Per editor: Dong Xingsheng
What are the latest and hottest words in the world in 2021? NFT (Non-Fungible Token: non-homogeneous token) must be on the list.
As a new type of digital asset verified by blockchain technology, NFT is different from Bitcoin and other homogeneous tokens, NFTs cannot be traded freely because of their indivisible, irreplaceable, unique and other characteristics. These features have also prompted NFTs to be used in many works of art. In March, digital visual artist Beeple sold for $69 million at Christie's in New York for an unincorporated digital work.
Heat also acts directly on market transactions. According to CNBC, the global NFT market traded $250 million in 2020, while in August this year, OpenSea alone, the world's largest NFT trading platform, reached $3.4 billion.
In the field of art, more and more categories have begun to be linked to NFTs, and the combination of music and NFTs is very noteworthy. As a mass cultural consumer goods, the music market has entered the era of streaming media through the age of records. The development of the Internet has subverted the music industry and triggered a copyright war between platforms. Nowadays, new technologies have arrived and are beginning to be applied by some people. What is the future of NFT music in the eyes of crab eaters?
Event site Image source: Courtesy of the organizer
As one of the earliest music platforms in China to provide musicians with one-stop services and innovative services such as digital collections, Tencent Musicians recently held a salon in Shanghai, where musicians Zhang Chu, AI and crypto artist Song Ting and Qin Qing, product director of Tencent Cloud Blockchain, collided with others about the possibility of NFT and music links.
<h2>Enjoy music in a silicon-based world</h2>
Before NFT music changed the way society was heard, NFTs had become a non-verbal means of communication for a small number of people, such as WeChat avatars. "Now go to some blockchain industry meetings and you will find that not only entrepreneurs in the blockchain industry, the vast majority of people's avatars are their own NFTs." Song Ting said.
In the avatar NFT series, it is necessary to mention CryptoPunks. It is a series of pixel images, which are generated by the algorithm in total 10,000, each of which is unique. Today, a single CryptoPunks avatar sells for anywhere from $1.4 million to $13 million, and the "crazy" price also reflects the market's unlimited expectations for the value of NFTs.
Musicians also have imaginations and expectations for NFTs. In March, rock band Kings Of Leon released the world's first NFT album, When You See Yourself, which sold more than $2 million. The characteristics of NFT disintermediation also eliminate the business logic and sharing model built by the original record labels and streaming media platforms. Relying on the smart contract of the blockchain, musicians and fans can skip direct communication between streaming media platforms and record companies, and musicians themselves can directly get most of the profits.
"Monk" Vinyl NFT Image source: QQ Music Platform
In China, QQ Music released Hu Yanbin's "Monk" 20th Anniversary Vinyl NFT in August, and nearly 80,000 fans participated in the lottery reservation, and the record was sold out as soon as it was released. This has also created a precedent for the release of digital collections by mainstream music platforms in China.
"My expectation of the NFT is to use it as a means of content output, and I am looking forward to consumer feedback on it in the future." For example, if a person buys NFT music, how will he understand and feel in life and life? Or what inspires and experiences? Instead of simply repeating something, it is not innovation, it will be the sadness of art. Zhang Chu said.
Zhang Chu Image source: Courtesy of the organizer
Zhang Chu's thinking on NFTs also raises an important question, that is, what is the unique experience that NFT music brings to the audience? In the case of Hu Yanbin's "Monk" NFT Vinyl Records, the 2001 albums are divided into 10 categories and have unique recognizable marks after digital encryption, but the songs heard by consumers in 2001 are the same. The difference is that one of the categories has Hu Yanbin's signature, and the background color of the other categories is different.
If the content itself is not "unique", what is the value of NFT music?
Song Ting believes that the emergence of NFT music can help listeners extend their appreciation of musical works. "The emergence of vibrato has changed the way the public pays attention. Therefore, in the future, when listening to songs, listeners may also switch to the form of audio-visual combination of multi-sensory stimulation. If we reach the day when NFTs become popular, we may enter the silicon-based world to appreciate music, as the metaverse envisions. ”
<h2>The Age of Universal Copyright? If you can't make new content, NFT must not go far</h2>
Zhang Chu said he began studying copyright early on. For example, how to create a relationship between copyright and users, how to break the public's perception of musicians, etc. "I used to wonder, when will it become universal copyright? A person who is interested in a musician can directly support it, is there a platform for individuals to become music producers? ”
NFTs give this imaginary landing possibility. The current NFT music is more of a new form of "record sales", and when music copyrights are also monetized through NFTs, the music industry may usher in real changes.
In the business world, earning money through music rights is the right of record labels and big streaming platforms. Previously, Tencent Music and NetEase Cloud Music successively gave up exclusive music copyrights, announcing the end of the era of exclusive copyright in China. Losing the appeal of "exclusive", platform parties and record companies want to continue to retain listeners, in addition to signing more musicians to expand the stickiness of fans, innovative models are also one of the ways.
"Platforms can open up new tracks, give more traffic to creators, and encourage them to focus more on content creation." At the same time, NFTs can obtain clearer user portraits. Qin Qing said.
The head effect of the music market is obvious. Compared with niche musicians, the head musicians' ability to protect their rights and bargaining power is higher. Song Ting said that based on the relevant technology, in the future, it can be judged whether an NFT artwork is plagiarized and infringed, and the creator can collect fees through the NFT. "This protects the copyright of niche artists so that their work is not blinded by commercially driven things."
Behind the boom, NFTs also have problems that need to be solved urgently. The first is compliance, the transaction of virtual crypto assets in China still has many boundaries that have not been clarified, and the legal obligations and responsibilities of relevant people are also being explored. Even abroad, NFT artworks have loopholes in areas such as taxes.
Song Ting Image source: Courtesy of the organizer
The second is the innovation of the content itself. The day-priced NFT artwork becomes news, and the public and the market need to understand what kind of NFT is worth buying. "I'm also concerned about the extent to which NFT artworks deliver good value to the public, and if that can't be done, whatever the current price of NFT will not be far away." Because although the form is new, we are not doing something new. Song Ting said frankly.
Blockchain technology provides the underlying support for NFT music, and the development of the metacosm envisions future application scenarios for it. Digitalization is already an unstoppable trend, and the familiar art consumption of music may also usher in a huge change. "The NFT has almost stamped contemporary art. Its initiators are young and the participants are young, and the special characteristics of the times in these people give the NFT unparalleled characteristics. So why can't music be an NFT artwork? Song Ting said.
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