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How many music NFT types are there and how can they benefit you?
For decades, the industry has been dominated by middlemen and streaming services but now, through the power of NFTs and other cryptographic tools, that dynamic is likely to change.
A digital concert that comes with far more perks (and authenticity control) than your regular paper or email-ed ticket. Alas, an NFT ticket has the potential to enhance the ticketing experience for both attendees and organisers and could eliminate some of the major glitches in ticket sales that we see today, bringing transparency to the ticketing platform and extra perks to the experience as a concert goer.
For example:
1. Preventing fake tickets and scams
Proving the authenticity of a ticket is perhaps one of the top advantages of them all, especially because NFTs can be developed as non-transferrable, not to be moved to another buyer physically.
2. Reduce costs
Selling and minting NFTs cost less than the traditional ticketing system, and customers and organisers can validate the authenticity of every ticket on the chain and track the history of ownership.
3. Quick production
An NFT can be minted and ready to sell in less than a minute.
4. Perpetual revenue
NFTs can also be programmable, which means that they can have built-in rules for merchandise, content, resales, and royalty splits. By doing this, the organiser can “analyse profit sharing percentages for future resales or creative content on secondary markets and receive funds knowing they are unalterable within the NFT’s coding”.
5. New revenue opportunities
NFT-based tickets act as programmable money, providing unlimited potential for new revenue opportunities. For example, reselling the NFT tickets as collectibles, using NFT tickets to provide food and drink deals or even rewarding fans who have gathered many event tickets.
NFT tickets can also benefit both parties in ways far greater than a traditional ticket ever could. Guests can sell rare past tickets as collectibles, store tickets safely as keepsakes, or receive perks and incentives from event organisers. On the other hand, organisers can earn a part of reward when a ticket owner resells the NFT ticket, access potential data to make subsequent events better, and prove the authenticity of each ticket and verify the owner.
Blockchain technology has the power to bring value back to music and better direct-to-fan relationships. Exhibit A: Kings of Leon. They were one of the first major bands to pioneer this incentive by releasing their album as an NFT, subsequently dropping three types of tokens as part of a series called “NFT Yourself”. One type is a special album package, while a second type offers live show perks like front-row seats for life, and a third type is just for exclusive audio-visual art.
As with any other music NFT, Kings of Leon’s approach allowed for maximum creativity around the release of content (aka a technology-driven revolution driven by creators.)
And as far as their fans, well, the NFTs provided a relative scarcity that promised a return to the concept of value in owning music, and the integration of digital music as investment.
“As a means of making music worth something again, [music NFTs] are extremely attractive to the artist and come with the bonus appeal of aspiration for the fan. And with the exclusivity factor thrown in, they’re a great way to feel as though your music is actually yours.”
It made the headlines and you probably heard it: Grimes sold almost $6m (£4.2m) in NFTs in just 20 minutes; Steve Aoki sold a collection for about $4.25m (£3m); and Kings of Leon sold a batch for roughly $2m (£1,4m). 3LAU, an early crypto adopter, dwarfed all these by selling his NFT collection for $11.6m (£8.2m).
Just like real-world physical assets (a painting, game, music album, etc), digital collectibles come with specific characteristics that make them so sought-after : rarity, scarcity, and intrinsic value.
Blockchain allows for these characteristics to be maintained when distributing digital collectibles as NFTs. Just like a (much better) certificate of authenticity, digital collectables can be identified as unique, limited editions, rare or otherwise, linked to physical products, and hold their own inherit value that can be transferred peer-to-peer.
Yes, music NFTs are gearing up to be the biggest disruptor in the music industry, but that can be a good thing (for labels too). As an artist, (or a team), music NFTs give you the chance to creating an exclusive community for the most loyal fans, include additional perks within the contract of an NFT, and even democratise the world of music royalties. Music NFTs “offer up a new way for creators to market and sell their content, expanding the possibilities of how art, music, literature and more can be disseminated and consumed.”
The year 2021 marked a revolutionary term to many artists’ livelihood, and while NFTs “are not going to be for everyone,” these collectible assets are, so far, the best way for an artist to express themselves in this new digital reality.
In the crypto space, an NFT can come in many forms, from music, tickets, contracts, and more. Those of us in the music industry are currently in a unique, exiting era of technologic revolution. We can now create unique, sellable pieces of digital merchandise, artwork, music and experiences to fans.
“There is still a lot to be explored in the NFT space, but the potential is there. The high value and unique rewards system that NFTs offer is a revolutionary opportunity for musicians.”
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