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How to Sell or Buy Digital Art in the NFT Market
Technology has been developing at a record speed these days, fueled by the pandemic and the need of new systems as the old ones are failing to serve well both consumers and creators. The art schema, the way we create and perceive art, verify its ownership and trade it, has recently got a new and exciting upgrade: namely, the emergence of new NFT markets and platforms.
What is an NFT?
NFT means Non-Fungible Token that represents ownership of a unique item. It stands for any kind of artwork that is unique and cannot be replaced by anything else. It is a proof of provenance and ownership. Non-fungible as opposed to fungible tokens are one-of-a-kind items. For example, a hundred-dollar banknote is fungible. Each banknote looks like the others (the only difference is the serial number), has the same value and can be exchanged for another one.
A non-fungible item is your house or your favorite painting. They are unique and though they can be traded, they have a different value that will most probably change in time. They are not interchangeable because of their unique properties. NFTs can be any digital asset – drawings, photographs, music, animations, videos, etc., or even your TikTok account. Once you create your profile on an NFT platform like OpenSea or any other marketplace, upload and mint your artwork in order to put it on sale.
Minting is the process of creating a new smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain. Now you are officially the creator and owner of this asset and no one can modify that contract, i.e., record of ownership. When you sell your NFT and transfer the ownership to someone else, another smart contract is being created. Any NFT has an owner and a public record and can be traced back to the creator.
So, basically the NFT market provides artists with new opportunities to get wider exposure and offer their art to potential buyers and collectors in a secure and transparent way.
The most frequently asked question is whether creators transfer the copyrights when they sell an artwork. The answer is no, artists do not transfer copyrights to the buyer by default unless they explicitly decide to do so.
Why do people spend so much money on NFTs?
In February 2021, Elon Musk’s girlfriend Grimes sold her digital art for $6 million. In March, Beeple sold an NFT for $69 million. Most people ask why someone would pay so much money for a digital artwork that anyone can see on the Internet and even copy it. The reason is that NFTs are not much different from physical assets. You can buy a reproduction of Van Gogh’s painting or download an image from the Internet and even print it, but you are not the owner of the original piece. The same is valid for digital art. You can print an image, but you are not the owner of the original artwork and therefore, you cannot resell it.
Moreover, due to the smart contract, any NFT is digitally unique because the contract contains a record of its metadata which points to the name of the piece, its description and a unique resource identifier. In contrast, any copy of a file on the current Internet, whether that be a .jpg, .mp3 or .mp4, is the same as the original.
Another similarity to the physical art world is that you can resell any NFT you have bought. The main difference and the beauty of the NFT market as compared to the physical one is that depending on the NFT marketplace and creator’s decision to opt in or out of receiving a certain percentage of future sales, a portion of your future profit might go to the author. Artists will finally have a fair share of the profit generated by their hard work. If you are a buyer, this should not worry you because the royalty fee is stated in the NFT listing and you would know upfront what that percentage is or if there is any at all.
I am an artist. How do I sell my art as an NFT?
There are certain steps you should follow in order to list your artwork on an NFT marketplace. Keep in mind that some platforms are accessible by all creators whereas others have an application and approval process that would take some time. There are also platforms where you should be invited by another creator.
In any case, you need to first create a cryptocurrency wallet like MetaMask which is a Google Chrome Extension. MetaMask is the most commonly used wallet by NFT marketplaces. Then register on an NFT marketplace with your wallet. Depending on the platform, you might be required to pay a gas fee when you put your work up for sale (or have already sold it). Since gas fees are paid in Ethereum, you would need to buy some ETH from a cryptocurrency exchange and send it to your crypto wallet.
Many artists though find these new technologies confusing. Luckily, there are now reputable digital art representatives like Gold Art Group that help artists with the technical stuff and promote their art. Such NFT agencies also help creators collaborate on new, exciting digital art projects and may even advise on market trends and prices.
I am a buyer/collector. How can I buy an NFT?
There are numerous NFT platforms selling digital art. Some offer only curated works whereas others have a huge variety of art pieces. The process of buying NFTs is similar to the process of selling. You need a wallet in order to register on a platform and some Ether to buy digital art. Of course, there are few marketplaces like MakersPlace where you can purchase NFTs with a credit card.
If you need someone to help you navigate in this ocean of newly minted digital art, you can become a member of our NFT hub and receive information about the digital art world – current trends, new NFT drops, curated collections, rising stars and many more.
The NFT world is at a very early stage and, though it is extremely exciting, it is still chaotic and might feel difficult to understand. However, judging by the astonishing speed of its development, we think that it will soon be widely adopted and everyone will own an NFT. Be among the early adopters and hop on the hype train.
