4 Reasons Fan Engagement Just Got Supercharged Through NFTs

July 4, 2022 by Mimi Phan

A wide variety of artists, creators, and brands are using NFTs to build and expand their fan bases. NFTs are a new phenomenon – as recently as 2020, most people had still never even heard the term (which stands for “non-fungible token”). But by late 2021, NFTs were all the rage. “NFT” was even named Word of the Year for 2021 by Collins Dictionary!

The first NFT was created in 2014. Over the next few years the number of NFT projects grew rapidly. In 2017, the online game CryptoKitties (which sold tradable cat NFTs) became popular and brought NFTs more widespread public attention. 

But NFTs really exploded in popularity and relevance in 2021 when projects such as Bored Ape arrived on the scene. Several influential celebrities (including Justin Bieber, Madonna, and Snoop Dogg) spent massive amounts of money on Bored Ape NFTs. Adding to the hype, 2021 also saw several huge brands trademarked for NFTs and a number of high-profile NFT sales at art auctions that left the general public equal parts intrigued, confused, appalled, and fascinated!

Today, artists and brands of all levels of fame and influence are using NFTs to supercharge fan engagement. The NFT space is still so new that there are no rules and innovation is rampant. It’s an exciting space that’s full of potential. Today, we’ll talk more about the various reasons fan engagement just got supercharged through NFTs.

What Are NFTs In Entertainment?

A non-fungible token, or NFT, is a unique digital asset that is stored on a blockchain. Most NFTs are stored on the Ethereum blockchain. 

A non-fungible object is a unique object that is not interchangeable with other objects (a Bitcoin is fungible, meaning it is interchangeable with other bitcoins). A non-fungible object can be bought and sold, but it cannot be swapped for an identical object. This means that NFTs must be bought and sold using a medium of exchange. This medium of exchange could be dollars or a cryptocurrency such as Ether or Bitcoin.

Each NFT is identifiable by its unique identification codes and metadata. The owner of an NFT is recorded in the blockchain, which means that NFTs can be bought and sold there. NFTs usually contain references to digital files such as audio, video, and photos. This means that they’re well suited to becoming promotional tools that help to build fan engagement in the entertainment industry. 

Why Are NFTs Hyped? Let’s Check The Receipts From The Top-Selling Projects…

NFTs are such a big deal because they have been helping brands and artists of all levels of fame to build loyal, passionate fan bases. More and more artists and creators are supercharging fan engagement using NFTs. 

Casting a curious eye over a few of the headline-grabbing sums that NFTs have garnered over the past few years, it’s easy to understand why people are desperate to get in on the action. The eye-watering sums of money being spent on NFTs has also added to their general hype!  

Coming straight out of the gate, PAK’s ‘The Merge’ sold for $91.8m on Nifty Gateway back in December 2021, the largest sum ever sold publicly by a living artist for NFT artwork. 

Trailing behind PAK but still fetching a price tag that could buy you a small island or two, Beeple’s Everydays – The First 5000 Days project sold for $69.3 million and brought NFT mania to the mainstream. Beeple later sold the climate-awareness artwork Ocean Front to  Justin Sun, the founder and CEO of the Tron Foundation, for a casual 6 mil. 

CryptoPunks aren’t short of a dime or two either, as these NFT veterans (launched by Larva Labs in 2017, it’s all relative) sold CryptoPunk #5822 8000 ETH – around $23.7 million at the time – back in February 2022.

Although these sums may seem overly substantial to some, if NFTs really are becoming a veritable tidal wave in the industry of entertainment and finance, PAK and Beeple’s paydays may just be drops in a wild and raging ocean.

How Are NFTs Being Used In Entertainment?

How actors are using NFTs, how indie directors are using NFTs, and how musicians are using NFTs is somewhat different to how digital artists are using NFTs. 

As we just mentioned, digital artists such as Beeple can create pieces of art and sell them as NFTs for massive sums. Actors, directors, and musicians can and do sell NFT art as well, but they also sell NFTs to fund their projects and build more interactive fanbases. 

Huge Hollywood players are climbing aboard the NFT train; Warner Bros. are releasing Tweety into the NFT wilds via Nifty’s while Madonna is baring all once again with an NFT collection on SuperRare that features a 3D model of her vagina. No stranger to controversy, Johnny Depp is capitalizing on his recent court victory with his Never Fear Truth (see what he did there?!) project on OpenSea. Boxing fans are getting ready to scream, “Adrian!” as Sylvestor Stallone straps on his NFT gloves and prepares his PlanetSLY community to start selling SlyGUY NFTs in June 2022

Over on the rock stage, musicians such as American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold are releasing NFT collections that give holders access to an exclusive fan community. Movie directors, such as Julie Pacino, are selling collections of NFTs to fund their next film. So can short films be NFTs themselves? Absolutely. So can full-length films – Kevin Smith’s new movie, Killroy Was Here, is being sold exclusively through 5,555 NFT copies. 

Phew. We’ve covered a fair bit of ground as to why NFTs are enabling increased fan engagement with artists, musicians, filmmakers, and creators of all types. So let’s round it up by looking at the four top reasons fan engagement just got supercharged through NFTs…

1. NFTs Enable Fans To Fund The Creation Of Art They Love

Artists and creators have been using the proceeds from NFT sales to fund their work. This supercharges fan engagement by enabling fans to directly support the creation of art they love. 

2. NFTs Allow Artists To Reward Their Most Passionate Fans With Special Privileges

Because NFTs are unique, artists can sell different NFTs for different prices. Many artists sell them in a tiered pricing system in which each different tier gets specific attached perks, such as special access to online communities and even in-person meetups.

3. NFTs Can Be A Badge Of Affiliation With A Particular Online Community

People love to feel a part of something special and exclusive. NFTs can supercharge fan engagement by giving fans a badge they can “wear” online to affiliate them with the community of an artist they love and help them connect with likeminded people.

4. NFTs Give Fans A Financial Stake In An Artist’s Success

Since NFTs are unique, their price goes up and down relative to how ‘in demand’ they are. If a fan buys an artist’s NFT and the artist becomes more successful, there is a good chance the NFT will become more valuable. This means that fans essentially have a financial stake in the artist’s future.

It sure is a brave new world…and the best thing? Anyone with an internet connection can be a part of it.

Featured image by ktphotography on Pixabay