NFT Crash Course
During the pandemic NFT laid rubber along the adoption highway, the route 1 approach was: collectible art realizing sensational valuations.
Ahead of us are a number of alternative routes for creating value for fans and artists. The technology is still developing, NFT's, smart contracts offer a range of utility, including access, participation, investment, identity, and community, there are many more options than just digital baseball cards.
Seeking a route map through Web3, looking at utility, adoption, and how music artists manage their own brand and authenticity, whilst respecting audiences, driving engagement, but also experimenting with new opportunities, we will signpost some interesting routes ahead.
Featured Speaker:
Wesley T. A'Harrah, VP Membership & Education at MMF-US
Wesley T. A’Harrah, 29, is an artist manager, marketing-tech consultant, and investor. Wesley is the founder of Hits Differently, an artist-management company whose clients include iAmTheGENIUS, Maty Noyes, Kristian Kostov, Lil Bird, Ellis Miah, and more; and Hyper Orange, a consultancy focused on helping entertainment companies, brands, and agencies build and activate the best marketing stacks.
Wesley is business partners with Atlanta-based entrepreneur, rapper, and DJ, iAmTheGENIUS, in Mixtape Monopoly, a marketing agency; Monopoly Distribution, a distribution and label services company; and RARE Sound, a record label, where he and GENIUS have spent years independently operating with K CAMP—whose song Lottery (Renegade) held as the biggest song ever in TikTok for seven months and was the first song in the world to pass 15, 20, 30, and 35 million videos created with it. RARE Sound, Mixtape Monopoly and Hyper Orange are the only independent label and connected marketing agencies to have been honored with the Grand Clio for Music in 2020, where they were awarded for the campaign behind Lottery (Renegade).
Wesley serves as the Vice President of Membership and Education of the Music Managers Forum-US, the 501(c)6 trade association for artist managers and self-managed artists. He holds an M.A. in Global Entertainment and Music Business from Berklee College of Music.
Jake Beaumont-Nesbitt, Innovation & Education International Music Managers Forum
Jake Beaumont-Nesbitt is an artist manager working with indipendent and signed artists, and consulting for managers across Europe, South Asia, and North America. He works in music rights, metadata, and usage data technology, to develop efficiencies for artists business models.
Jake advises The International Music Managers Forum (IMMF) on artists business models, and IP policy. IMMF is a global network of associations of self managed artists and artist managers in over 50 countries from Cambodia to Mexico, Japan to Italy. Jake leads the MMF DAO project, to evaluate Decentralized Autonomous Organization business models to raise finance for artists and build fan communities.
Jake is also a team member at Project Zero an ocean conservation network which launched a social token in March 2022.