M USIC N FT COM PANY ANGE RS ARTISTS an d, yes, we'll explai n what N FT's are News edited by Bethan McConnell
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music NFT website called HitPiece has been reportedly shut down, following industry backlash from a range of artists. HitPiece appeared to be trying to sell NFTs of artists, using their photographs, names and album artwork. They were founded in 2021, and according to an interview with Billboard, the company aimed to create NFTs of “every song”. The website gained traction after artists like Geoff Barrow (Portishead) and Wolf Van Halen spoke out against the new business. The industry figures suggested that the business “needed a good lawyer” and that it was “criminal”. ‘NFT’ stands for non-fungible token. ‘Nonfungible’ means that the token is unique, and essentially can’t be replaced with something else. An easy example of a fungible asset is something like money, as one £20 note can be interchanged for 20 £1 coins, or four £5 notes. What this means, is that there are a
variety of different values, depending on the NFT. Rather than owning a file, an NFT is essentially a digital certificate of proof of ownership of a token. This means that the original copyright lies with the creator. The issue with the HitPiece business plan is the fact that they do not have the right to make a profit from the artists’ likeness and cover art. Essentially, it’s like when you go to a concert, and there’s a group of guys outside selling bootleg shirts. The bootleg sellers are making a profit from someone else’s work, which is protected by copyright law. Following the pandemic lockdowns, artists have been particularly relying on the sales of merchandise and music to keep afloat. It could be argued that money invested in these music NFTs could be better spent on music merchandise, vinyl releases or future concert tickets, directly financially supporting the musicians you love.
