This is the first reflection post, so it’s 1 of 1, makes it the more valuable than any reflections posted later! Probably going to be longer than any later reflection posts as well, as I have to admit that I’ve been researching on the topic for some time already.
Platforms
There are numerous NFT platforms in general, and by this point there are many NFT platforms that are created specifically for musicians.
The most popular one is still OpenSea.io, however, does it actually fit the needs of musicians? Will touch upon it later in the ‘NFT Problems’ section. I must give them credit for UX – learning how it works with them on practice was very comfortable and didn’t take much time.
What do NFTs bring to the Music industry?
There is nothing new under the sun, but NFTs do bring significant improvements to a number of things we have already been doing. Here’s a couple of core advantages I see:
- New ways of engagement with the audience
- New opportunities to get rewarded for your work as a musician
- Encouraging collaboration options for artists, performers, and other creators
Problems
All those regulations developed in Intellectual Property space do apply, but lack the necessary control. This is very inspiring for scammers.
NFTs are claimed to solve many problems arising from the necessity for third parties – labels, agents, etc. that artists have to share their profits with. ‘No middle man’ they say. The issue is that while the necessity to pay them may be displaced, their role (which is unfortunately not just collecting money) is not replaced with anything. There’s already a lot of low-quality content and spam in NFT music space, there’s going to be even more.
Learning Sources
YouTube
Variety of good channels are out there, but they are most certainly under-marketed. First videos YouTube will render for any search related to music NFTs are either lacking clarity or are obvious clickbaits. Channels like the one linked above (NFT Music Info) are rare, and I even reached out to the guy thanking him for the good work he’s doing.
Podcasts
I’m rather new to the world of podcasts, but instantly got introduced to ‘NFTs for Newbies’. At this moment – about 80 short 15 minute episodes, breaking down the world of NFTs piece by piece, very engaging, and no huge commitment required. I usually go through three episodes each time I’m at the gym, and hope to catch up with the most recent ones in a couple of weeks.
I’m going to make a pause at this point. I wanted to cover what tools I’m using for this ‘project about the project’, but realise that it’s an entirely separate story, and I’ll need to get into a habit of writing more often anyways. So I’ll cover it in a separate little post.
