NFTs
This was the first time i had ever heard of the term NFTs. The consumeristic culture surrounding music has never been my main interest although I do definitely see its importance – music is just as much a business as it is an art. I had always considered music to be this ‘unsellable’ commodity – most artists relying on other forms and outlets to sell their works such as merchandising – so to hear about NFTs was definitely something new and exciting.
it does definitely create this idea of scarcity – my understanding of it that by trying to make music rarer it will increase the value of said music. I wonder whether it will shape the landscape of artistic consumerism. From what I have read theres no solid way to value the product which is probably quite concerning but doesn’t seem too awry considering the mispayments of artists on Spotify and other forms of dishonesty in the music industry. Wired describes NFT’s as “Pokémon cards for the bitcoin era” – once again creating a description of ‘rarity’ and ‘scarcity’.
NFTs almost ‘force’ you to look at music creation and art as something to be sold and consumed rather than pure expression and ‘feeling’. How do you commodify ‘feeling’? – certainly it creates a new lane for the selling of art and in my opinion, offers something for artists to aspire to on a business side of things. Marketing yourself as an artist is definitely not a new thing, neither is selling music, but selling the official ownership of it is something i haven’t seen before.
The reputation aspect of NFTs are also interesting – for NFT’s to sell viably the artist must have a reputation, so for smaller artists the introduction of NFTs might not be too game-changing. Does it just benefit the big and rich or does it help shape the climate of music as a whole?