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Think again about what I said, in passing, above, what if an NFT really is a new way to support the artist?
We, at BoldBrush, often tell artists that "people buy the artist and their story as much as they buy the artwork itself."
An artwork often becomes a "social object," around which people get "the right" to "be part of" the artist's overall story.
And in that context, there might actually be something to "Art NFTs."
Traditional Works Convey Both Social Rights and Physical Rights
Let's think about the "social object" idea in the context of purchasing a traditional oil painting: By purchasing the painting, you've acquired both the "physical rights" to the painting itself and the "social rights" to be part of the artist's story.
Not only do you have physical control of the painting (hence "physical rights"). And, not only can you view and enjoy the painting whenever you want, but you also now enjoy "social rights" pertaining to the artwork and the artist. Here are some of those "social rights:" You can post pictures of yourself with your painting on social media, you can brag about knowing the artist, you can share with your friends that you supported this particular artist, you can feel good to have supported/been part of this artist's "story", if later the artist becomes even more well known, etc.
So when you purchase a painting, you are purchasing both the "physical rights" to own/control/view the artwork itself and the "social rights" to be part of the artist's story in a public way.
NFTs Convey Only Social Rights
NFTs, by contrast, don't usually grant the purchaser any "physical rights'' to the artwork or the image. When you purchase an NFT, you don't receive a physical artwork. You don't get any copyrights. You don't really even get any kind of special control or rights into the digital artwork file.
With an NFT, the only "thing" you "own physically" is a token on a blockchain. And the artist grants you access to a, perhaps hi-resolution, JPG version of the artwork. But you don't have any real "physical rights" to that JPG. Anybody in the world can see the same JPG, view it, enjoy it, right-click and download it. So NFTs don't give you any physical rights.
But what about "social rights"? If I go to the JPG and just right-click and save it, can I brag about that? Am I part of the artist's story? Not really. In fact, I might be accused of being a jerk, a thief or a fraud if I tried.
But what if I purchase an NFT from the artist? In this case I do have "social rights:" I can now say, with pride, that I "own" an NFT by that particular artist. I can show the image to my friends, I can tell them about the artist and share how I connected with the artist on social media. I can proudly post to Instagram the image I purchased and tag the artist and become part of the story of that artwork and support that particular artist.
Here's an example of a buyer bragging on Twitter about his newly acquired NFT: | 