the NFT game with Nifty Gateway, this time alongside digital artist Mad Dog Jones. He released two NFT art collectibles, Lotus Train and Dead Ramen, on Friday.
Altogether, the auctions amassed over $338,000. These kinds of profits utilizing blockchain technology aren’t entirely new, but seeing increasingly more heavy hitters capitalize off NFTs may usher in the shift the music industry desperately needs to expand the scope of innovative revenue-generating avenues. Most notably, Zack Fox and the late MF DOOM have partaken in the crypto craze.
You’ve probably heard of crypto and blockchain numerous times by now. But NFTs? Not so much. Let’s break it down:
What are NFTs?
NFTs are non-fungible tokens. They are a class of cryptographic tokens that are limited edition assets, meaning they are one-of-a-kind in the truest sense. Due to underlying information (e.g. metadata), NFTs exist uniquely and thus cannot be modified, changed, or duplicated.
How do they work?
According to Binance Academy,
There are various frameworks for the creation and issuance of NFTs. The most prominent of these is ERC-721, a standard for the issuance and trading of non-fungible assets on the Ethereum blockchain.
Binance Academy
Like most other crypto tokens, NFTs reside in wallets. They can be traded, but cannot be replicated or transferred without prior authorization.
Are NFTs “crypto”?
Yes, though not in the way you might think.
“Crypto”, colloquially, has been become synonymous with “cryptocurrency“, the most recognizable being Bitcoin ($BTC). Cryptocurrencies and NFTs both utilize blockchain technology and are digital assets. Unlike cryptocurrencies, NFTs, being non-fungible, are in essence unique, rare, noninterchangeable, and indivisible. Further, NFTs can represent cryptocollectibles, digital artwork, real-world assets, event tickets, in-game items, and more.
What’s the future of NFTs in the music industry?
Pretty promising.
Each day it is revealed that more artists are creating their own tokens and digital collectibles to capitalize off their respective fanbases. Given the math, it makes perfect sense.
According to Digital Music News,
The NFT market itself is a nascent technology, but it is poised to explode as the gaming and music industries embrace it over the next five years. Collaborations like this one help showcase how artists can create digital merchandise to sell without the help of a massive platform like Fortnite.
Ashley King, Digital Music News
NFTs have proven to be a remarkable tool that creatives can use to engage their supporters and, in turn, sizably profit from their work with the involvement of few middlemen. Evidently, blockchain technology is showing no signs of slowing its infiltration of the music industry. Only those who adapt will thrive.
How do I get involved?
There exist numerous platforms and resources, like SuperRare, OpenSea, and Cargo, that allow the average creative to mint and sell their own NFTs. Explore the NFT sector while it’s still relatively small and maybe one day you too can sell digital art for a few hundred thousand dollars or more.
Remember, the best time to get involved with a hot new technology is when it first emerges. The second best time is now.
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