Music has evolved overtime and so have music forms. Decades by decade we moved from records to tapes and compact cassettes to compact tapes and compact discs late in the 20th century ,while we are warming up the advent and using streaming platforms across boards globally via downloadable streaming platforms (DSP). Tik tok has been a fuel to streaming numbers and a frenzy idea to patronize music streaming platforms more intensely .Most artists find it so hard a challenge to make enough money from their music, with the most revenue from tours, partnerships (TVs, radio stations and video games) and merch sales. One might ask ;is this where NFTs come in ?

Take a ride on this literal gist and journey with us .

It’s understandably a bit controversial to say that if one hasn’t heard of Bitcoin,cryptocurrency or Blockchain ,the person has been in a cave ,well the good side is they get to listen to the Nigerian Music Duo sensation “The Cavemen” that’s on a lighter note.

But it is understandable if you haven’t heard of NFTs .Well NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token .

Okay ,it gets clearer here; Non-Fungible means it is unique and cannot be replaced by something else.

So,non-fungible tokens are unique assets that are stored and tradeable on a Blockchain, via Blockchain marketplaces .

What is considered tradeable at the moment as NFTs ,range in art forms from Arts/Drawings/Paintings/Images to Sticker/Sticker sets to music audio forms to videos to articles and even to electronic media forms like autographed tweets .

Initially Etherium,stood head above every other cryptocurrency Blockchain as a Blockchain that supported NFTs, a different entity (even in operations) from cryptocurrency .NFT support is not limited to Etherium only as other Blockchains can implement theirs while some others have started to implement theirs already.

Generally NFTs can be traded between buyers and sellers or treated like a speculative asset, an asset that after being bought can be predicted to have an increase in value in the future and sold for profit.

NFTs are frequently traded in cryptocurrencies but can be traded in other currencies .

Now Music NFT is here in the music world, artists and music producers get to sell limited digital content to their fans who pay via cryptocurrencies . 

NFTs create an equal playing ground for musicians and music creators to unlock value by making digital scarcity real and advertised ,they also more or less make music creators Masters of distribution by allowing them exercise control over their work and track their work .

In addition,music fans are not left out as they can participate in a win-win option ,by revenue sharing(sort of investment likened to stock/share markets),if the artist gets popular,it’s a win-win for fans and artists .

Apart from music artistes trading songs,music producers trading instrumentals, there are no set frameworks for the partnership ,other upsides to Music NFTs include fostering an Artiste-Fan stronger community,creating an easy entry to all artistes as an equal playing ground even to upcoming artistes.

Interestingly Artistes and fans can have their heart won to the cryptocurrency world by engaging in the NFTs dealings despite prior hesitancy. 

Smart contract is yet another benefit to using NFTs when the NFT owner who purchased from the artist/creator, resells it for a profit later and the artist attached a royalty “rider” to the contract, the artist gets compensated immediately.

NFTs give benevolent patrons a direct means to support the artistic community in currency, patronization or both and also add a set of unique assets to their collections.

The minor challenges NFTs face include being critiqued as an all speculative investment market ,security breaches and theft,questionable sustainability, and the notion “Ownership Doesn’t Equal Control”-although ownership means they hold the authentic “original”  version— the owners cannot stop “prints” from being made.

Sure thing ;the NFT is a new trend or wave especially by tech savvy youth in the industry globally,but just how mainstream NFT are in today’s community is also similar to internet adaptation by the population at large ,giving the youth a comparative advantage .A better comparison for NFT is cryptocurrency adaptation and engagement by the community/population ,most of the aging population and minors are yet to adapt optimally to the cryptocurrency market let alone NFT. 

Misconceptions about certain concepts occur normally ,so it is beneficial to clarify what NFT isn’t .

Some people treat NFTs like they are the most modern tech savvy form of fine art collecting (as a luxury flex of the opulent) and some people treat them like Pokémon cards  accessible to normal people but also a flex item for the opulent). But it wasn’t designed for such purpose .

As with every valuable ,it’s a common stance to think of the future of the Asset ,Business Venture or Trade item .

Which in this case is a valid concern when it comes to digital arts as image quality deteriorates, file formats may not be opened anymore, websites may go missing in action error 404 or go down totally , people may forget the password to their cryptocurrency wallets; apparently physical art don’t suffer these potential constraints ,but might not stand the test of time as some are particularly fragile.

Having taken a ride with us on this NFT exploratory discussion ,it’s easy to see that NFT is a relatively new space ,Music creators,Music Labels and Music Industry techs and companies can get their hands into for reasons of interest, profit and prospects. It isn’t Crystal clear how the concerned music parties can level up But the promises are clear and inviting to all parties .Cheers!