The recent winner of Musivv’s Music + Artist of the Year award and Artist of the Month for April 2023 – as well as the first NFT (non-fungible token) artist to be played on South African radio – Ben Caesar is leveraging his global platform to show artists how to take ownership of their creations, and make a living, through the world of NFTs.
Musivv is a platform in a digital magazine that discovers, and develops independent musical artists in Dubai, UAE and the Middle East. And this digital space is undoubtedly where Caesar is gaining ground. The musician has taken on the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in music, something that is set to revolutionise the way musicians actually profit from their own creations.
“I was fortunate to be in the biggest community in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that was leading in NFTs,” he explained. “So, I got to learn from the very best and see traders, venture capitalists, founders, artists and collectors all build in the space. But I didn’t see any musicians that I knew in the NFT space and I think artists should understand that it offers direct ownership to your work and the ability to build an ecosystem with your audience.”
He said, as is typical of many industries, traditional thinking is keeping artists back, potentially creating a toxic environment that takes advantage of those who are creating: “I see a paradigm shift for artists, so we have been educating and building a music community that is industry and tech ready. I’ve also been giving talks to industry professionals and artists alike on the opportunities.”
Explaining NFTs, he said they allow for the verification of assets in digital form – something that is incredibly significant for artists. Where musicians were earning very little in royalties from streaming platforms, they could now build their own community and earn from their music for the first time in their careers.
“This means we can now name the price of their work in a digital format which wasn’t efficiently possible before,” continued Caesar. “What used to happen was people could copy-paste work without crediting the artist, but now an artist can make an NFT that shows this is my certified copy of the work. It’s like when an author signs a book; yes it’s a copy of the book, but which is more valuable: the signed copy or the regular copy?”
His background with Warner Bros. World has ignited a passion for animation through music, something he is taking further with the creation of TIGXA (Tee-Gah), his own anime world of music.
“Having worked as Music Director at Warner Bros. World, I got to see how much of an impact characters like Batman, Scooby Doo, and Daffy Duck make on people of all ages, no matter where they’re from. Each character in TIGXA represents its genre, so if you like one character you can collect their music, merch NFTs, and take a journey with them. We dropped our first official release last year and it was the first NFT to be played on South African radio!”
PAYRØLL Remix competition
He said they’re in the process of releasing a new character PAYRØLL with the remix PAYRØLL Remix competition starting 26 April 2023. There’s an acapella that music producers can remix, and a panel of judges will vote for the top 5 entrants before it’s opened to the public who will vote for the overall winner. The winner will be assisted in opening a crypto wallet, onboarding into Web 3 with TIGXA minting an NFT with them, as well as other extras like a 2TB SSD Card.
“This competition is an opportunity for established and emerging music producers to showcase their work while getting into the world of NFTs safely and win some gear,” he explained.
To find out more about Ben Caesar and the TIGXA competition, visit https://www.tigxa.com/
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