Written by Cassie, 2021 Cohort
On March 11, 2021, a JPG file of artwork titled “Everydays: The First 5000 Days’ ‘ made by Mike Winkelman who is a well-known digital artist, sold for $69,346,250. This price is a new world auction record for pure digital artwork in the form of a non-fungible token (Dezzen, 2021).
What was the trigger?
“Artists have been using hardware and software to create artwork and distribute it on the internet for the last 20 plus years but there was never a real way to truly own and collect it,” said Mike Winkelmann (Dezzen, 2021). Therefore, protecting their creations from copyright infringement is one of the biggest challenges they are now facing. Collectors can buy physical art for collection, sale and profit, but what about digital art? However, the emergence of the non-fungible token (NFT) has brought more possibilities to the world.
So what is a non-fungible token(NFT)?
Non-fungible token (NFT) is an irreplaceable and unique virtual digital asset, such as artwork, music, photos, games, video works of all kinds, etc. More importantly, NFT provides “ownership of digital assets”, which can prove the authenticity of digital artwork and eliminate the problem of counterfeiting and fraud (Ethereum, 2021).
It is noticeable that the collector buys ownership of the work rather than the copyright, so the artwork can still be copied and shared. At the same time, purchasers are not able to use it commercially to earn income. As a result, the question arises, since the NFT digital artworks that collectors buy at a high price can be copied and shared, how can they effectively make a profit for the artist?
What can people do after buying NFT?
Giving a simple example, no matter how many times people copy and share the Mona Lisa’s portrait, a digital copy is not worth much. That is why many collectors are willing to buy original paintings for large amounts. Collectors with ownership of artworks can wait for the collection to appreciate and then sell it on a secondary market, or, of course, rent it out for exhibitions. In addition, artists can also attach royalty agreements to their NFTs. In this case, they are entitled to get a percentage of the profits for each transfer of the artwork, thereby maintaining their income. Hence, an increasing number of artists are choosing to release their works as NFTs for sale.
Is NFT the future or a mere promise?
Personally, my first instinct for people who spend a lot of money on NFT art is to think that they are either too rich or just plain ignorant, but is that really the case?
In the digital era, young people are used to paying for virtual things, we pay for games, VIP accounts, etc. This shows that practicality is no longer important, fun and that spirituality may be more important than materiality. NFT is not useful, but I believe NFT will lead to a huge market in the digital world.
Reference:
Dezeen, 2021. Jpeg file by digital artist Beeple sells for over $69 million at NFT auction. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2021/03/12/beeple-everydays-nft-christies-auction/ [Accessed 2 October 2021].
Ethereum, 2021, Non-fungible tokens (NFT) Available at: https://ethereum.org/en/nft/ [Accessed 2 October 2021].