NFT is the acronym for Non-Fungible Token, which is a digital asset stored on a blockchain representing a digital or physical asset. Each NFT is unique and acts as proof of ownership of an asset on the blockchain.
In the music industry, artists can create NFTs of their music, which they can then list for sale through cryptocurrency. There is no limit to the copies of a song or an album you can create. However, each of the copies will have a unique identifying token, so while they may have something in common, every person that buys a copy will have a copy whose identity is unique.
Over the years, artists have always been under the control of recording labels, which often get the lion's share of an artist's work. Most artists like Kanye West have always spoken out about this unfair distribution of resources generated from artists' works of art.
Piracy is a big problem in the music industry and sees the industry lose millions of dollars annually. While there are laws to protect artists from piracy, they are ineffective in controlling the problem. But piracy could be a thing for artists who sell their music as NFT.
Artists depend on the recording label to have their music reach their fans. Besides having the record label take the lion's share of an artist's proceeds, the second downside to this approach is that there is no direct interaction between artists and their fan base.
While NFT trading is relatively new, some artists are already cashing in on this opportunity. An example of an artist benefitting from tokenizing their music is electronic producer 3LAU, who sold an NFT collection worth $11.6 million.
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