On new year day, 2022 Nigerian music artist Daniel Benson popularly known as Buju announced on his Instagram page the launch of the Non-fungible token (NFT) music collection on the metaverse community. This is the first by a Nigerian artist and he names the project ‘Heads by Buju’.
According to the artist on his Instagram post, “My NFT project @headsbybuju which gives everyone the opportunity to connect with me on a deeper level and experience so much more music and creativity on the metaverse is launching and I want you to be part of it,” Benson said.
He also stated that he’ll be giving out free NFTs to lucky fans that join the community. “I’m giving out 20 ‘Buju heads’ the first 1000 people who join the community qualify for a draw to win this,” he added.
The singer urged his fans to join the space to explore incredible things that can be achieved in the metaverse.
Read also: Djimon Hounsou, LÁOLÚ to launch digital artist series on Binance NFT Marketplace
Non-fungible token (NFT) is a digital asset that serves as a secure record of ownership for an item or collection of items, stored on select blockchain ledgers such as Ethereum and Solana. In this case music collections.
The music industry has always been heavily reliant on technology. Technological innovations have influenced how music is made, played, stored, distributed, and enjoyed, from the first discs to streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, Boomplay, and so on, from the birth of record changing to the rise of modern electronic sound.
Last year, NFTs took the world of music by storm. The new technology grabbed the attention of dozens of singers and musicians and has now gotten the attention in the Nigerian music industry starting with Buju.
Some artists have made millions of dollars by selling tokenized versions of their music, digital art, or bundles of virtual and real-world products and this is another market for Nigerian artists to conquer as the world has started to listen more to Afrobeat given the success of the previous year with record streaming numbers and spots on the Billboard top 100.
A lot has been said about the unequal revenue distribution from an artist’s work. The typical spilt for most labels is 50/50 with the performer getting half and the managers, agent, lawyers, and distributors receiving the other half and the case deteriorates even more in terms of streaming.
We are witnessing a significant and long-lasting shift in how musicians create music and interact with their fans.
