“The Grand Hustle”: The first NFT music album released in Greece
They are heard everywhere but few understand what they really are. I’m not one of them, but let’s not try. Non-Fungible Tokens seem to be one of the hottest topics of our time. It is a kind of digital asset, a certificate of ownership of a digital work of art, such as an image, a video, a music album or some other multimedia asset and more.
What does it mean, one might say, if I can save the current creation on my computer? Yes, of course you can copy a picture, just as you can copy a painting, but the one that has the original definitely has a different prestige and of course the indisputable proof of ownership.
How, now, is this property verified? The acquisition of a digital object is recorded in the blockchain (imagine a digital ledger) that is visible to the public and can not be reproduced by anyone.
“Can NFTs change the global music industry?” “Time” wondered in December. The question is, when many artists through streaming platforms do not pay what they think they deserve or their various freedoms are restricted through various labels, then they may look for new ways to sell their work.
NFTs and art
To date, millions of works have been sold through various markets and through relevant auctions. From Beeble, whose work sold for $ 69.3 million, up a flying animated cat sold for nearly $ 600,000, Grimes who has sold millions of digital art pieces, as well as, as we recently saw, an Eminem-like monkey, which he apparently bought for about $ 123.45 ethereum, or $ 450,000.
All of this can go anywhere, beyond art, even to things the human mind has a hard time understanding – we saw it when Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sold his first tweet as NFT for over $ 2.9 million. Even the NBA invites collectors to get their first NBA NFT with property titles from snapshots and highlights. But let’s stay in art.
“Can NFTs change the global music industry?” “Time” wondered in December. The question is, when many artists through streaming platforms do not pay what they think they deserve or their various freedoms are restricted through various labels, then they may look for new ways to sell their work.
According to the article, regarding NFTs, “140 artists have sold over 350 records for over one million in total”, including rapper Ibn Inglor raised $ 92,000 by offering loyalists specific privileges, including shares for the rights to his upcoming album. The Kings of Leon raised over 2 million through the NFTs with buyers of their “When you see yourself” album. Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park in December sold the first mixtape (ZIGOURATS) for 5,000 NFT, and, okay, you can find it right now on Spotify here, but it does not belong to you, right?
The first NFT music album in Greece
In Greece there is a #metaverse hub for creators, with the title NFT ART Greece, and a few days ago Minor Music does not seem to have just launched the first NFT album of Greek production, “The Grand Hastle”, produced by DJBenz, with the participation of artists such as GAB, Taki Tsan and others. So we asked Mario Sdragas, CEO of Minor Music, to talk to us about the basics: what NFTs are.
“I will not take you to blockchains and what the term Non-Fungible Token (NFT) means. Think that if you buy an authentic painting of a famous painter you get a certificate of authenticity, right? Well, that’s what NFTs came to solve as a problem in the tech world. Essentials is a digital copyright certificate, which the NFT owner has rights to an asset and proof of ownership. “In short, a modern way of registering digital art,” says Marios.
– What does the appearance of NFTs mean for digital art? Many are talking about a new era.
It is a revolution in the world of art and the digital world. The phenomenon of NFTs will definitely bring ups and downs in the digital art industry and in several related fields. The digital world has begun to adapt and be used in forms other than securing a “JPEG” image. We see concerts selling their tickets with NFTs. Even musicians sell their music through them!
In such a short period of time we see in 2021 that transactions of 22 billion have been made compared to 100 million made in 2020, according to the Guardian.
– How is the music industry connected to NFTs and how is it affected?
In 2021 the NFTs joined the music industry in some way willingly or unwillingly. Companies and artists are looking to find alternative sources of interior with the pandemic depriving them of basic sources of income, such as live performances. The result was many established artists, but also up-and-coming, to realize that through NFTs they can sell their music directly with which they want (single or album) to their fans. In Greece, of course, we are still in a very baby step since the industry cycle is generally very small.
– How did the idea for this innovation come about and how was it built? Have you seen anything similar before in Greece?
I will take you back to 2018. Somewhere there I undertook its setup and marketing First 3D & Motion Design Conference in GREECE. There I had the honor to meet in person the Beeple. He is the one who sold a “JPEG” image for 69 million dollars! In short, following the path of Mike Winkleman aka Beeple, the man who made the term “NFT” commercial and familiar to our ears, my colleagues and I learned about NFTs. I had not seen anything similar in Greece. I believe that we can build a strong community as Greece has always been, is and will be a country full of history and art.
– Which artists participate in the album? How many pieces are there and how important was the piece of art with the French Monkey creations?
The music of the album was edited by DJBenz. The album consists of 13 tracks and features more than 23 artists, with names from new comers such as Lis, Agli, Roi, KISE, Big Fof, HUGO INM etc., with some names that have a noticeable presence such as Dirty Harry , Wild, GAB, Musah & Daree, Khan Be, Sele etc. up to Mpelafon and Taki Tsan. The fact that the first rap track I listened to (as at a younger age I listened to another style of music) was by Taki Tsan and so many years later it’s time to host a track on my label, for me it is a legendary moment.
For his works French monkey and how important they played in all this I think the job speaks for itself. I am generally of the opinion that we can do everything on our own, but without partners we can do nothing. So without his creations nothing would happen.
– The challenge of creating the album for you?
Aside from the work required for the visual separately, the process did not change much, because we did not do anything more specialized with NFTs. If you want to set up something more complex and use NFTs as a medium, the process will definitely not be that simple. In this case, however, we took out the 13 visuals that accompanied the tracks (an original for each track) from an NFT copy and uploaded them for sale.
Every time you try to come up with something out of the ordinary, then they have to re-think their position. How will people get it and in general what impact does it have? If you ask me now that the project has gone up and I have moved on to the next one, I will tell you that the real challenge with NFTs is the gas fees!
– What is the purchase process?
The way to buy NFTs for the album is very simple, you basically need one Digital wallet. The most famous at the moment is MetaMask but there are many such as Coinbase Wallet, Farmatic, Kaikas etc. which with this user can connect to the respective platform where he wants to make purchases with NFTs. There are many platforms like Nifty Gateway, Foundation, SuperRare or Rarible, they all have something special, but we used OpenSea.io because it is the most widely known and user friendly, compared to the rest.
– Where do you think the NFTs universe will go? Will similar efforts be made in Greece?
For me and for her Small Music, as in addition to entrepreneurship I am also an artist, this move was made with the idea of paving the way for other artists to actively participate in the NFTs project, as we believe that in the future there is no other way to change digital art. I have already started and set up the next project which not only has to do with NFTs but will also help the Greek NFT community to organize.
You can find the “Grand Hustle” here: https://opensea.io/collection/minormusicxgrandhustle
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