Last year saw NFTs explode onto the scene and in a big way. Driven by the popularity of art collections such as BAYC and Crypto Punks, NFT trading volume topped $13 Billion in 2021 alone. NFT marketplace OpenSea is on pace to have over $3 Billion in trading volume in January, so it seems 2022 will be an even bigger year for NFTs on the secondary market at least.
While we will likely to see continued growth from art NFT collections, I think we will see NFTs grow into other spaces and media, and I wanted to give you a sense of where the market momentum is likely headed.
Music NFTs are primed for a huge 2022
@KingsOfLeon think #NFTs are the next big thing as well. We're reading a lot about it lately- https://t.co/8Sx4n7bVKV
— Ariel Hyatt, Ultimate Guide to Music PR (@cyberpr) January 12, 2022
Last year, the Nashville-based band Kings of Leon made waves by being the first band to release its new album as an NFT. The NFT gave you a digital copy of the album, as well as other items based on three different tiers that were available. One version of the NFT release, the prized Golden Ticket, included massive perks for the owner, including 4 front-row seats to every Kings of Leon concert, for life!
Another aspect to the appeal for the NFTs is that they will have a secondary market that really doesn’t exist for digital music that you buy from iTunes or stream off Spotify. Each NFT’s history of minting and ownership can be verified on the blockchain, and each one has its own unique identity and provenance. This helps establish the uniqueness and scarcity of the piece. Which helps drive interest and value.
So look for more big artists to dip their toes in the NFT water as a new way to distribute music to fans. Long-term, this could cause a massive disruption to the current big label distribution model and could fundamentally change the average artist’s ability to monetize their work and connect with fans.
But that’s how big artists could and are using NFTs. What about smaller artists who are looking to get their careers off the ground? This is where I think music NFTs could get REALLY interesting: Give fans ownership of the actual music!
this is what the contract looks like for the NFT
what if all music contracts were this simple and didn't require hiring a lawyer just to understand? pic.twitter.com/sLaAY96NTd
— Lyrah (@lyrah) November 24, 2021
With the above, Lyrah is proposing selling her actual music to fans via an NFT. Each NFT would grant the owner a 25% share of the master recording, and 25% of all streaming royalties. For life. Can you imagine co-owning your favorite song from your favorite artist WITH your favorite artist? I think you will see a lot of smaller music artists go this route as a way to fundraise for recording even more music. With ideas such as this and the Kings of Leon example above, it’s easy to see a not-so-distant future where artists have far more control over their ability to monetize their music.
Keep an eye on photography NFT projects in 2022
Gary Vee thinks photography NFTs will take off in 2022.
I tend to agree. What I like about these NFT projects and collections, whether it’s art, music or photography, is you have a chance to leverage social media to connect with the creators. You can learn who they are, what their inspiration was for the art they create, and that gives you a greater desire to own their work.
And let’s be honest some of the work these photographers are creating is just jaw-droppingly gorgeous:
Gorgeous work. It’s easy to see why many are expecting photography NFTs to take off in 2022. https://t.co/5zEgZdNgkB
— Mack Collier (@MackCollier) January 3, 2022
Another element I love is how these artists are supporting each other and pushing each other to succeed and they are promoting each other’s work. They really embody that ‘wagmi’ mentality.
One more NFT space to keep an eye on in 2022
So we’ve talked about music and photography NFTs as possibly being big winners in 2022. Here’s another space that might see some gains: What about book NFTs? We already have ebooks, what if authors started offering their books as an NFT? The NFT could include the book, along with whatever bonus material the author wanted to include. Or what if book NFTs were a way for authors to ‘self publish’ their book? Maybe sell a limited run of NFTs of your book that also gives owners a percentage of sales from the book? Think of Lyrah’s example above of selling her music and sharing ownership, you could in theory do something similar with books.
In closing, I do think it’s worth noting that many NFT experts feel like we will eventually see a correction in pricing. Many NFT collections have enjoyed massive increases in prices over the last 12-18 months, and it’s driven a lot of speculators into the space. As prices continue to increase, it makes them riskier and many experts feel that eventually many NFT collections will simply reach unsustainable levels. When that happens, we could see a lot of speculators leave the market, and prices could take a big hit. So if you are getting into NFTs as an investment, just be cautious and do your homework.
