NFT microphilanthropy gives a new voice to the opera

The music industry has been a major user of Web3 integration, with use cases ranging from song rights, blockchain-based streaming and new forms of digital publishing.

Genres such as pop, EDM and hip-hop have represented nonfungible tokens (NFT) in the music industry so far. But classical music, and specifically opera, just found its entrance.

Living Opera, a Web3 community that combines classical music with blockchain innovation, is turning to the new technology to give a new voice to the prestigious art and the artists who perform it.

Soula Parasidis, CEO of Living Opera, told Cointelegraph in an interview that the premiere collection Magic Mozart NFT is a way to introduce the innovative world of fintech to the traditional classical music and vice versa.

“We wanted it to be easy to understand, low risk and a way for people to feel comfortable.”

Parasidis explains that these NFTs pay tribute to the concept of “musikalisches würfelspiele”, a dice game to randomly generate music from pre-composed options. This is one of the earliest examples of generative art and is reportedly attributed to Mozart.

Musicians have used NFTs for additional revenue and fan incentives, such as Grimes’ $5.8 million digital asset project. For classical music, this can mean a whole new life and a step into relevance for the next generation.

A survey by the National Endowment for the Arts found that the percentage of US adults who attend at least one opera a year fell from an already low 3.2% in 2002 to 2.2% in 2017.

The pandemic escalated this by closing classical arenas and opera houses around the world. One of the world’s premiere opera houses, the Metropolitan Opera, reported that in July 2021 it was down $25 million in revenue from the previous year.

Related: Experts explain how music NFTs will improve the connection between creators and fans

Christos Makridis, COO of Living Opera, told Cointelegraph that NFTs open up a new way for classical artists and opera singers to bypass the traditional grant and endowment proposal process.

“Blockchain-based digital assets remove traditional barriers, the proposals, artist grants, etc., allowing artists to connect directly with philanthropists and remove a lot of these administrative costs.”

Makridis says NFTs give artists in this genre access to “short-term liquidity” that never existed before.

Some classical artists have dabbled in personal NFTs, such as New Zealand composer Matthew Thomas Soong or American composer-posist Cristina Spinei.

In 2021, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra was one of the earliest pioneers of classical music NFTs. The orchestra released an NFT as a fundraiser for musicians affected by the Met Opera’s pandemic-related pay cuts.

The DAO-like structure of Living Opera allows for micro-philanthropy for involved artists and their projects. Highlighting the rarity of such innovation in a very traditional industry, Parasidis called NFTs a catalyst for socio-cultural change.

“They can be used as a mechanism to draw attention to voices, art forms, causes that really need more visibility.”

Both Parasidis and Makridis say this technology could help young people engage with the art form and give long-term fans new engagement opportunities.