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News: The NFT promise is overhyped.
Recently, a column titled ‘NFTs are overhyped but useful for a creative economy’ appeared in Mint.
The author of that article opines that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the allied technology can alleviate the work-monetization challenges.
Without NFTs, the artists and other independent content creators, are left at the mercy of online platforms.
But, the author of this article “The NFT promise is overhyped even for creative folks” has contradicting views. He has pointed out various flaws in the utility of NFTs himself.
What are the various flaws pointed out by the author?
NFTs are not plagiarism-proof. Because nothing stops counterfeits or piracy. For example, let’s say a web pirate downloads a Bhuvan Bam’s video from YouTube and circulates it on WhatsApp.
Now, BB stands to lose some ad revenue. This problem will persist even if he uploads all his videos as NFTs. While Bam may be the undisputed owner of the said video, he will not be protected from online piracy.
The argument that NFTs are a solution for independent creators seeking freedom from Big Tech is extremely weak.
Big techs earn a part of revenue generated by its users. Justifiably, they provide a range of services from streaming servers, seamless payment devices and subscriber management and more.
This is a simple function of demand and supply. So, there is nothing wrong in big tech charging content streamers.
The argument that NFTs will improve the gains of artist as it will helps creators to directly connect with their audience is false. Artists must still depend on their fame or social media clout, or spend time and effort to market their art to a prospective buyer.
NFTs need heavy upfront investments. In comparison, it takes a single free Gmail ID and about 30 seconds to set up a YouTube channel.
Finally, the adoption of NFTs has no bearing on sale prospects or prices. Mere listing of NFTs on marketplaces does not guarantee sales. The chance of an artist successfully selling NFTs at high prices still depends on the individual’s reputation and track record.
Source: This post is based on the article “The NFT promise is overhyped even for creative folks” published in Livemint on 10th Dec 2021.
