It could mean celebrities accepting people to buy their works with cryptocurrency, or being the spokespersons for cryptocurrency projects or platforms. Over the past couple of years, star has begun to launch NFTs in the name of themselves. For example, Japanese AV Diva Yua Mikami rolled out her first NFT collection featuring 28 photos on Rarible for auction, celebrating her 28th birthday.
NFT is probably a new attempt to monetize fans’ love. and the significance of this new attempt is that it redefines the relationship between celebrities and fans. To be exact, it turns fans into real ‘funders’.
But when NFT booms, things changed. Everything becomes more direct, but at the same time, subtle.
What becomes direct? The support from the buyer. Stars, idols, or other creators turn their brand projects into NFTs – first issue with eye-catching labels such as ‘limited’ or ‘unique’; then add some elements, such as ‘meeting opportunities’, ‘tickets’, and ‘exclusive testimonials’; finally put on a price tag with big number for the public to bid. He/she will sit back and wait for the highest bidding price.
Magic happens. When the outsiders (like you and me) are still wondering why the combination of these old tricks can ask for so much money, the only thing on the diehard fans’ mind is: ‘Shut up and take my MONEY!’
This is the magic of ‘love’. The outsiders and fans are evaluating the NFT with different scales: the bystander is holding a magnifying glass to assess the NFT bit by bit; but the supporters are all about their favourite idols, so the price does not matter, the support does.
This is the magic of ‘love’. The outsiders and fans are evaluating the NFT with different scales: the bystander is holding a magnifying glass to assess the NFT bit by bit; but the supporters are all about their favourite idols, so the price does not matter, the support does.
Once a NFT is successfully auctioned off at a high price, its creators can earn profits, and enjoy protection by copyright regulations. Moreover, creators can get a certain percentage of royalties after each resale of the work. In this way, a NFT work turns into a supporting mean that provides both short-term direct profits and long-term passive income for the creators.
What becomes subtle? The stance of the seller. The idea of the supporting your idols is perfect but some tactics needed to be modified. NFT, in this sense, is the perfect answer. It sugar-coats the works, whatever it is an artwork, ticket, or the player contract like NBA star does, with a layer of protection — ‘innovation’, ‘cool’, and ‘art’. It helps creators repackage the fact that they have been ‘supported’ or ‘funded’.
In addition, instead of selling the work directly, the auction gameplay helps make the ‘trading’ more implicit - though the creator knows well who the target audience are: a group of fans, or even a diehard fan who is willing to buy them all.
With NFT, the stars can easily turn their supporters into ‘funders’. Does this trick only apply to famous creators? Is ‘nobody’ destined to miss the opportunity of NFT? Of course no. Stay tuned for the next blog.