Artist collaborations are an undeniable cornerstone of modern pop culture. The confluence of artistic minds ultimately captured in a single artwork is something that has perpetually aroused audiences, critics and the creative community.

Take "The Marilyn Diptych," past American popular art pioneer Andy Warhol. The iconic art piece is based on a publicity photograph of Marilyn Monroe for the 1953 noir thriller Niagara. Regardless of the actress' undeniable entreatment, the photo itself didn't stand out until Warhol put a spin on it, turning it into ane of the 20th century's most admired masterpieces. Merely is that plenty of an statement to justify the fact that the photographer or studio behind the original derived no profits from the painting? After all, it was their photo — non Andy's. While this is a closed case, there are millions of like cases out there. And a new generation of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) might be just the solution for which artists accept been hoping.

Related: Balderdash or carry market, creators are diving headfirst into crypto

Enter the NFTs

Nonfungible tokens are upending the art world by giving illustrators, musicians, fashion designers (and almost anyone) a safe style to distribute original pieces while retaining copyrights and reproduction rights. At the same time, collectors go blockchain-protected buying of these pieces. What if collectors wish to use the acquired pieces as the basis on which to compose their artworks? Upgrade them, one might say. Tin NFTs ensure lawful co-creations of art?

The upgrades tin have whatever shape or form. A mettlesome collector could, for example, draw a ruby line over a Beeple's $69 million NFT or have Hokusai's recently digitized "The Great Wave" and add a surfboard. But as much fun as that could be, there are legal problems to contend with, so the hazard might be worth bearing in mind. With features brought by upgradable NFTs, everything tin can exist washed in a consensual framework. Artists could result multiple copies of their NFTs, making only some of them upgradeable.

Several blockchain players in the NFT space are trying to work in this management. For example, Wakatta markets itself equally a "blockchain designed to serve the needs of the entertainment industry." To attain such an ambitious goal, it has developed a serial of new NFT types — upgradable, time-limited and text-based. From a technological standpoint, this network is beingness developed on elevation of Substrate, the same technology framework used by Polkadot. As Alex Blagirev, Wakatta's project atomic number 82, said: ​​"Digital technologies are making it easier for everyone to get a creator of some sort. The creator economy is a reality, peculiarly in the entertainment industry, and we need solutions that adapt and enhance information technology." He added:

"Nonfungible tokens and artists are a match made in sky because of the space stream of possibilities information technology creates."

The aforementioned idea can work for other industries: Startup Ether Cards help to build customized NFTs and create dynamic cards that activate discounts, enable access, unlock features, connect to concrete items, grant upgrades and trigger changes based on existent-world events. They partnered with basketball game player LaMelo Brawl to create a Dynamic NFT for him.

A good example for the game industry is Phantasma — a blockchain focusing on gaming applications — which is likewise putting out a similar NFT feature for game developers to control the time availability of their in-game assets.

Related: Nonfungible tokens from a legal perspective

NFTs and the music industry

Musicians have also jumped on the NFT bandwagon in the past year, with artists like Eminem, Steve Aoki, and Grimes selling a combined $10+ 1000000 in NFT copies of their songs. The latter managed to sell a one-of-a-kind video prune titled, "Decease of the Erstwhile," for a whopping $389,000.

The music industry is facing increasing pressure level from artists all over the world speaking out against perceived unfair compensations from streaming players such as Spotify and Apple Music. In April, superstars Paul McCartney, Kate Bush-league, and Noel Gallagher submitted a joint letter to Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging the discussion of streaming revenue reforms. As the complaints pile upwardly, nonfungible tokens are apace becoming a suitable alternative for artists to distribute exclusive content straight to their fans, without the middleman. Moreover, upgradable NFT artists could also ease the creation of remixes, skipping the intricate and expensive legal processes typically associated with collabs.

Related: NFTs are a game-changer for independent artists and musicians

Time-limited NFTs could also be specially useful in this industry. In virtual setups, concert or musical festival tickets could exist turned into NFTs, granting access to specific time slots, for example. As with any other smart contract, enterprises or artists tin configure them to be reusable or gamify their usage equally they come across fit. And once expired, the tokens tin can yet hold value and appreciate as collectibles and exist legitimately remarketed every bit memorabilia.

Related: Play-and-earn is the secret to mainstream NFT gaming adoption

No one can say exactly what the time to come will look similar. Simply 1 matter is sure: NFTs are much more than true cat-themed JPGs. Their use cases are apace spreading to new domains, reaching areas so far unexplored by blockchain applied science similar artist collaborations, music royalties and even events.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the writer'southward lonely and do not necessarily reflect or correspond the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Alexandra Luzan is a Ph.D. student researching the connection betwixt new technologies and fine art at Ca' Foscari University in Venice. For nearly a decade, Alexandra has been organizing tech conferences and other events in Europe dedicated to blockchain engineering and bogus intelligence. She is equally interested in the human relationship betwixt blockchain tech and art.