Hearing the term NFT for the first time, I honestly thought it was another internet acronym meaning ‘no free time’. But to my surprise, it was on a completely different side of the web spectrum. BCM112 had us looking at Web 3.0 and within this entails the magic (or confusion) of non-fungible tokens.
An NFT is essentially a virtual item that can be purchased, sold and traded. An online currency that holds real financial value. I even attempted to make my own after learning the very, VERY basics of it.
NFTs can also take an array of forms including but not limited to: artwork, animation, music, video, essentially literally anything that has a digital format. Often purchased with cryptocurrency, NFTs are still very early stages of mainstream usage, however there’s many ways musicians and industry have already taken advantage of the online development.
Rockin’ with NFTs
American band Kings of Leon have jumped on the NFT hype and released their 2021 album via the traditional streaming services and physical formats as well as NFT version. This was priced at $50, it included animated cover art, digital download and a limited-edition vinyl. Following this they had also had 18 “golden ticket” NFTs minted, 6 of which were sold off at auction, these secured the buyers four front row seats to any Kings of Leon gig on each tour for life. And to think that was enough, they also threw in a personal driver to and from the show, a concierge for the duration of the show, lounge access and an opportunity to hang out with the band before the show. Pretty generous honestly, well from the sales of the album NFTs alongside the golden tickets, they amassed more than $2 million, pretty impressive. Not only does this show what artists and cryptocurrency can do, it shows the direction that NFTs are headed, into a reality and online collision.
More recently, Australian music festival Yours & Owls had used their platform to sell NFTs to raise funds for Wollongong local homeless shelter Homeless Hub. 100 tokens were made available, with a starting bid price of $91, and the person who made the highest bid won the coveted golden ticket, which saw them lifetime entry for them and a friend for every Yours & Owls Festival.
This is where NFTs appear to be heading, when provided with tangible value and usage, more people are willing to fork out the (crypto) cash to reel in the goodies. Where and when we’ll see this head is unpredictable, however there are many more concepts it can be applied to, the concept and practice is rapidly evolving.
Sharing the Non-Fungible Love
A useful digital artefact would be an Instagram dedicated to music related NFTs. Similar to other NFT news accounts such as @nftmusic.ai, this account would be mostly focused on sharing the minting and releasing of music industry NFTs and their perks. The aesthetic used would be used in a similar fashion to current NFT pages, using a visual theme to share news, this way posted NFTs will stand out more than the usual content.
Also, now with Instagram trialling a feature where users can directly share NFTs that they’ve bought or created, the admin can even share their collection to further expand their audience. This project would be directed at both people with passion for music as well as people looking for entry into NFT trading. Due to the universal reach and appeal of music, this acts as an easy stepping stone for people to gain further understanding of the world of NFTs.
Kai Ahern 
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