The term NFT stands for non-fungible token. NFT usually represents ownership of a unique piece of media, from images, videos, and texts to audio files. Sometimes it can also work as a proof of ownership for items in real life, including real estate, event tickets, or a painting that is displayed in a gallery. If you transfer your NFT to someone else, the history is publicly and transparently recorded on the blockchain and anyone can trace it.
Non-fungibility means that it is not interchangeable with other tokens (even if they are minted under the same collection and the underlying media file is exactly the same) because they have unique properties. On the contrary, Susan’s 1 ETH (or 1 BTC, 1 USD, 1 SOL…) can be exchanged with Lucy’s 1 ETH (or 1 BTC, 1 USD, 1 SOL…), because it is assumed that they bear the same value, so they are ‘fungible’.
Music NFT refers to the non-fungible tokens of which underlying assets are related to music. Whether it is a song or an audio file, rights to a musician’s streaming royalties, membership in a musician’s community, or a share of a single, EP, or album’s copyright, the NFTs represent your ownership of the underlying assets.
<aside> 👩🏻🎤 For Artists
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Artists now don’t need permission from the industry behemoths to release their new tracks and albums. They can instantly mint their NFTs and sell them on various launchpads and marketplaces, and can easily split their revenue with other collaborators via smart contracts. Blockchain technologies can provide ‘more options’ to musicians.
Building and managing a fan community is easier than ever. Artists can create a discord channel or hold an online event that only the holders of their NFTs have access to, or easily distribute airdrops or other exclusive benefits to the holders. They can also identify and directly engage with their supporters.
Musicians can now easily release and distribute their tracks and albums, collaborate with other artists to create multidisciplinary artworks and split their revenues, and manage the sales of their tracks/albums according to their own timelines and terms. Verifying the provenance of the artistic work is also made easier.
With smart contracts, artists can set a specific percentage of royalties to be automatically collected from the secondary sales of their artworks, and their sales & ownership history will be transparently and permanently recorded on the blockchain to be traced by anyone.
<aside> 😇 For fans and collectors
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Fans and collectors can now financially support their artists without worrying about middlemen taking a large portion of their revenue. Plus, some of the music NFTs hand over a fraction of the tracks’ IP, copyrights, and streaming revenues to the holders. This takes the fans/supporters’ purchasing experiences to a whole other level, to the true experience of ‘owning’ the music.
While not necessary, many artists offer benefits and token-gated events/channels exclusively for their NFT holders. Therefore, a music NFT usually comes with a bundle of IRL and digital experiences that is designed by an artist for his/her supporters.
The idea of composability can also be applied to the web3 music space. Fans and collectors can now create derivative works with the original pieces, creating music videos, remixing songs, developing games, or even using them for establishing their own brands.
As NFTs are digital collectibles, holders can take their assets across various platforms and metaverses to display/play them for a wider audience. Some curators often use their account as a sort of gallery that anyone can search and view their tastes, and people can also track someone else’s collecting/purchasing history via blockchain explorer platforms like Etherscan. This can help curators/collectors accumulate their reputation globally.