NFTs safeguard the original work of the artists. Is this the way forward for creators to sell art in a protected environment

By Prashant Rai

The global rise in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has not only safeguarded the work of artists but safeguarded the artists themselves and their livelihoods with it. The concept of authentic digital ownership has provided a lifeline to the concept of the struggling artist, allowing them to protect, monetize and receive the due recognition for their work.

Thanks to NFTs, for the first time, artists now have direct ownership of their customer base.

They have the previously unafforded luxury of deciding if they want to charge royalties on their work and collect its full value, all while cutting out the middlemen and going straight to the end user.

There are some platforms that bypass creator royalties; however, it can be argued that these are extractive and out of touch with what makes the web3 community special. Royalties are an effective way of aligning incentives between creators and collectors to grow NFT projects and communities together. Bypassing royalties damages an important revenue stream to the creator community.

Crucially, artists now also find themselves in a position where they’re able to release art on their own schedule and crucially, within their own ecosystem. This could be across websites, virtual galleries, newsletters, and other digital platforms, giving them total control of their brand experience for the first time.

The Metaplex platform for example, which is part of the chosen ecosystem for so many, has over 5.9 million unique collectors. These collectors now have direct access to artworks from creators and vice versa, putting more money into the pockets of artists around the world and contributing huge amounts of money to global art sales.

Despite the constant news of market volatility in the NFT and crypto space, Metaplex, the world’s biggest NFT platform has continued to disprove the notion that this is a trend on a downward spiral. Since it was founded just over a year ago, it has generated $3 billion in primary and secondary sales, minting 20 million NFTs in the process. In September this year, Metaplex minted 312,000 NFTs in one day, breaking the previous record for both the platform and NFTs.

The author is the Chief financial officer (CFO) of Metaplex, an NFT creator platform