Non-Fungible Tokens became extremely popular in 2021 and now digital art is all over our social media timelines. People are spending thousands and millions of dollars on them because they don’t want to be left out of the NFT and Web 3.0 movement and all that comes with it. The musician Deadmau5 launched several limited edition “packs” of NFT collectibles that racked up close to $500,000 in sales. The digital artist Beeple made $3.5 million in 24 hours! We know you’re hearing about the hype and seeing content around this topic all over the internet. But if you still don’t quite get it, here’s all you need to know about right now for what’s coming with simple explanations.
What is an NFT?
NFT came from the cryptocurrency Ethereum and is an acronym for “non-fungible token.” Non-fungible simply means it can’t be traded. This is because NFT’s have a unique ID linked to the Ethereum blockchain database which can contain anything digital, including drawings, animated GIFs, songs, or items in video games. An NFT can either be one-of-a-kind, like a real-life painting, or one copy of many, like trading cards, but the blockchain keeps track of who has ownership of the file.
Where to buy NFTs
OpenSea, SuperRare, Bored Yacht Club, and Rarible are among the most popular NFT marketplaces and you can buy them using cryptocurrency.
What “Minting” is
Minting is part of the process of creating an NFT. It is essentially taking the digital file and putting it on the Ethereum network that stores it as an NFT that can be tracked forever as the original item and sold on the NFT marketplace.
Monitor how Ethereum is performing in the Cryptocurrency market if you want to invest
If you are considering investing in NFTs, do your research and pay attention to how the crypto market is performing. For instance, Ethereum (ETH) is down 40% in the past 3 months and Bitcoin (BTC) is down 40% in the past 3 months as well after crashing from $67,000 for 1 bitcoin in early November 2021 to now being $37,000 for 1 bitcoin. Some people are more hesitant to invest because of this, some people have sold their NFTs because of this, and some people would argue that now is a great time to capitalize on the low price and invest because the crypto market will go back up as it evidently has over time.
How the Entertainment and Fashion Industry is Using NFTs For Marketing
Here are some great examples of how brands in the entertainment and fashion industry are using NFTs for marketing:
Festivals
Coachella and FTX, a Bahamian-based and US-regulated cryptocurrency exchange, just announced their partnership to offer lifetime crypto-powered festival experiences minted (explained above) on the Solana blockchain.
This is their first move is the unveiling of Coachella’s NFT marketplace, offering three different collections linked to different physical and digital items. The “Coachella Keys Collection,” is what they are calling the first collection, offering up 10 one-of-a-kind NFT keys that will grant lifetime access to Coachella and unique festival experiences for 2022. It also includes access to Coachella virtual experiences in the future.
Music Industry
Independent and mainstream musicians/artists are selling their music and performance footage as NFTs and making money these days. A good example for the music industry capitalizing on the NFT movement is Warner Music Group’s recent OneOf deal. This is for all of their record labels, and will involve OneOf creating NFTs for a variety of artists on WMG’s rosters. Although no specific artists have been made public yet, the mention in WMG’s press release of OneOf’s capabilities for “NFTs from collectible and generative PFPs, to music royalties, and IRL experiences.”
Note: “PFPs” is short for NFT “Profile Pictures“. “IRL experiences” is acronym for “In Real Life Experiences“
“We are being very decidedly careful about the ways we introduce music and musicians into it. We’re trying really hard to make sure that artists who are interested [in NFTs] are educated, have a roadmap…I think there’s going to be less and less one-off drops, and more and more micro-communities built around projects or around music or musicians”
– Jillian Rothman, Business & Ventures, Interactive & Gaming Partnerships Executive at WMG
Source: musically.com
Fashion / Apparel
“Metaverse Garments” are a thing now. It’s being called digital fashion. Hanifa designer Anifa Mvuemba drew the attention of the press during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic back in May 2020 for her spring runway show using 3D modeling technology. Her show was broadcast on Instagram Live. Demna Gvasalia, Creative Director for Balenciaga, also hosted a “deep fake of a fashion show,” and cast a CGI version of painter Eliza Douglas for the virtual catwalk.
Individuals and startups looking to make a lot of money from the rising profile of digital fashion believe that this could one day diminish people’s needs for real clothes. Some of the rationale behind this is that things like outfit repetition will become an outdated concern. These metaverse garments being created by brands like thisoutfitdoesnotexist, are primarily being created for sartorial performance and self-expression beyond the constraints of physical reality. Think cloud-like outerwear, flaming capes, flaming hats, and marvelous metallic engraved gear.
However, some startups and independent designers getting involved in the movement of metaverse fashion / digital fashion / virtual clothing are offering digital fashion collectibles with physical counterparts i.e. Phygital, a term being used to describe this type of clothing.
This “phygital” clothing can be used to create real-world experiences with digital components for fashion shows and retail shopping. More fashion brands are now seeking out partnerships with game developers or launching exclusive collections and pieces in certain games.
Nike is another great example of how fashion brands are using NFTs in preparation for the future. They recently bought a virtual shoe company that makes NFTs and sneakers ‘for the metaverse’ with their acquisition of RTFKT Studios, which the apparel giant calls “a leading brand that leverages cutting edge innovation to deliver next generation collectibles that merge culture and gaming.” Nike is also getting into a method to verify sneakers authenticity using an NFT system it calls CryptoKicks.
NFTs will be the backbone of the Metaverse
Without NFTs, there can be no metaverse. For a good example of what the metaverse is and could become, check out the Steven Spielberg movie “Ready Player One.”
Everything you can think of is going to have an NFT
Anything will be able to be sold as an NFT in the future. Gary Vaynerchuck is one of the leading voices educating people about the use of NFTs and he’s opening up the world’s first NFT restaurant! NFTs have taken the spotlight as a stamp of legitimacy for digital goods, ranging from art to worn-out internet fads.
The gaming industry is ahead of the curb because its uniquely suited for the integration of NFTs, something already recognized by several notable entities in the gaming industry, particularly Sony, Ubisoft, GameStop and even Sega.
NFT prices will eventually fall
Justin Bieber just spent 500 Ethereum ($1.3 Million) on a Bored Ape NFT, reportedly 300% above the starting price. However, this type of expenditure we are seeing on NFT’s is expected at the early adoption stages of anything new in the tech space being adopted. Prices will eventually fall as the purchasing of NFT’s for anything you can think of becomes the norm in society.
The NFT revolution has started to support creatives from all around the world. As a female-led indie company, we are keen to find out the potential of how NFTs can support filmmakers
MARTINA RUSSO, FOUNDER OF UNLEYEK
Cryptocurrency Wallets
Cryptocurrency wallets are what people carry their NFTs in. It’s also what they use to showcase their NFTs and reflects peoples interests based on their purchases. The most popular NFT wallets being used now include Metamask, Alphawallet and Coinbase Wallet. Check out the chart below provided by statista.com that showcases the growth in the number of unique crypto wallets that either bought or sold an NFT asset worldwide from June 2017 to December 2021. You’ll immediately notice the spike from July 2021 to December 2021.
