Are Nigerian artists ready for NFTs and the metaverse?(Pulse contributor's opinion)

In the future, we will wear a VR headset, listen to Afrobeat and vibe together in a 3D virtual reality world - The metaverse.

But are Nigerian artists ready for NFTs? are we prepared to step for the Metaverse?.

What Is NFT? (simplified)

NFT is the abbreviation for Non-Fungible Token, which means a 'one-of-a-kind' digital product that belongs to 'you only' on the blockchain. The blockchain is a system in which a record of transactions made in bitcoin or another cryptocurrency is maintained across several computers, linked in a peer-to-peer network.

How Nigerian artists will make money through NFTs and metaverse

On the 10th August 2021, American rapper Tory Lanez dropped an album, 'When it's dark', as an NFT. In a matter of minutes, his album sold a million copies. This development revealed the enormous potential for musicians to earn money from their records. Artists can make digital tokens of their craft and sell them to their audience. This ensures exclusivity and complete control of the artist's music and continuous revenue from song sales on the blockchain.

Are Nigerians ready to adopt NFT as a mode of music consumption?.

"NFTs will revolutionize the music industry and disrupt the record label construct" says Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia. This revolution is crucial to the Metaverse. But as long as there are viable options to simply enjoy music that the Nigerian audience only cares about, NFTs will remain an alternative. A dismissable one, to say the least.

Are Nigerians ready to step for the Metaverse?

NO! Will Nigerians ever be?, definitely!.

However, before we explore the possibility of carrying Green-White-Green into virtual reality and adopting NFT as the go-to mode of music consumption, we should ask ourselves two (2) important questions:

1)How sustainable are these innovations in a country as politically unstable as Nigeria?

A country where the government can randomly decide to turn off all social media platforms. Also, considering NFTs and Metaverse are at their genesis, there is still high scepticism on the transparency, security and know-how of this new method of music sharing.

2)What percentage of Nigerians are Blockchain literate?

Nigerian artists have ardent fanbases in the UK, US, and other countries already basking in the Metaverse. These foreign fans are ever willing to purchase NFTs of their favourite Afrobeat artists. However, the opposite is the case for Nigerian listeners back home.

Quote me, "The integration of NFTs and the Metaverse is reasonable with regards to marketing music to audiences in the diaspora, but here in Nigeria 2022, the cultural, financial, behavioural factors that will sustain this new system are not reliable".

And as long as there are viable options to simply enjoy music that the Naija audience only cares about, NFTs will remain an alternative. A dismissable one.