# Are NFTs inclusive?

**Published by:** [alex](https://paragraph.com/@alexpickr/)
**Published on:** 2022-12-05
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@alexpickr/are-nfts-inclusive

## Content

After multiple conversations on Twitter where myself and the community tried to answer some complex questions, one came to mind: Are we penalising fans who don't buy NFTs? In today’s post, I'll be diving into some potential questions that I feel need answering before we can really improve fan adoption. Why should fans collect music NFTs? Before I start, I want to point out how reassuring it is to see musicians trying things out. We all know music NFTs haven’t reached their peak yet and now is the time to break things, make mistakes, and do things nobody else is doing. Considering a number of musicians are breaking rules and innovating, we should analyse why fans would collect music NFTs. Whenever I propose this question, the top two answers are: to own a unique piece of music to support the artist Let's unpack these two arguments. “I'm a fan and I want to own a unique piece of music” This is fair enough. Collecting art, music, comics... has been part of our culture for many years. I still have some of my early Marvel comics, my first festival ticket, the first Oasis album I bought (after queuing up for hours outside the record store). I do agree that there are certain items I personally collect that hold sentimental value and that have become part of my identity. Now, using the "uniqueness" aspect of NFTs as a selling point seems counterproductive when it comes to music. Why? Because most (if not all) musicians still release those same songs on streaming services - making the supply of the song itself unlimited. Does the "uniqueness" of the music NFT lay on the artwork? If so, shouldn't the term be "NFTs WITH music" instead of "music NFTs"? “I buy music NFTs to support musicians' careers” This is a great way to become part of an artist's career. Those fans who really bet for the underdog, that attend live shows when the artist is playing at 50-cap venues, and buy their music when they're still at a grassroots level are the fans that every artist deserves. The search for superfans has always been one that every artist, manager, label... has embarked themselves on and once those fans are found, one is really in the right path. It is also important to understand the buyers' mindsets. While some people do buy items to support a brand, artist, project... we need to ask ourselves how scalable that is. At the end of the day, we all do things with selfish motives. We want something that's good for us. Let me explain. As a music fan, I cannot help but be interested in buying music that I truly love, or go to shows that I know I'll leave speechless, with a mad headache and no voice the morning after. Like me, many want the same: something that makes them experience, own, or be part of something valuable. I agree the market is still small for music NFTs, and there’s a lot of room for growth. My question still is: if the reason for a someone to buy a music NFT is just to support an artist: how long can that last? Are we penalising fans who do not collect NFTs? I've asked this question a number of times in different ways. The purpose of this question is to put on our thinking hats and be able to find the true value for music NFTs. To illustrate what I mean by this question, let's use a hypothetical artist as an example. Axl Tyler is a rock singer. He sells merch that's available at his shows & website. The average price for each vinyl is $30 and each hoodie is $20. He also sells music NFTs for $20 a piece. As a touring artist, Axl sells hoodies and vinyls during his shows (which tickets are $20 each). That means an average fan who attends Axl's shows will spend at least $40 - that's considering that fan didn't take a date, a sibling, or simply invited his friend just to be nice. For the purpose of this example, let's call this fan: Jane. Once Jane leaves the show, she’ll have $40 worth of "investment" or "expenses" that will probably never recoup. But the experience was great so she’s happy. A different fan of Axl's never goes to his shows (Tarzan). The one thing they did to engage with Axl was to buy a $20 NFT. With this NFT, Tarzan can access exclusive content, early access to music, demos, and be eligible for free NFT airdrops that they can resale for a profit too! Not just that, Tarzan can also book a 1-2-1 zoom call with Axl and even get discount to merch & show tickets. Surely, Jane would also like to get a discount on the next show, or a cheaper t-shirt next time she attends a Axl’s concerts. But it seems that unless she buys a piece of digital art (that she might not have heard of, or is not ready to buy due to a variety of reasons) she's out of that cool-kids-club that gets all the discounts and close contact with the artist. The above story is obviously hypothetical, and hopefully won’t be be seen as biased. However, it is important to understand that technology should support the inclusion of fans, and from what I have seen so far, it's being used to build a group of VIP fans so-called "early supporters" while fans who might have attended shows & bought merch seem to be kept on the sidelines. Are music NFTs all about the utility? This is a question that has received polar opposite answers. Those who say "Yes" argue NFTs are a key into an artist's world. Owning a music NFT grants you access to a community, and a set of perks that are only possible by proving ownership of an asset. Those who say "No" argue the utility is the art itself. That music should be collected for the purpose of personal enjoyment and we should go back to basics. NFTs are collectibles and the value is based on the quality of the song & the growth of the artist - after which one can sell at a profit. I do have some reservations about the "if the artist becomes big, the NFT will be worth more" argument and you can read more about it here. Is collecting music NFTs the goal? I still remember when I bought my first album on iTunes. It was Evanescence's The Open Door. I was a pretty late adopter of mp3 purchases and shortly after I started listening to music on YouTube. Spotify then came along and I never bought mp3s again. Just like me, many others did the same. While there are still fans buying music in the form of vinyl, CDs, and even cassettes!, those are very few compared to those who stream albums on repeat. Whether this is due to cost or convenience, the truth is that most fans choose to stream music. That being said, will fans continue collecting music NFTs? If so, would they collect NFTs if they’re more expensive than their monthly streaming subscription? Why? To support an artist? Or for the perks? As you can see, we've come up to a full circle - the questions come back again and it seems nobody has a definite answer. One thing is clear: unless the access, storage and enjoyment of music improves, the growth of the music NFTs market will be slower than we’d like it to be. Do we really need a definition for everything? Not everything. At least in my opinion. However, "music NFTs can be everything you imagine" seems like a pretty vague argument. NFTs are still in their infancy, and I don't think anybody has won the right to be a thought leader to respond to all these questions with the authority and trust one must have. The one thing I think is important is to define what NFTs mean to artists and their fans. And if we're offering "VIP membership" to fans at a lower price than physical merch, we do have to ensure those fans who still support the artist but don’t buy NFTs are not forgotten. Otherwise, the longevity of NFTs will be doomed to offer access to a very limited number of fans. Let's take this opportunity to really think about why we're selling NFTs, what the value is, and how we can make them really inclusive for everyone.

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