Aoki explains the popularity of NFTs due to their reliance upon the communities that spring up and support them. Besides, NFTs are beneficial for artists as they offer the opportunity to directly sell work to fans without relying on distributors and publishers.
The list of celebrities dealing with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is constantly growing. One of those supporting NFTs is Steve Aoki, an electro house musician, record producer, DJ, and music executive. Being in the NFT space for a few years, the musician believes that NFTs will transform the music industry. Recently, Steve Aoki revealed that he has made more money from NFTs than from 10 successful years on the stage, which proves that NFTs can be more profitable for musicians than music advances.
According to Steve Aoki, his live DJ gigs probably make up 95% of his music income. Usually, the income in the industry consists of royalties and advances. Royalties are almost nothing, but advances can help artists. However, as practice shows, the NFTs market is now a multi-billion-dollar industry, and if Steve Aoki had to quit DJ-ing, he would know what to do.
Delivering a speech at a private Gala Music event, the latest offshoot of Gala Games, Steve Aoki said:
“In the 10 years I’ve been making music… six albums, and you [combine] all those advances, what I did in one drop last year in NFTs, I made more money. And also, I was way more unhinged with music.”
“As music NFTs become more of a part of how we integrate and support artists, the labels will have to do more than just add the song on a playlist,” added he.
Aoki explains the popularity of NFTs due to their reliance upon the communities that spring up and support them. Besides, NFTs are beneficial for artists as they offer the opportunity to directly sell work to fans without relying on distributors and publishers. Therefore, we can expect the music industry’s dependence on record label contracts to be revolutionized.
Steve Aoki’s Contribution to NFTs Development
Aoki has been in the NFTs space since March 2021. Back then, he released a collection of NFTs on Nifty Gateway. It featured an animation accompanied by a segment of Aoki-style electronic music. Notably, that art collection made over $4 million in the sale, with $888,888.88 paid for a single NFT by former T-Mobile boss John Legere.
Recently, Steve Aoki launched A0K1VERSE, an Ethereum-based NFT-led membership community. The platform is described as “a new ecosystem bridging real-world experiences with web2 and web3 by rewarding NFT collectors and creating new experiences for members” built as a “tokenized social club”.
The musician is not only the creator but also the collector of NFTs. He owns a number of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs, as well as NFTs on a Solana-based NFT marketplace.
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