I first heard of NFTs last year, when Beeple’s “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” was sold for $69 million. I couldn’t understand why someone would pay so much for a digital image, or as we all know them, a.jpeg, when I first heard the news. My curiosity was piqued, and I was eager to learn more about this new technology that was gaining popularity ( even if we are still early, we can see progression, especially at the start of 2022 ). I fully understand what NFTs are and how they can and will revolutionize the world after spending many hours watching videos, reading news, and blogs about them. My mind was flooded with ideas and thoughts about how this ground-breaking technology will alter a range of industries after I understood they were genuinely a digital token that signifies digital ownership. I initially confused them for .jpegs and didn’t see any future utility for them. Despite my ambition to work in several fields, I have decided to focus on and create in the two that I am most passionate about fashion and music.
With this article, I want to give my thoughts on how I see these two cultures evolving in the new NFT world. Let’s get this party started:
Streetwear
I’ve been active and involved in this culture for some years, and when I first learned about NFTs in 2021 and finally understood them, I saw the incredible benefits that this technology can bring to this culture and how it can move it forward. Streetwear is a way of life. It’s a means of expressing yourself, making meaningful clothing, and building communities. Communities are at the forefront of the streetwear movement. Without a community, it will go to zero, just like any other industry. Few people realize this and are more concerned with earnings than with their people. Which, in my opinion, is a dreadful thing.
Take, for example, The Hundreds, a legendary streetwear brand that has been around for over 18 years. Why? Because they’ve always valued their community over money and other concerns. They have one of the largest, most powerful, and united communities in the world. Every business owner wishes for a community similar to their own. Trust me.
The fashion industry was changed by streetwear. Every brand, including luxury, now has its category dedicated to this culture. I feel that NFTs will do to fashion what streetwear did to it. They are going to revolutionize the industry. Digital Fashion is going to be massive. Because of them, scarcity and exclusivity will reach new heights. Communities will become more involved, committed, and better rewarded for their contributions. Please allow me to clarify.
Even though I believe that 2022 will be the year of Digital Fashion, I feel that it will become a large industry in the next few years. We’ve been surrounded by it for a while. We’ve been using it for a long time, but we’re unlikely to have given it any attention if we didn’t understand the concept. Take video games for example. People are willing to pay a specific amount of money for an in-game skin that improves their appearance, provides power-ups or adds other in-game features. With all the discussion about the metaverse, it’s the next logical huge thing that’s about to happen. Why? Because, just like in games, we’d like to show off the nicest outfits we can in this virtual environment. I feel that people express themselves through clothing, sneakers, and other fashion items. The attire reflects their passions, feelings, and other emotions. In the virtual world, the same principles will apply. Digital Fashion, on the other hand, has no bounds. Everything may be turned into a piece of clothing and worn. Wear your favorite pair of sneakers or jacket and decorate it with anything that comes to your mind, such as flames, wings, or other ornaments. Isn’t that incredible? In a previous piece, I discussed Digital Fashion and why I believe 2022 will be its year.
To continue, I’ll show you an example of a streetwear brand’s NFT project that fits in well with the previous examples. I’m referring to The Hundreds’ NFT project, Adam Bomb Squad (or ABS) ( You can read more about it in my latest article ). If you have one of the Bombs, you’ll get free T-shirts, early access to new releases, “allow-listing” for future NFT projects, and other promotional products, among other things. This will only benefit their community. The Hundreds are rewarding their fans for being faithful followers for a long period with this project. You may now argue that a bomb is expensive and that there is no reason to give it away for free. For those who believe this, I have a question for you: Have you ever paid $300 (converted to the current market — 0.1 ETH — This was the mint price for ABS) for a T-shirt or other item of clothing and gotten nothing in return? Consider this: you could spend $300 on a.jpeg (yep, an image) and instantly join a larger community, connect, grow, receive opportunities, and, on top of that, you could earn money from the purchase. It will be a valuable asset and investment. Consider all of the freebies and possibilities available through ABS from The Hundreds. They’re much above $300 in value. That is something I can assure you of. Exclusiveness and scarcity are created as a result of this. This phenomenon, which is common in streetwear, will reach a new level.
Communities will grow and people will become more engaged as a result of this. Consider that their idea was purchased not just by fans of The Hundreds, but also by NFT enthusiasts who noticed the project and, after conducting the necessary study, saw its potential and invested in it. These folks were introduced to The Hundreds and streetwear through ABS, and some of them would bring others on board. This means that the community expands and the culture progresses.
NFTs have the potential to add a lot to this movement and signal an important turning point in its history. The evolution of streetwear is possible, as is one of the cultures. I’m always saying that NFTs and streetwear have a lot of things in common and can learn from one another. Streetwear can learn from NFTs’ decentralization, while NFTs can benefit from streetwear’s art of collaboration. I am confident that, in addition to the examples I provided, more new things and applications will emerge in streetwear, pushing it forward.
Music
The year 2022 is when I feel the music industry will change, in my perspective. As more people become aware of NFTs, artists who are attracted by the technology yet want to learn more about it will undoubtedly recognize an opportunity and take action.
Music labels have long held control and the majority of the money. Every time an artist-generated revenue, the label received the majority of it. Everything was and continues to be governed by labels. Small artists, even if they have a small fan base, will never reach or have a slim possibility of attracting the notice of a record label. Artists are unable to reward their followers in the way they would like. I’m sure that other artists have asked themselves the same question as I did when I chose to take a break till I figured out how to accomplish it. Because of this revolutionary technology, known as NFTs, all of these things will alter.
Music NFTs came to my attention for the first time in May or June of last year. I didn’t give them much attention at first since I was so focused on fashion and other things, even though something clicked in my head whenever I read or heard the terms music and NFTs in the same sentence. In the last few weeks, I’ve decided that it’s now time to commit some time to research and learn more about this subject. I predicted that NFTs would transform a variety of industries, but I believe that by 2022, Music NFTs will have gained traction and become major.
Artists can finally make the money they deserve and earn from a track even when it is resold on the secondary market by a fan. How? By selling the NFT track on the secondary market and through NFT royalties, which is the aspect of NFTs that intrigues me the most and that I like even more.
Now, let me give you an example of how royalties work in practice:
I recently released a song and made it available on one of the Web3 providers. I’ve put the price at $100, with a 5% royalty. This means that 5% of each secondary sale will go to me. Alex from the United States admires my work and purchases the tune. I only got $100 this time. After some time, he decides to sell it for $200. He obtains $200 after selling it to Julia, and I receive $10 as a royalty. Then Julia sells it for $250 I get $12,5, and so on. Is it clear where I’m headed with this?
The artist will provide the owners early access to future releases, exclusive collaborations or merch, access to other NFT projects, and other advantages. They can do for the owners what The Hundreds are doing through ABS. Isn’t it incredible? You pay a few dollars or hundreds of dollars for a track, and then you have the opportunity to profit from it, either financially or through the benefits that come with owning it. Isn’t it fantastic? I love it!
Another aspect of Music NFTs that I admire is that it has finally arrived at a point where artists no longer require the services of a record label. They can finally be independent. Being self-employed rather than being signed to a label allows them to earn and give back more if they do things properly. Smaller musicians will now be able to profit from their work. You might wonder how this is feasible if their community is small and they don’t have a large number of listeners.
Let me give you an example from one of Rac’s (Grammy Award Winner Artist) Tweets, in which he claims that one NFT drop made him more money than his whole 15-year career as a musician, even though he has 5 million monthly Spotify listeners. Consider that for a moment. I realize you think that you have a fourth of those listeners, but if you grow your community correctly, teach them about Music NFTs and the benefits they will receive, and keep building and adding new things, I am confident you will become one of the most successful artists in the space. You just must overcome your worries or whatever is holding you back and take action. You may or may not be huge right away, but with time and persistent effort, you will get there. Have faith in me!
I believe that music will continue to exist on Web2 and that current musicians should participate in both worlds. Many people are unfamiliar with NFTs and don’t understand how they work, and some don’t have the financial resources to get involved and buy music even if they wanted to. Music NFTs will undoubtedly grow in popularity in 2022, but I don’t believe web2 music will go away very soon. There will be musicians born in digital and those who must develop in both realms (Web2 — Music Today and Web3 — Music NFTs). I believe that the success of music on Web3 is solely dependent on the artists and the messages they preach. The more musicians that talk about Music NFTs and show people the benefits it provides to both artists and the public, the more people will join the movement, and the music industry will change forever.
At this early stage, I am ecstatic to be a part of this movement. We are ahead of the curve because people are only now hearing about these new technologies, and only a small percentage of them are interested in reading and learning more about them. The cultures that I like the most will undergo significant changes in the coming years, and I am glad to say that these changes will be positive for both of them and will mark an important turning point in their history.
I’m thrilled to be building in this time, where, despite the challenges of new technologies, innovation and creativity may play a significant role in success. Despite my enthusiasm for this new market, I am developing my streetwear brand in both digital and physical areas. I have several reasons for doing so, and the next piece will be based on the following question: “Why have I opted to create a streetwear label in both realms, rather than only digitally?” It will be written and published within the next several days. I hope that by reading it and pairing it with what you’ve learned in this and previous stories, you’ll gain a greater understanding of the potential of NFTs and how they’ll impact these industries.
Another thing I’m going to start doing is producing music. Even though I spend most of my time developing my brand, I will find the time to devote to one of my greatest passions. As a result, you may hear a track signed by me shortly. I’m very excited to be building in this space!
I wanted to end this post with some personal information so that you could see and realize that I’m not just talking about things, but also attempting to put what I’ve learned into practice. Through the activities and work I do, I hope to pique your interest in learning more about the new technologies that will influence our future and inspire you to take action, become involved in things you enjoy, and start building without fear of failure. Simply be creative and clever, and you will undoubtedly achieve your objectives through hard work!
As is usual, I’ll leave you with 2 questions that I’d like to explore with you either in the comments section or on Twitter:
1. What are your thoughts on NFTs?
2. What impact do you anticipate NFTs will have on the fashion and music industries? What about the rest of them?
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! I hope this article provided you with new and useful information! Please do not hesitate to contact me! I’d love to meet everyone and learn about your stories!
*The story was first published on Medium on February 8, 2022. I decided to relocate it here for a step-by-step migration to Web 3.0.
I wish you the best of luck! Have a wonderful day!