NFTs hot topic of discussion amongst musicians and industry experts

The billion-dollar music industry has shown recent interest in nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as musicians everywhere are beginning to understand the power of moving away from centralized business models. 

This concept is currently being demonstrated by early innovators like the popular rapper Snoop Dogg, who recently acquired Death Row Records with plans to transform the company into the first NFT recording label in the Metaverse. Country music icon Dolly Parton also recently launched her first NFT collection dubbed “Dollyverse,” which consists of tokenized artwork and music as part of a promo for her album Run, Rose, Run. 

NFTs: A topic of discussion during the 2022 Grammy Awards

While notable, the intersection of music and NFTs was brought to fruition during the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, which took place on April 3, 2022, at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The Grammys may very well be one of the most important events for the United States music industry, as a series of awards presented by the Recording Academy are given to recognize outstanding achievements within the music sector. 

Given the rise of NFTs, nonfungible tokens were hot topics of discussion during the 2022 Grammy Awards. Trevor Noah, comedian and host of the 2022 Grammy Awards, joked mid-way through the event, “You know it’s been rough when your favorite artists go from trying to sell you music to pictures of digital monkeys.” The remark was referencing the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection. But, NFTs proved to be more than just a chuckle during the Grammys this year, as industry experts expressed interest in nonfungible token use cases. 

Cointelegraph made it to the red carpet at the #Grammys!@Rachelwolf00 and @BY_DeFi are excited to talk #NFTs with all the artists.

Coverage coming soon pic.twitter.com/AG7lzsGZC3

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) April 3, 2022

For example, Tia Smith, Grammy governor and co-chair of the Music Video Committee, DC Chapter and the owner/executive producer and director of talentedSOL productions, told Cointelegraph that she is interested in learning more about NFTs and what they mean for the creative community as a whole:

“NFTs seem like a very viable form of expression and commerce. There have been so many different industries adopting NFTs, and I’m very interested in creating content and forming partnerships to create NFT artwork as an extension of music, television and film.” 

Smith added that her wheelhouse is film and television production, noting that this particular industry has undergone a number of transitions over the years. “We’ve seen the inception of film, video, digital, high-definition and so forth. But, there are other ways music and aspects of art are thriving, so I’m very much interested in the evolution of film and NFTs,” she remarked.

While the NFT sector is still an emerging concept for music industry experts, Smith shared that she can understand how nonfungible tokens could soon be incorporated into major live shows such as the Grammy Awards moving forward. “We are living in the age of intellectual property and this is just another extension of this,” she said. 

It’s also notable that a few mainstream musicians decided to launch NFT collections during the Grammys this year. For example, the American rapper and record producer Gerald Earl Gillum, also known by his stage name “G-Eazy,” told Cointelegraph that he was extremely excited and honored to launch his first NFT collection at the Grammys this year. Known as “The Geralds,” this collection was created by the graphic designer Dzanar and launched on the NFT music platform built on Tezos’ OneOf NFT platform. G-Eazy explained that this drop features 10 unique 3D-NFT avatars that represent his diverse personality:

“Anyone who knows me would say I’m an eclectic person with different interests and hobbies. So there are different avatars in this collection to represent that. For example, there is the ‘snowboarded G’ who loves the mountains and there’s a black leather jacket G with slicked-back hair who gets on stage to perform.” 

While “The Geralds” collection is certainly unique, it’s important to point out that G-Eazy may be the first artist to showcase an NFT collection at The Grammys. G-Eazy elaborated that this was important for him, given the pace of innovation today. “You have to pay attention to what’s going on, and this is where the world is now,” he commented. G-Eazy added that he has always been a big believer in art not being limited to one medium, noting that both of his parents are visual art professors. “I grew up appreciating many different forms of art and I think this is all cross-compatible with various industries.” 

In addition to G-Eazy’s NFT collection being launched during the 2022 Grammys, Colin Fitzpatrick, CEO of Animal…