Hi! It’s so strange how quickly we’ve reached the last passion post of the semester. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to end my passion blog with but I ultimately decided to talk about something that may be applicable to anyone who is a creative, even if they are not musicians; NFTs.

NFTs are not exactly a new concept, but they picked up momentum worldwide only recently. In brief, NFTs or ‘Non-Fungible Tokens’ are cryptocurrency-adjacent virtually collectible tokens. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are based on blockchain technology which is a “digital way of recording information that cannot be erased or altered but is transferrable”. This information can, virtually, be anything. Many works of fine art have been turned into NFTs and sold for millions of dollars. NFTs can also be the first edition of a book signed by the author, or a tweet, as you may have seen recently on the news. Multiple NFTs can be made for the same work, which can then be transferred, or only one can be made. Non-fungible refers to the fact that the information in the token is unique and cannot be replicated, or replaced with anything else. Owning it means you are the only person who has it.

So how does this impact musicians in particular? Many small and upcoming artists are disadvantaged in the industry, with prices like a third of a cent per stream. Many fans also agree that the quality of the experience with a song has a much greater value than what they are paying for it. During the pandemic, many small musicians that depended on tour sales for a living were left with very few options over what to do with their music. The way the industry is designed puts many artists at a disadvantage, including big artists. The issue with owning masters and the cut of the profits that artists receive has been a long, ongoing debate. NFTs provide a new and different source of revenue.

Some artists have already begun dabbling with NFTs. Kings of Leon tried out the concept by creating NFTs of their latest album “When You See Yourself” where each token included exclusive album artwork and limited edition vinyls. They generated over 2 million dollars. Kings of Leon is still a fairly well-known band, which would have made it easier for them to sell these NFTs, but it shows that there is interest in this new phenomenon. Of note, the band donated $500, 000 dollars of their revenue to support live music crews during the pandemic.

A possible reason why people are buying NFTs right now is hype, as believed by some. The sudden rush of investors has also likely overvalued the NFTs and inflated their prices. Because it is a new and radical idea, it might be incentivizing people to want to own these digital collectibles. But once the craze dies down, it is unsure whether people will still want the feeling of owning a digital certificate, especially if they are paying a high price for it.

While NFTs most likely won’t replace how music is experienced (and in my opinion, it probably shouldn’t) it does provide an alternative method for artists to distribute their records. It can, however, allow a method to distribute music adjacent to existing music platforms, so fans can purchase exclusive content through NFTs if they want.

If there are fans that are willing to own the NFTs then that is great. But on a wider scale, it is definitely not feasible. Instead, we need to begin with assessing streaming service policies, and the corporations that are behind these artists, to make sure artists have the rights they deserve.

Sources:

1. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/what-are-nfts-what-could-they-do-music-industry-artists-ncna1261205

2. https://www.nme.com/news/music/kings-of-leon-have-generated-2million-from-nft-sales-of-their-new-album-2899349

3. https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/why-do-nfts-matter-for-music/