NFTs are perhaps the most remarkable evidence yet of the differences that have and are emerging through the digital economy; the clearest example of generational changes in thinking and behaviour.
For the most part, anyone born after 1997 sees and interacts in the digital world in completely new and different ways. Most importantly, for Generation Z there is no discernible difference between tangible goods and digital goods.
And this is at the heart of the impact that NFTs will have in the digital world.
The NFT (its nomenclature at the time of writing) enables the exchange and sale of digital assets in the emerging decentralised digital economy. Much like you may have sold any physical goods to someone, a record, film or CD for example, with NFTs you will be able to do this digitally.
In a digital world, the things you own can be as relevant, valuable, usable and tradeable as anything else.
They also offer power and opportunity to artists, creators and rights holders.
Of course, NFTs have been ridiculed. This is perhaps largely by an audience that has failed to understand the very essence of the changes we are seeing in online behaviour. Strangely enough, many of these voices are those that lived through the creation and adoption of the internet itself.
To a younger audience buying, selling and owning digital goods is perfectly natural.
So, NFTs have the opportunity to become part of everything we do, not as a substitute but as a complement.. The move to decentralised ownership of digital assets with the development of Web3, the third generation of the internet, puts the opportunity in which digital assets can be easily acquired and re-sold all under a simple Blockchain based commercial network.
Great. But it’s not the full picture. The creator, the artist and the rights holder also need to know that this is a two-way relationship. The NFT can be instantly created and sold with tools available now. With the addition of SonicKey, we are ensuring that the NFT is trackable and reportable as a unique piece of content.
SonicKey provides the much-needed insurance that the audio NFT market is desperately calling out for.
It empowers the artist and rights holder, enabling a role and a stake in the secondary market. SonicKey puts control into the hands of the artist and rights holder by unlocking an understanding of the secondary market, or in other words whether someone is selling (and benefitting) them from use of their work and copyrights.
When an audio or music NFT is re-sold the artist, creator and rights holder has full visibility of its use and movement.
SonicKey provides the layer of protection in order to ensure that the NFT is uniquely identifiable wherever it goes. By being able to discern a unique version of any song or performance or piece of audio the artist and the rights holder is empowered.
SonicData’s platform enables the artist and rights holder to encode a unique SonicKey (an unnoticeable watermark) into any content containing audio, making it individually trackable. Importantly, the use of SonicKey also enables visibility on use of a unique NFT, on any platform, including streaming, across broadcast, social media and other platforms.
The ability to identify and track use of an audio NFT, providing reportable data of any audio use on any platform, is essential for the market to develop and mature commercially.
Let’s not forget, a music NFT has restricted usage rights as part of its original sale, so being able to identify its use outside of its terms of use, such as on streaming, broadcast or video sharing sites, is incredibly valuable.
It provides a vital missing link for artists and rights holders as it enables specific and unique identification of every piece of unique content. SonicData’s tracking of broadcast and social media enables a detailed insight into the journey and use of an NFT.
As the decentralised digital economy grows, this can be a key part of the commercial ecosystem for all stakeholders.
SonicKey also supports the ability for artists and rights holders to create, distribute and manage NFTs at any point in the music’s journey. SonicKey is fast enough to support encoding in real time or at the point of delivery.
This presents a new opportunity for live concerts, festivals, events and other real-time audio content creation for use in NFT.
Any content with audio can be supported as an NFT by SonicKey including exclusive versions, mixes or edits of a song; a song from a live concert, an entire live performance, a studio vocal or band performance, personal statements, messages and other content.
SonicData’s technology is also built to be greener. SonicKey consumes 1/10th of the energy of existing music recognition technologies.
Let’s also look at what an NFT is not. It is not a market for silly prices paid for one-off items, headlines and idle investor speculation. Of course, these markets may always have their place for some, but for a wider global consumer, NFTs are an everyman product.
For us, NFTs’ place is in everyday music, gaming, entertainment content and audio creation and sharing.
The ability for music fans, creators, artists and rights holders to work, play and share together in entirely new ways is compelling.
SonicKey NFT delivers visibility to a unique NFT’s usage by providing live tracking, reporting and data collection across multiple platforms.