NFTs are nothing new to Steve Aoki. Aoki has been involved in the NFT area as a musician for a few years and wants to see these unique assets alter the music industry. Steve Aoki says he made more money from NFTs than from 10 years of music advances
Steve Aoki says he made more money from NFTs
Gala Games and its newest branch, Gala Music, are also favorites of Aoki. On February 10, he presented the keynote address at a private Gala Music event at the Forum in Inglewood, California, which opened with one-on-one Q&As.
Sarah Buxton, Gala Games’ COO, spoke about gaming and music, followed by BT, an electronic artist who discussed his Orbs NFTs, which were released on Monday. The Orbs sparked debate in the NFT world over the weekend due to their high beginning price—11.1 ETH each (about $32,000)—although the price will gradually decrease until all of them are sold.
Following the one-on-one interviews, H.E.R., BT, Kings of Leon, 3lau, and Aoki himself performed live.
Aoki described himself as a “futurist” in his opening Q&A. He believes that NFTs will completely change the music industry, which currently pays artists a pittance in royalties. According to Aoki, his live DJ engagements account for roughly 95 percent of his music earnings.
NFTs are one-of-a-kind tokens that can be used to signify ownership of an image, a piece of music, or even a physical asset on a blockchain like Ethereum or Solana. Within the last year, the market for NFTs has skyrocketed, and it is now a multibillion-dollar industry.
“If I didn’t have DJing, I’d…” He answered, “I’d have to get a job,” which drew laughter from the audience.
Royalties aren’t worth thinking about under the existing economic setup, according to Aoki, but innovations do aid artists slightly.
“However, if I were to actually break it down, in the ten years I’ve been creating music… six albums, and you [combine] all those advances, I made more money in one drop last year in NFTs.” “I was also considerably more unhinged with music,” Aoki explained. He believes that one of the reasons NFTs are so interesting is their reliance on the communities that sprout up to support them. That’s fantastic news for Aoki, because many musicians have devoted fans.
He referenced BTS as an example but omitted to mention the backlash that the Korean pop artists received after declaring their NFTs.
“As music NFTs become a bigger part of how we integrate and support artists,” Aoki added, “labels will have to do more than just put the song on a playlist.” Aoki is both a maker and a collector. He not only owns a number of NFTs from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), but he’s also worked on an NFT marketplace in Solana. He’s currently establishing Aokiverse, an NFT-based membership club that will “coexist with the real world.”
Aoki defines Web3 as “ownership,” which includes “ownership of your data.” He believes that as technology advances, the days of Facebook and Instagram storing user data will go away, and the internet will become a tool for individuals to empower themselves.
“There will be a new version,” he added, “where we will reveal what we own, and that will be a part of who we are.”
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