Musicians Grow Brands with NFTs
Music has always been a competitive business, with thousands of musicians fighting to attract new fans and maintain a loyal fanbase. Competition is especially fierce in the post-pandemic world, as musicians feverishly book shows and introduce new works. These days, it is not enough for a musician to define themselves simply by their genre, skills, or moniker – artists need to create new ways to connect with their audience and grow their brands. For many musicians, NFTs are the key to expanding and strengthening their brand and their fanbase.
Branding
Establishing a brand is essential for just about everyone in business, from giant corporations to the Main Street mom-and-pop shop. Branding is also important to musicians of every level, as a brand identity allows for a deeper connection between musicians and their fans. A brand can be anything from how musicians look on stage to how they interact with fans. To be effective, brands are simple, unique and easy to identify quickly, and they should trigger emotions that resonate with the target audience.
Musicians have historically built their brands through the genre they played, catchy band names, unique clothing and hairstyles, and spectacular backdrops. Some, such as Bob Dylan and Woodie Guthrie, grew their brands through political discourse. More recently, Katy Perry built a brand around her glamorous, flamboyant style and Houston rapper Travis Scott is known for his hyperkinetic live shoes. Most of these brands were built the old-fashioned way through years of concerts, videos, and interviews.
A few of the most forward-thinking musicians have seized the branding power of NFTs. In 2021, for example, Kings of Leon became the first band to release an album as an NFT. The tokens they offered unlocked special perks, such as front row seats at future concerts and limited-edition vinyl. Justin David Blau, commonly known by his onstage name 3LAU, earned more $11 million by selling music NFTs that same year. Using NFTs allowed musicians to reach their fans in a creative new way.
What are NFTs?
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are among the newest – and most effective – ways musicians can grow their brands. Non-fungible means an item is unique and cannot be replaced with something else. The token acts as undeniable proof of ownership and certificate of authenticity. Musicians can issue NFTs that fans can use to acquire songs, albums, lyrics, sound bites, concert tickets, and access to fan clubs or special livestream performances. Whoever acquires the NFT will own it forever and can use it any way they want.
NFTs are a type of digital asset that are stored on a shared database, known as a blockchain. While blockchains may seem confusing at first, they are simply a way to record and share information on computers. Anyone with access to the blockchain can see the transaction, which makes it easy to verify the transaction. Nobody can change or delete the information on the database, so it is secure and permanent.
Why should musicians care about NFTs?
For decades, distributors exerted a great amount of control over musicians, branding, and revenue, which often put artists at a great disadvantage. Blockchain technology helps artists level the playing field by allowing musicians to go around the large distribution platforms. Without middlemen, artists receive all or nearly all of their revenue streams and exercise greater control over brand management.
At a deeper level, the transaction does much more than just make the artist money – NFTs can also help musicians expand their brand to all types of fans, from first-time listeners to hardcore fans, by offering different levels of tokens. The transactions can also help artists identify new fans, loyal followers, influencers and big spenders.
Why are NFTs attractive to music fans?
Music fans love to connect with their favorite artists, and they often do so by purchasing music, concert tickets, and merchandise. Some fans buy albums and merch to support their favorite artists, for example, especially in the early stages of the musicians’ career. Concert goers often buy t-shirts as souvenirs, and members of a loyal fan base are always eager to get their favorite musicians’ newest releases. True fans crave exclusive memorabilia and are willing to go to great lengths (and expense) to get a one-of-a-kind, verifiable piece of art created by the musician.
NFTs provide fans with exclusive access to concert tickets, special access and private NFT holders-only performances, livestream shows and interviews, and limited-edition albums. Because it is coming from the artist themselves rather than from a distributor, the NFT fosters a much stronger relationship between the artist and the fan.
Relatively easy to create, NFTs allow musicians to cultivate a larger fanbase and grow their brands in new and exciting ways.
ABOUT FRANK MAGLIOCHETTI
Frank Magliochetti owes his professional success to his expertise in two areas: medicine and finance. After obtaining a BS in pharmacy from Northeastern University, he stayed on to enroll in the Masters of Toxicology program. He later specialized in corporate finance, receiving an MBA from The Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University. His educational background includes completion of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and the General Management Program at Stanford Business School. Frank Magliochetti has held senior positions at Baxter International, Kontron Instruments, Haemonetics Corporation, and Sandoz. Since 2000, he has been a managing partner at Parcae Capital, where he focuses on financial restructuring and interim management services for companies in the healthcare, media, and alternative energy industries. Last year, he was appointed chairman of the board at Grace Health Technology, a company providing an enterprise solution for the laboratory environment.
Frank is the CEO of ClickStream, ClickStream’s business operations are focused on the development and implementation of apps that disrupt such as WinQuik™, a free to play synchronized mobile app and digital gaming platform. The platform is designed to enable WinQuik™ users to have fun, interact and compete against each other in order to win real money and prizes. Twitter at @ClickstreamC @WinQuikApp, Nifter™, a music NFT marketplace that allows recording artists to create and sell limited edition authenticated NFTs, and their ever expanding foreign language exchange social learning app @HeyPalApp. ClickStream is also entering the E-Learning market with Joey’s Animal Kingdom- please visit them online at wowee.world
Frank was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Designer Genomics International, Inc. The Company has accumulated a growing body of evidence that highlights a link between alterations in the immune and inflammatory systems and the development of chronic human disease. The Company is visionary and has established itself as a leader in the field of inflammatory and immune genetic DNA and RNA biomarkers that play a causative role in debilitating conditions, such as atherosclerosis/heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and cancer.
A proprietary state-of-the art data mining bioinformatics program, called ‘cluster analysis’ will be used to measure disease development susceptibility with potential for earlier diagnosis and intervention. The company is developing a healthcare program based on its proprietary genetic panels that will allow people to be their own healthcare advocate and take an active role in their health status as well as longevity.
Frank is a highly sought after multifaceted senior C level executive.
Mr. Frank Magliochetti MBA
Managing Partner Parcae Capital
www.parcaecapitalcorp.com
www.frankmagliochetti.com