The advancement of the internet and digital technology has brought with it a number of quirky fads and crazes over the decades. In the early days of the internet, memes would go viral, then music videos like Gangnam Style and challenges like Planking.
Now there is a new style of craze sweeping the internet – Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs). First rising to prominence in 2021, NFTs have taken the internet by storm thanks in large part to the glowing endorsements they have received from super famous celebrities.
In this article we take a look at the relationship between celebrities and NFTs in a bid to explain why so many famous stars are taking to their social media channels to promote them.
What Exactly Are NFTs?
The Technical Answer
Non Fungible Tokens are a financial security made up of digital data stored in a Blockchain.
The Simple Answer
An NFT is an item, usually an online picture referred to as digital art, which has no set value and is normally bought and traded online. Their value is subjective and can fluctuate greatly and they can also be made by anybody. You don’t have to be a coder or a computer whizz, all you have to do is follow a guide on how to create an NFT.
Huh?
Still confused? Don’t worry. The idea of NFTs can be a little difficult to get your head around at first, so let’s take a look at a couple of examples to give you a better idea.
The Merge
Selling at a mind-boggling $91.8 million, The Merge is the most expensive NFT of all-time. Created by the famed digital artist Pak, this piece of online art features a static piece known as a mass that grows every time the owner adds to their collection.
The First 5000 Days
A more easy to understand NFT is The First 5000 Days by Beeple, which was sold by the auction house Christie’s for a staggering $69 million. In May 2007 the artist committed to creating an artwork every day and this is the culmination of the first 5000 days of that endeavour.
Clock
Earlier this year Pak and Julian Assange created this NFT to assist with the latter’s legal fees. The NFT simply counts the days during which the controversial founder of WikiLeaks has been incarcerated in a British prison.
Clock recently sold for $52.7 million.
Celebrities With NFT Interests
Paris Hilton
The woman famous for being the heiress to the Hilton fortune and, er, something else that went viral on the internet in 2004. This time however, Hilton is going viral for all the right reasons with her Iconic Crypto Queen NFT that sold for $1.1 million in April 2021.
Snoop Dogg
It’s fair to say that the “Drop It Like It’s Hot” rapper has been diversifying somewhat over the past 5 years. The latest step in that has been Snoop’s NFT A Journey with the Dogg, which featured some memories from his younger years, artwork and an original track.
Lindsay Lohan
The troubled actress most famous for her role in the hit movie Mean Girls has launched a couple of NFTs. One of Daft Punk, which sold for $15,000, and another of her single “Lullaby” on Fans Forever.
Why Are NFTs So Popular With Celebrities?
Well, there’s the money. That’s the first and most obviously unavoidable point. NFTs make celebrities a lot of money that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to earn so easily or so quickly.
Take Paris Hilton for example. The hotel heiress charges on average around $25,000 for an appearance fee. Contrast that with her NFT, which sold for 44 times that amount in 2021 and was way less effort than an appearance on a TV show or at a concert.
It’s not just money either that attracts celebrities to NFTs, it's clout too. Every time a celebrity dabbles in the world of NFTs, they are putting themselves out there to the 28.6 million worldwide NFT wallet holders.
In addition, they are almost guaranteed to get media coverage as well, as stories about NFTs sell magazines and attract TV audiences. In many ways, getting involved in NFTs is the quickest way for a celebrity to hit the headlines for good reasons.
Whether it’s right to cash in on an internet craze in the way that some celebrities are trying to do, though, is a different matter altogether…
Tell us what you think about celebrities and NFTs! Which celebrity NFTs caught your attention? Let us know your favorites via @honeysucklemagazine on Instagram and @HoneysuckleMag on Twitter.
--
Featured image: Paris Hilton's Iconic Crypto Queen NFT (C) parishilton.com
