Traditional art forms are gradually brought to the digital platform
The music industry is constantly evolving with the changes in technology and digital transformation. Audiences can access music and own art products from time to time. Currently, with the strong development of blockchain technology, the appearance of NFT music platforms makes the connection between artists and the public in a very different way. Fans can support their idols by purchasing an artist's NFT - which is issued on a blockchain platform, which allows the artist to share ownership of his music and artwork with his fans.
NFT platform distributes ownership and many other privileges to fans and passionate individual collectors. Artists approach the public not only through discs, real images, audio, MVs or live performances, and promotional activities but also through connection and sharing of music revenue of their musical works. Rapper Binz, musician Nguyen Van Chung, and singer Son Tung M-TP are pioneers in using NFT. Many other young artists such as rappers LK, Datmaniac, and B Ray are also starting a trend toward using NFT.
In March 2022, rapper Binz was the first Vietnamese artist to launch the NFT Don't break my heart Tuniver Collection released on the NFT Binance exchange. NFT holders receive priority access to Binz's future NFT projects as well as other artists on the platform.
Similarly, in early April, musician Nguyen Van Chung launched the project ‘Equitization of YouTube channel Nguyen Van Chung Music by NFT5 digital technology which made him officially become the first musician in the creative asset digitalization market. After only a short time, in mid-May, he announced that all NFTs issued in the project were sold out.
Rapper Binz and Musician Nguyen Van Chung (R)
Musician Nguyen Van Chung said he was ready to publicize his YouTube channel revenue, and music copyright, and share investment opportunities with art lovers. According to musician Chung, his YouTube channel was built for about four years, generating a stable monthly income, and currently has more than 256,000 followers.
The channel will be valued over five years, based on current revenue data. Profit will be divided into two parts, of which one part is issued as shares in the market and the audience who own shares will get a sum of money each month.
This is a very new and strange trend in Vietnam though many artists in the world have done it, said musician Chung. After evaluation, he found this to be a very beneficial combination method for promoting artists' products as well as calling for investment from the music lovers.
The virtual universe (Metaverse) or NFT digital assets are concepts that are not easy to understand but are gradually becoming a trend in the process of digital transformation in a number of cultural and artistic fields.
In the past two years, several artists have participated in encoding painting works into NFT codes. In 2021, on the Binance NFT exchange, two artists Phong Luong and Tu Na sold their works successfully at US$3,000 and $5,000 respectively. However, the number of domestic artists participating in NFT is still small, mainly young artists working in digital art or graphics.
Nevertheless, the legality and safety for domestic NFT artwork transactions are still not high, many collectors now just stop at the market reference level or buy it there. Typically, the story of artist Teo Pham was once ‘stolen’ by a friend on social networks, the image of his work was shared on his personal page, molded into NFT code, and successfully sold for nearly $1,000.
Regarding the question of whether there are any barriers to the digitization of artistic creative assets today, musician Nguyen Van Chung said that it depends on what the product is and how it is.
He supposed digitizing YouTube accounts is transparent and open to all who invest in artists' channels. For instance, his project can share monthly revenue with investors; therefore, this is an equal and long-term investment and business cooperation. An artist needs audiences and it will be better if artists can get financial support from their fans. He feels it is necessary to have the audience's support in the implementation of new music products.
Digital transformation has become a matter of concern in many fields, and culture - art is no exception. However, in the story of long-distance exploitation, legal factors, and protecting the interests of collectors and artists need to be focused on in addition to the development and application of technology.
Survey data in 2021 from financial news site Finder has shown that Vietnam is in the group with the highest percentage of NFT assets in the 20 surveyed countries. The top five economies with the most NFTs include the Philippines with 32 percent, Thailand with 26.6 percent, Malaysia with 23.9 percent, UAE with 23.4 percent, and Vietnam with 17.4 percent.
