A brand new canvas: Why more artists are jumping into the NFT space

Entering the space allows an artist to earn more through royalties each time their art sells.

Singapore-based Artist Lakshmi Mohanbabu would, like any artist, earn her income from selling an artwork in the traditional way. Whenever the artwork was resold she would not earn anything. Now with NFT versions of her artworks, every time the NFT is traded she earns an additional fee. For artists like her, the ability to keep receiving a fee for artworks already produced in the digital realm is welcomed additional source of income.

Mohanbabu said artists can get a percentage of a future resale of their NFT-minted artworks because they are allowed to impose a royalty fee.

“In traditional galleries, when my art is sold to a client and I make, say a hundred dollars, that’s it. If that client resells my artwork for a million dollars, it’s of no benefit to me as an artist,” Mohanbabu said.

“In the NFT space, I get to earn from the subsequent sales of my art. If it is resold for a million dollars, I’ll get 5% of that. I’m assured of

revenue every time my art sells again,” she added.

Mohanbabu said she also likes that she gets to track where her art goes or who the current owner is.

Compared to traditional physical artworks, artists also get to reach a wider audience in the digital space, said Mohanbabu.

This was echoed by Tokenize Xchange CEO Hong Qi Yu, saying that artists can leverage the internet to connect with a lot of buyers, unlike when selling traditional art in galleries which is constrained by physical locations.