NFT (Numbered Ferric Tape)

I'm not a fan of NFTs. I think they don't have intrinsic value, and for traditional cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Ethereum) they're terrible for the environment. But the concept is interesting, and made me think about how we can create things that are truly unique.

I had the idea of selling bespoke cassette tapes, each one with a completely new song recorded live. That's a cool concept on its own, but then I had another idea: what if I didn't listen to the song after recording it? That way the person is not just buying a unique cassette tape, but they're also buying the first listen.

The cool thing about a first listen is that it's transferable. You get the tape, and you have the option of listening to it. Or you can save that first listen for later. You could also sell the tape without listening to it, effectively selling the first listen. And once you listen to it for the first time it can never be listened for the first time again!

I ordered a batch of 25 blank cassette tapes and decided to give it a try. These are Type I tapes, also called ferric. I numbered them from 1 to 25, as you can see on the photo above. So these are my Numbered Ferric Tapes, or... NFTs. Except that these have intrinsic value and don't destroy the planet!

The tapes are available on my merch store and also on my Bandcamp page. Each one is $10, and I record them after the purchase, so they reflect what's going on at the time. I didn't want to record a batch of 25 songs, as I think that recording them one by one makes them more unique.

Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash