Should I focus on NFTs as part of my art business strategy right now?

As of now, NFTs have very limited application for the average artist trying to build a business. The vast majority of NFT purchases are about joining communities and getting membership benefits—like country club access. Projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club offer exclusive parties with celebrities and performers; the ‘art’ is secondary to community membership and status signaling (people use them as profile photos for credibility). For you as an individual artist selling your own NFTs, you still have to solve the exact same problem: you need to run a direct business and be great at marketing. If you’re great at marketing, you’ll sell everything, not just NFTs. If you’re bad at marketing, you won’t sell any NFTs. The core problem remains your product and your marketing. If neither is working, NFTs are a total distraction. At some point, NFTs may become incremental revenue like other merchandise, but right now, for the regular artist or photographer trying to build their business, focus on the fundamentals. NFTs are rapidly evolving and worth watching, but they’re not the gold rush or easy path to success that the hype suggests.

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Asked by general teaching · Answered by Nick Friend and Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2022-01-08