The NFTs have positively taken over the world of art and art-based sectors. Creating high-end revenue streams and new opportunities for artists and creators worldwide. The selling point of NFTs growth – the reason for their appeal is the exclusivity and the rarity aspect they hold. The more they are considered luxury assets, the more is the desire and need to own them. They soonly became the “Rolex” of the digital trade world. Music is the new emerging superstar in a line of new sectors that are finding a new home in the NFTs. Their appeal for utility and real-world applications are the advancements of the NFTs; this article is going to discuss.
Setbacks in the record labels
To get obvious out of the way, a growing artist needs to have an upper hand of a good representation on their side. This representation more often comes with a lot of strings attached. Usually, these nuisances come in the form of royalties and unfair percentages in exchange for representation. And this doesn’t stop there; there are also the copyrights on the creative property of the artist levied at their discretion. This has been the general working ideal in the music industry for a long time now. The sector is a huge beast, with multi-billion dollar deals down the line. And record labels are bound to take advantage of the loopholes.
The unfair leverage the big labels hold over the artists
A majority of the streaming platforms have their artists sign up for an unrealistic 50-50 percentage handshake made on the profits. And sometimes, it’s even less for the artist. This makes no sense as the artist should be at the higher end of the revenue generation for their own art. Only the big artists have more freedom and creative/executive freedom to do with their creations as they please. Even then, it’s a gamble. Big names in the industry like – Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift, Akon have opened up about the dark side of record labels. The top 1% makes the most out of their influence and hold. In contrast, the rest of the lower-end artists are at the mercy of big companies.
How music in NFTs generates revenue
They provide the much-needed edge over the “FOMO” – fear-of-missing-out aspect, which is their primary pitch for commerce. It is another form of emotional commerce. And music has always had emotional relevance throughout the human experience. The advantage of monetizing the content, i.e., the music – weaponizing it with exclusive rights to own a piece of the artist’s creation is a killer selling point. All these factors serve as an amalgamation of appeal as to why artists and their fans are turning towards the NFTs.
Musicians are loaded with unlimited control over the assets.
NFTs eliminate the threat and the hassle of intermediaries and third parties during transactions and trade. The musicians are also highly affected by record labels as they often try to demean the artist’s worth. Or swindled by the huge labels taking a huge percentage of royalties just for the mere excuse of exposure and platform. NFTs are nuanced beyond measure. The artist can have executive and creative control over their assets. They can weaponize their assets with smart contracts – self-executing contracts that rake up royalties as they are subsequently traded. And also make quick money by publishing teases, soundbites, and EP’s.
Advantages for musicians choosing NFTs as another platform for exposure
The NFTs offer full reigns in control over the artist’s creations to the owner. Overloaded with smart contracts that serve a better purpose of the assets, NFTs are the next best revenue stream for the artists. They rake up royalties and generate passive income long after the NFTs are sold as primary assets. The music is duplicable and pirated on the digital space, but the NFTs offer immunity from theft of ownership. Musicians can mint their music and help crowdfund their future projects. Storage and record-keeping of the assets is another added plus in this division. The digital assets also help with one-on-one interaction with the artist and their fans, bringing closure.
Looking to the future
NFTs have successfully presented themselves as the ideal tool to skyrocket the assets’ exclusivity and value. It is the perfect platform to sell and buy art assets with the promise of revenue generation for both the artist and admirer. Some of the significant marketplaces in the Indian hemisphere are Beyondlife.club, Wazirx, Opensea, Rarible, Nifty Getaway, etc.
