NFT has been becoming a topic nowadays. It’s like everyone, especially those in the creative field talk about it. In the past, we have talked about stock photography (Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, etc). Flowing in the trend, these days we’re talking about the NFT crypto art. And in this article we’re going to talk about the difference between NFT and stock photography. If you don’t have any idea about those two, you can scroll our website and you can find the explanation. The NFT theme is in a recent article.
If the stock photography is uploaded to microstock, the NFT has its marketplace itself. Just say it Nifty Gateway, OpenSea, Rarible, and SuperRare are some marketplaces where the NFT transaction occurs. If you check those websites, most of the NFT are dominated by illustrations and animations. The photography is rarely to be found or it might have not existed as NFT. However, looking at the hype of NFT nowadays, it is possible that photography might take a part in NFT.
Uploading an image on stock photography means that photographers enroll and sell the license of image use. Meanwhile the NFT means creating the ownership of the image and selling NFT means selling the images that the ownership is proven by its information in blockchain. In stock photography might allow the sale of images in unlimited times, while the NFT might limit the number of selling. NFT might exist in limited numbers, however it is possible to sell it many or may be unlimited. The thing is, the purpose of NFT is to build the scarcity of digital art and produce too many might dilute its price.
Making an image as NFT could be said that it needs some capital. There are some fees to be paid to process your NFT. When you are minting your token NFT there is power needed to process it. It uses gas as fuel and it needs fees. It can be said that there is an initial payment to sell NFT and the number might change from moment to moment, it depends on cryptocurrencies volatility and the marketplaces. It depends on the value of cryptocurrencies because most of the NFT marketplaces use crypto, especially ethereum for transaction. It might require another fee if you are going to mint another NFT in another marketplace, because not all marketplaces use the same ones.
After you are successfully minting your NFT, the fees don't stop there. However, not all marketplaces require this. Still, you need to know that some marketplaces might require sellers to pay a fee when the NFT is sold. The same to buyers, marketplace might require them to pay fees when they are going to buy NFT. Every activity might require fees because the blockchain network needs to verify every activity occurs. It has been said that the blockchain doesn’t save its information in one server, instead it saves in every computer on the network. The verification is confirmed one by one to make sure that the change is valid. Because of those activities, people start to be skeptical about its impact on the environment.
The verification or validation of blockchain confirmed by all computers in the network. Can you imagine how much the electricity needed to conduct it? Moreover the electricity uses will generate emissions. The more process occurs, the more electricity used, the more pollution output. However, it still becomes a pro and contra. Many people argue that over time this environmental problem might find its solution. There will always be development to be perfect. And one by one including the energy savvy will be enhanced. However, other people argue that it might be better to wait until this problem is solved so that more artists can join with effective cost.
The gas fees and environmental impact might be something that need to be considered before going to mint the NFT. Meanwhile, you are free to upload your image on any microstock provided. Enroll images on microstock doesn’t require fees and every purchase image doesn’t require fees as well. It is totally free for stock photography. And about the environmental impact, it can’t be likened to NFT since those two use different technology.
About the payment in NFT and stock photography, both might give future earnings for artists. Photo stock will let artists get payment every time their images are sold and it can happen for a long time. NFT might allow artists to get a big payment for its first selling and it will give the chance for artists to get a percentage payment every time their NFT is sold in secondary trade. However, the NFT selling might not sell for a long time, or maybe ever. It is possible that one who buys the NFT just wants to save it without wanting to make money in the future, moreover just if the cryptorruncies jump to obscurity. Everything is possible.
Now you know about the NFT and stock photography. In case you still want to mint the NFT, make sure that you have a good understanding about cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Pay attention to cryptocurrency volatility, gas fees, and the environmental impact of it. If you have an idea about it, then you can go or just wait to see if the hype of NFT will stick around and the problem is solved.
*Dn
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