WTF is an NFT

In a breakfast club interview, Jim Jones describes an NFT as a digital baseball card which is probably one of the most accurate, “simplified” descriptions of an NFT you will come across. NFT stands for Non-fungible token. It is a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, that certifies a digital asset to be unique and not interchangeable. Similar to an arcade token. This separates it from standard cryptocurrency. Now let’s break this standard definition down to something a little less techy.

What is an NFT really?

I’ve found that a lot of people have a hard time understanding exactly what an NFT is because it’s hard to understand where the value actually is. An NTF can be a GIf, video, text, picture, virtually anything that you can find for free on social media today.

So how are people making money?

If we use the baseball card analogy it all begins to make sense. Jim Jones took a picture of his chain and converted it into an NFT. The same as a photographer taking a rookie Topps Mark McGwire picture and converting it into a baseball card. Jones was then able to sell that NFT for $1,000. It was able to sell so high because it is the only available NFT of its kind, much like how a mint condition rookie Topps Mark McGwire baseball card can sell for over $500 to this day.

The key difference between a baseball card and an NFT is that you only get what you sold it for when you sell a baseball card. When you sell an NFT, thanks to blockchain technology, you forever own a piece of that NFT. So when the individual who bought Jones’s NFT re-sold it for 5 times what they paid, Jones and his camp were able to claim a piece of that. The blockchain also allows people to verify the authenticity of an NFT which prevents a person from making a duplicate picture and selling it as if it were the original picture. This creates real exclusivity.

Creative, Convenient, Continuous

The purpose of an NFT is pretty straightforward. It gives creators an effective and convenient way to monetize their content. The general public has proven that celebrities’ items are valuable. Over the years millions of dollars have been generated at auctions and on Amazon from the buying and selling of items previously owned by someone famous. An NFT will make that process much simpler by eliminating the middleman (amazon, auctions, etc..) and much more lucrative because of the opportunity for passive income.

How can Indie artists use them?

“There are no rules inside of this space as long as you are creative with making money.” – Jim Jones

Jim Jones on the Breakfast Club

The potential for NFTs is only limited by those who use them. The obvious road for artists interested in utilizing NFTs is to make some sort of collectible. Jones gave a good example with Charlamanges book. Jones suggested that Charlamange take a picture of the cover and every page and make them different NFTs enticing fans to collect them all. Jones could do the same with his jewelry collection.

The real power in an NFT however is the passive income potential. If we think about baseball cards we realize that rookie cards are more valuable than other cards typically. Imagine having a never-before-seen picture of Drake in the studio for the very first time. That would probably earn BIG bucks as an NFT. Now imagine an emerging artist, who hasn’t yet reached mainstream status. You have a picture or video of this artist and you make it into an NFT. As that artist’s popularity grows so does the value of that NFT. IF artists really want to monetize NFTs to their maximum value they have to be thinking of exclusive content and items. An exclusive 5 part interview would make a killing in this type of environment.

Will NFTs Last? Our predictions

Not only do we believe NFTs will last, but we also view them as yet another step in the evolution of the creative space. We predict that NFTs are going to change artists’ pockets and the entire landscape of social media. Right now we are in a climate where we are oversaturated with content. Artists spend countless hours and dollars creating content for fans which is essentially free. With the emergence of NFTs in this post-pandemic world, artists will become more and more stingy with posting as every piece of content they upload for free is potentially a gold mine as an NFT. Especially since royalty payments from streaming platforms remain a problem.

The reality is, NFTs are too valuable to fail. Not just for music artists but creatives, content creators, and collectors across the globe. Artists are already taking advantage of its benefits and as cryptocurrencies continue to grow in popularity so will NFTs. The potential value and convenience make NFTs a home run!

That’s enough from us, Thrive Indie wants to know what you think about NFTs and if they will last. Leave a comment below or on our Instagram page and tell us what you think.