NFTs in digital art are certainly having their time under the sun during 2021. Beeple selling his work for $69m, Crypto Punks are now status symbols and the success of set from The Bored Ape Yacht Club that sold for almost $25m with Sothebys (BAYC) has created a hype-driven market frenzy, which a whole swathe of pretenders are trying to replicate.
Believe me, I know. Two or three entrepreneurs come to me every day, demanding we recreate the BAYC or Canine Cartel models to make eight figures on digital art before Christmas.
Digital art has all the benefits the old world of art does not. NFTs can counter scarcity. It’s transferable and immutable. The provenance is unquestioned. Just look at Damien Hurst’s “The Currency” project. This exploration in the art world will no doubt continue. And it’s a great thing.
NFTs have connected artists directly to buyers and created a free-market economy dictating that fine work rises to the top. A meritocracy is amplified by the speed at which online communities operate. It’s what all of us in the decentralised world want, right?
Yet…aren’t we culture vultures missing a trick? If digital art is thriving, then shouldn’t other art-based sectors be thriving too? Surely, the music industry is poised, above any other, to make an absolute killing in the NFT market?
Music is just getting started
And that’s largely because the potential of some projects, such as the music platform TokenIITraxx, will undoubtedly set a precedent around performance royalties and song-writing in this new paradigm of blockchain, NFTs, and creative rights.
Or can it?
This is an industry locked by three major labels who take an enormous cut of the revenue generated by artists’ work. We only see the tip of the iceberg with cases of artists from the great, late, George Michael to Taylor Swift all being frustrated with the industry’s rights over their own material.
So, it should come as no surprise that there is a groundswell of consideration for the possibilities for NFTs and how they could disrupt the music industry.
Whereas NFTs in art are valuable for attributes such as rarity or scarcity, with music, there is a whole other value chain that can be explored. Music is a product that generates income, whether that is by rights or royalties. NFTs could represent this for specific pieces of music or the artist themselves.
Traditionally, a label would provide an artist with an advance, and they would be on their feet but locked into a contract from which, should they be successful, would be difficult to extricate themselves.
However, if this funding could be secured through the sale of NFTs, which potentially rise in value as a musical artist becomes more successful, then the musician has the freedom. The NFT investor then has a rockstar in which they have invested.
Traditionally, the route to success for a musician would be: “Let’s play this gig for free as there are scouts from a label in the house. Hopefully, they will notice us, and we can land a deal. Then we will be in the big time.”
What if we do away with that old model and replace it with the NFT model?
Musicians could then use their fame (generated by their NFT success) to get the attention of the labels or, if they decide to, carve out a career for themselves outside the legacy music industry and the purview of the labels.
Where could this go? Could this be the beginning of a new music industry that runs alongside the traditional industry?
“Yes,” says Miles Leonard, ex-Chairman of Parlophone Records/ Warners Music and now co-founder of TokenIITraxx. Miles co-founded TokenIITraxx with the vision that the blockchain-based platform will create a whole new income stream to support the traditional and established music community.
“Perhaps with one interacting with the other, but no line of dependence. NFTs surely signal the new dawn of the essence of freedom for music artists,” adds the industry boss whose credits include signing and reinventing acts such as Coldplay and Kylie.
“NFTs can generate an initial income that can help music creatives get started, giving them the financial freedom to create. Once they get to a certain level, they can choose to sign up with a label and go into the machine or stick to this independent new world. There are benefits and pitfalls to both, but with NFTs, they at least have the freedom to choose,” commented award-winning music producer and DJ TommyD, also a co-founder of TokenIITraxx.
“For artists that are already established, NFT’s give the opportunity to return to an age where fans could show allegiance to their favourite artists by investing in rare and exclusive products around the music.
“Traditionally coloured vinyl, gatefold sleeves, bonus tracks, or signed copies, all added to the monster-sized promotion an artist could roll out, connecting to fans on a much deeper level. All of this has been lost in the digital age,” added TommyD.
“But through a platform such as ours and NFTs, we can re-awaken that monster!”
*At the time of writing, speculation is rising on this huge music start-up launching on public blockchain platform, Zilliqa
*The author of this article is an advisor to Token Traxx
Key Takeaways:
- The potential for NFTs to tap into the music industry is unparalleled
- The sector’s complicated legacy infrastructure of rights and royalties is ripe for disruption
- One NFT platform, TokenIITraxx, set to “signal the new dawn of freedom for music artists”
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