Youโve been cancelled {insert random Eurovision singer}. Sorry about that… it’s the NFTs.
Normally when it comes to problematic events occurring in the Eurovision world it is pretty obvious what is problematic about them. When it comes to Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), even knowing what they are is confusing. Which begs the question:
What even Are NFTs?
There are two parts to an NFT:
- A commodity or piece of media e.g. a picture or Eurovision song
- A cryptographic ‘token’, a piece of blockchain that is 100% unique
The aim of an NFT is to apply this unique piece of data to an easily replicable commodity in order to distinguish it as a unique product. NFTs are thus marketed as a way of proving your ownership of an item that you can then potentially resell down the line.
Creating NFTs
Nearly anything can be turned into an NFT. For example this picture is not an NFT, it is just an image that you can copy and paste and all the data will remain intact:
By adding unique crypto-mined data to it however, it could be transformed into an NFT. This would mean no matter how many times the exact image was replicated, there would only be one distinct commodity which had the accompanying crypto. And thus NFTs wer born.
Why Are Eurovision Artists Getting Involved?
Put simply, because the music scene is brutal and all things blockchainy are the current buzzwords for increasing revenue. Streaming is a very unreliable and unfair source of income for many smaller artists, who lose out on revenue simply because they will never get a large enough slice of the pie. Rather than have me explain it, I totally recommend you check out ABBA’s own Bjorn Ulvaeus explain the issues of streaming here, in an interview for Variety.
Theoretically, NFT’s would allow artists to sell limited runs of crypto-mined data that prove the purchaser owns a copy of their art. In the unlikely event someone also wanted to actually own the music, they would have to buy the token from someone who already owned them. But personally I just don’t see which casual consumer is really going to care about that when they could just stream or buy the album.
So Why Do NFTs Exist?
Obviously though, big industry do see potential to make money off of them. I first became aware of NFTs when they started popping up in discourse surrounding the video gaming landscape. With video games, companies are already all too happy to sell cosmetic details that add little to no gameplay as micro-transactions. These small payments quickly add up. Furthermore the consumer merely owns a license to play with the software indefinitely, with no means to resell their purchases. Cue mega-corporations, happily contemplating jumping on the idea of adding in NFT purchases to games and marketing them as ownable assets. Despite this you are merely purchasing the unique token and not actually any copyright.
The Backlash gets worse Though
As a result companies who have already started implementing this model such as Konami received widespread backlash from fans who considered the whole thing, well a bit scammy. After all, I’d argue consumers were not really receiving all that much. But even if you are deeply satisfied with what the T’s & C’s of your shiny new NFT there s a much bigger problem with them. NFTs are notorious for destroying the environment.
“Energy, Oh What You Do To Me”
To create blockchain you need to run a serious of algorithms to find unique codes. I won’t pretend to understand the in’s and out’s here of how exactly computers are used to do this BUT it can be exceedingly power hungry. Think about it, the easiest unique codes to come up with (mine) will have been solved early on. The more NFTs that are made, the more unique codes need to be mined. This involves dealing with ever more complex numbers and requires computers of increasing capabilities. Whilst some mining processes are much better for the environment than others, the sheer amount of power used to create some NFTs is a cause for concern.
Scientific Concern Vs Opportunity
In the June edition of the scientific journal Energy Research & Social Science, this very topical issue will be raised in an article looking at the ways to reduce the harm of these blockchain technologies and utilise them for good. The article called “Blockchain, climate damage, and death: Policy interventions to reduce the carbon emissions, mortality, and net-zero implications of non-fungible tokens and Bitcoin” is however maybe not exactly the catchy family-friendly image, many musicians would exactly want to be associated with. The bottom line is problems with their energy output too often persist.
“The article finds that carbon emissions as a result of NFT transactions in October 2021 alone are expected to kill 18 people, and such social costs are severely discouraging for artists and art traders.”
– Truby et al., 2022
With the struggles of the music industry to stay profitable, NFTs may well be a game-changer. Artists should however, be well aware of the full ins and outs of how their NFTs were mined and the indirect implications they could have. I am 100% sure no artist creates NFTs with the intention of destroying the planet but they can end up contributing severely to this outcome.
Fan Reception
Unfortunately, as many Eurovision artists aim to establish themselves, NFTs are pitched to them as a good way to earn a living, that will allow them to continue producing great music. Much to their surprise however many have received mixed responses ranging from “twitter cancellings” to the much more helpful educational replies. But for the contest that introduced the world to Gretha Thunberg’s mum and which to this day continues to celebrate pro-environmentalism through entries like Eat Your Salad. Is it really a surprise that the eurofandom have reacted with strong emotions?
Better Ways To Support Eurovision Artists
Personally, I cannot currently support NFTs due to the extreme strain on the planet they can cause. However, if you do want to buy one, I do understand the desire to want to support your favourites and enable them to create many more amazing songs. But I would recommend you try the following instead.
- Don’t hate on artists for selling NFTs – education is key and if they still are cool with it, that is their own personal decision to make – respect it.
- Attend concerts if you can
- Buy physical merchandise
- Buy albums – maybe even in multiple formats (vinyl, cassette, CD)
- Share and talk about your favourites on social media
- Stream their music – it’s still some revenue
Expert In NFTs And Want To Improve This Post?
Hey, I want to make this post as informative and as much of a resource as I can, so if you actually specialise in this area please drop me an e-mail at dj@escessence.com and I will amend and improve this article
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