NFTs Were Supposed to Protect Artists. They Don't. - The Atlantic

It’s a bubble of snake oil — these NFTs have no intrinsic value! I could just copy the content and give it away for free! What do I actually own when I spend thousands on this “token??”

music producer 3LAU just sold the first tokenized music album, an NFT version of his album, Ultraviolet, for $3.6 million. The NFT is also redeemable for additional perks such as a customized song. Again, it’s possible for creators to tie directly economic flows to these items, enabling holders of assets to receive revenue from the project as it la... See more

The same thing that is happening to journalism, to restaurants, to bookstores to Hollywood, to everything beautiful and interesting in this country, is happening to art. Jobs are disappearing. Venture Capital funds are getting involved. In early 2020, 1,350 jobs were cut at American museums. What was barely profitable is now being gutted with the g... See more

8. Intellectual property will become less defensible in the short term but it is still cultural gold. From “my kid could do that” to “right click and save,” new media from the early 20th century onward has been poorly received. As W. David Marx writes of NFTs in Dirt, “whether or not this particular NFT bubble bursts, we should take them seriously ... See more