NFTs are more than just glorified jpgs
For a lot of these spotty keyboard bashers who call themselves crypto experts, 2021 was the year of the NFT. But for the regular Joe Bloggs on the street, NFTs are still just some vague crypto digital art thing, where some unknown rich kids sometimes pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a meme cat, or space cherubs from Elon Musk’s strange alien-like ex. And to be blunt, that looks like a passing crypto fad where all those silly investors will be lucky to get back enough for a cup of Starbucks coffee in a few years.
But besides meme cats and digital plots of land (that also seem to be going for bonkers money), does this technology have any real benefits for the regular Joe or Sandra on the street — or an up and coming musician? The answer is yes, let’s find out together…
What is an NFT?
Before we can get into what other possibilities NFTs bring, we must first get our heads around what an NFT actually is.
NFT stands for non-fungible token. That didn’t help much did it — sorry!
But put very simply, “non-fungible” basically means something that is unique that can’t be replaced. And when you add that word “token” to the end, you basically have a nice little digital one of a kind thing (sort off).
Think of a one of a kind Pokémon in a sea of potentially never-ending unique Pokémon to collect. And, instead of collecting them in funky pokéballs from a magical cartoon Japanese landscape, you collect them from the blockchain.
If this little analogy or cultural reference passed you by, don’t worry. You can think of an NFT very basically as a digital collectable (think of a digital Monet painting, a digital Beanie Baby, or digital postage stamps) . Where the authenticity of this little item is possible for anyone to see on a public blockchain — including how many times it’s been sold and for how much.This brings with it a lot of cool possibilities that we will get into later.
It’s not just digital art that can be made into NFTs — videos, music, video game items, virtual fashion, digital plots of land, and domain names are all popular. What can be made into an NFT is basically limitless. For god’s sake, Jake Dorsey (the beardy creator of Twitter) even sold his first ever Tweet as an NFT — pocketing a cool $3 million in the process.
Any clearer? I hope so.
What possibilities Do NFT technology bring?
I wasn’t entirely honest with you in the last section, but this is a good thing — trust me. This is because NFTs have far more uses than cuddly little internet collectables, some that are actually pretty exciting — and not just in a nerdy way. Here are just a few of them:
Say Goodbye to Fakes
From fake Picasso’s to fake concert tickets, there are no shortages of cons out there to steal unsuspecting fans hard-earned cash. Because each and every NFT can be verified on the blockchain, it is possible for anyone to check the authenticity of an item. It really is a big wet slap in the face for criminals.
Lifetime Royalties
Because all the data about an NFT, including its authenticity, previous owners, and how much it has sold for are all stored on the blockchain, it gives one cool function. The possibility for lifetime royalties.
Think of it this way. You are an up and coming musician. You sell an NFT and place a percentage that you want to receive as royalties from each future sale — lets say 20%. You sell it for 100 euros. Two years later when it sells for 1000 euros, you get 200 euros. It sells again a year after for 10,000 euros, you get 2000 euros more. You get the picture!
In fact, this is something that you will be able to do here on PopSpot.
Fund your Next Project
If you are an aspiring artist of any form, getting yourself off the ground can be tricky. Just that few hundred bucks to get in the studio to record your first LP isn’t easy to come for everyone.
NFTs can work in a very similar way to funding websites like Indigogo. You can put an NFT or series of NFTs up for sale and use this money to fund your next big project. On Indigogo, the contributors get a finished CD or MP3 at most. But with NFTs, our fans can have assets that could be worth much more as you grow as performer. And you have a source of passive income (if you set up those lifetime royalties!!).
This can even be taken one step further. A site called Opolous offers the possibility for people to buy a share of music copyright as an NFT. This means anyone can have access to licensing deals and receive passive income from their share of music sales.
Both of these options give fans the chance to not just invest in their favourite acts in a way they have never been able to before, but to actually earn real money as these creators grow in popularity.
Ever discovered an artist when they had just a few hundred or single thousands of views on Youtube, and they went on to become a huge star? This is the exact situation and you can benefit from it!!!
Build a more active fanbase
What do you think happens if fans buy your NFTs, invest in your growth, and earn as you grow? They become more active in sharing your content with other people, commenting on posts, etc. They truly want you to success a sit benefits them too. Its win-win for everybody.
Almost anything can be an NFT
In December, the goliaths of the sneaker industry (and the provider of those shoes that took Forrest Gump across America 3 times) Nike, bought a company called RTFKT that was making virtual sneakers as NFTs. They went on to release digital sneakers which can’t be damaged which is a dream for many sneaker heads.
For this reason, it doesn’t really matter what you create. Visual Artists can sell their paintings and digital art as nfts collections. Fashion designers & 3D artists can sell sneakers& clothes as digital wearables for the Metaverse or as skins in games(something else you will be able to do on PopSpot). You can even sell event tickets as an NFT.
Beyond that, it is even possible to buy and trade fractions of an NFT. Think of it this way, you could own 1% of Beyonce’s first-ever NFT (I am sure even 1% would cost you a pretty penny).
The reality is, it is the fact that almost anything can be an NFT that makes it so exciting and that provides so many opportunities for so many people to earn a living and support the creators they love most.
PopSpot
PopSpot is a next-gen social media site where users get paid to post, comment, and share. It uses the Socialise to Earn protocol which is a model for defining and rewarding positive actions on social media. The platform is ad-free and enables fans to access content they can’t see anywhere else.
Join PopSpot’s discord to have a say in how the platform is built, participating in community discussions, and gain access to token private sales and future NFT drops.
