Despite all the controversies surrounding the crypto world, one clear bright spot of blockchain technology is its ability to help creators and artists monetize their work. Rapper and visual artist Latasháour guest on the latest episode of Chain reaction podcast, is a living embodiment of web3’s potential in supporting independent artists.
She successfully minted and sold her first NFT in 2021 of a music video she made – her first foray into the web3. Since then, she has sold NFTs of her work for tens of thousands of dollars and has become a very clear advocate for artists leveraging web3 technology. She serves as the community head at the NFT marketplace Zora, through which she has hosted her signature event, Zoratopia, around the country to educate artists interested in participating. join this space.
You can listen to the entire episode below:
For artists, the value proposition of NFT casting “is like putting everything into an art gallery,” says Latashá.
“I repeat [artists], especially in the music industry, the cost of entry is too expensive. I mean, to get your songs on a playlist, to get your songs on the radio, you’re usually going to have to pay a very ridiculous amount, $10,000 or more. So I want, do you want to pay $10,000 for a radio station? Or you would rather pay $50 to $100 on-chain and watch this thing grow, especially in this new fertile ground right now,” she added.
Since Latashá first entered the NFT space, a lot of new challenges have arisen for artists looking to replicate her path to success. For one thing, gas prices on Ethereum have gone up significantly, from around $25/NFT when she started, she said. Second, the entire crypto industry is in a market downturn, and with token prices going down, so are NFT prices (quoted in their native cryptocurrency).
Latashá says that despite these challenges, she still believes that leveraging web3 is a smart strategy for many artists. Just like any other industry, she said, web3 ebbs and flows, and market participants will have to live through different psychological waves.
“I think there is excitement and appeal to a lot of people at once,” she said, musing about the cryptocurrency’s most recent bull run. “I think that’s probably the part where we need to rethink before that, because we need to prepare people for a recession,” she continued.
Latashá adds that education can make a difference in helping creators prepare for this downturn. That’s part of why educating people is core to her mission at Zora.
“I always say [to artists], decide what you want to do with your money, right? If you want to keep your money in crypto, use it. But I also have to say, have multiple sources of income,” Latashá said. “Always decide if you want to take some of your crypto and put it into different art forms, or have a marketing team for your music or do other things that generate revenue. income in different ways… I don’t think we should be shackled to any income stream. We should always be as free and open as possible. “
