Though many artists and art consumers may be dazzled by the rapid rise and pop culture prominence of NFTs, most people simply do not understand what an NFT (or non-fungible token) is, how it is made and what its benefits are. By working with the simple to use and carbon neutral NFT minting platform and marketplace Voice, we found a more ethical, straightforward and environmentally friendly destination to clarify it all. Not only does Voice allow multidisciplinary artists to create NFTs from their original works, it also acts as a hub for protected sales. To translate these and our other insights we commissioned NYC-based illustrator and designer Alf Gadberry to explain NFTs and each step in Voice’s minting process through his magnetic illustrations. Gadberry also minted these works—embedded below—through Voice, and they’re available to purchase, as well.
First, of course, we have to begin with what an NFT is. Though it may appear complex, the concept can be greatly simplified: an NFT is a piece of digital art, IP or ephemera with value that’s been protected by embedding credit and ownership data into it. This has never been more important. In a cultural climate where creators share content they’ve produced on social media or other services and anyone else can take it, replicate it or undermine it, attribution and protection have become requirements.
Second, NFTs enable fair—and continued—compensation for artists. They enable a royalty structure that ensures a payout every time the work is sold to a new owner. Prior to NFTs, many artists watched as their works were offloaded from one owner to another for far more money in the secondary market. Thanks to NFTs this does not need to be the case—and the artist benefits.
Ultimately, this is due to the way that NFTs are made and traded, especially on Voice. When an NFT is minted from original content, it incorporates a unique identifier with the artist’s information and compensation structure. This is a verified signature of sorts—recorded in history and accessible to all.
On Voice, each NFT can then be offered for purchase through auction or sold on the marketplace, equipping creators for success. Unlike the structure of most galleries and auction houses Voice is designed with the best intentions toward artists.
Because of its verified signature and embedded value data, every single time an NFT is sold it’s tracked so that the artist can be made aware and compensated. Once again, it becomes evident that the NFT process is transparent and artist-oriented.
NFTs on Voice are also more accessible to consumers. Unlike most marketplaces, Voice NFTs can be purchased using credit cards and sold without connecting a crypto wallet. There’s no need to be an expert in the ever-changing crypto space—this is a platform that removes barriers for artists and buyers.
A primary concern with NFT minting and sales has been the associated environmental impact. This is due to the face that maintaining a distributed ledger (that aforementioned documentation) across every node of a blockchain is very energy consuming on Ethereum (a primary platform). Voice, however, uses a different, carbon neutral blockchain—providing a beneficial environmental awareness into the process.
Remarkably (and contrary to many other platforms), there is no fee to mint an NFT on Voice. The platform’s transaction fees are lower than most, opening the door to emerging artistic talent and those curious to try for themselves with low risk. Voice welcomes more than the headline-grabbing blue chip artists and democratizes NFT sales.
To mint on Voice is as simple as creating an account, uploading your work and setting a price. It’s a platform that aims to support creators, not just protect them—and the ease of it all affirms this. And be sure to check out Alf Gadberry’s work that’s available on the platform.
All art by Alf Gadberry