What are NFTs, and what do they mean for music?
Lucy Thraves
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
NFTs - or non-fungible tokens - are creating a buzz in the music industry. But what are they, and what could they mean for musicians?
Non-fungible tokens are essentially digital certificates of uniqueness, and they prove ownership for albums, concert tickets, exclusive tracks - whatever the creator or artist decides to put up for sale.
They are paid for in online crypto-currency - money that includes a record of who owns what, stored on a shared ledger (a kind of hardware wallet), known as the blockchain.
They are gaining popularity because they mean that the artist or original creator can set the terms, and ensure a percentage of the resale value.
What does this mean for classical musicians?
With streaming failing to offer artists a fair share of revenues, and over a year of lockdowns and touring visa complications causing huge amounts of uncertainty, many musicians are turning to NFTs to supplement income.
In early June 2021, the first piece of classical music was sold on the blockchain, reaching $375,000. Betty’s Notebook, a 20-minute choral work, was written by Texan composer Nicholas Reeves for the innovative Verdigris Ensemble.
The piece, which is based on the transcription of supposed radio transmissions from pilot Amelia Earhart, was recorded in a layered performance of four individual ‘stem’ NFTs, which were sold as individual elements on the blockchain, as well as one master stem NFT of the piece as a whole.
The work went to auction at Async Art, a digital art auction blockchain platform, and the winning bid was placed by Metapurse, a crypto-exclusive fund that specialises in virtual estate and collectibles.
The company has announced that a physical representation of the master track - which is a vintage 1930s wooden radio console remodelled to feature an LCD screen of digital art and the four musical stems – will be lent to museums.
The technology is still new, and it remains to be seen whether or not it will take off as a new model for buying and selling cultural products. But NFTs pose new questions about the value of originality, the relationship between producer and consumer, and the value of art in a digital world.
