IN FOCUS: Opportunities and risks? Singapore creators ride NFT wave as new source of income

NFTs are one-of-a-kind digital tokens that most commonly take the form of art, music or collectibles. But they can digitally represent any asset, even real-life ones such as real estate.

At its heart – a proof of ownership that cannot be replicated, as it is secured and verified by blockchain technology.

He discovered the concept after an online art community touted it as the “next big thing” for digital artists. So far, this has rung true for him.

More than a year since he started selling his art this way, Mr Hafiiz has sold more than 200 NFTs worth about US$150,000. The logistics are also easier than for traditional sales, as digital transactions mean he no longer has to labour over printing and delivery.

When someone resells one of his creations, he also gets a cut – previously unheard of in conventional art sales.

Yet the most valuable thing has been finding tribes of his own. “I’m a part of a few (artist) communities and we all support each other.”

“And the community with my followers … I give back to them, engage with them, they support me. It’s like a mini ecosystem,” he said.

Mr Hafiiz is part of a growing number of Singaporean creators who have entered the NFT space – and have found it rewarding in various ways.

NFTs BOOMING POTENTIAL FOR ARTISTS

Mass interest in crypto art was ignited in March last year when artist Beeple sold an NFT for an eye-watering US$69 million.

The hunger for such assets has exploded since then, with NFT sales volumes skyrocketing to US$25 billion in 2021, compared to US$95 million in 2020.

A plethora of players has joined in the action too, with luxury fashion brands, newspapers and even celebrities minting their own NFTs.

Drawn by the medium’s novelty and its seeming viability as a source of income in a country where art is often judged as a precarious career, more local creators are choosing to give NFTs a shot.

An online art community founded in Singapore, NFTAsia, has grown to more than 3,300 members in the span of a few months, including people from other countries, said one of its founding members Jonathan Liu.

“There is definitely an increase (in NFT artists in Singapore) … but slowly, because there’s still a high barrier of entry with needing to understand the background of blockchain and cryptocurrency.”

Those who overcome these barriers claim that NFTs are upending the creative world, such as by allowing any work to be tokenised.

That includes things that are “not usually associated with being art” such as programme code, said Mr Liu.

“Game designers, spatial architects, people who work with cinema 4D, new technology softwares now have an audience,” added the visual artist and lecturer at LASALLE College of the Arts.

Without gatekeepers to what constitutes art, it also “democratises” creativity, said Mr Hafiiz. Other benefits include provenance – you can verify a piece’s authenticity as it is tied to the creator.

NOT JUST “COMPUTER MONEY”

Receiving post-sale royalties also helps artists get more out of the value chain.

Every time an NFT is resold, the creator automatically gets a portion of the sale price – typically ranging between zero and 10 per cent.

This is a huge boon in addition to being able to track your work, said prominent local artist, Farizwan Fajari, known as Speak Cryptic.

“If you sell the old or traditional way, maybe you get a cut from the gallery and you probably will never see it again. With NFTs, you know where the work is, you know who has it, you know how much it’s being sold for on the secondary market and it’s more transparent.”