Steve Aoki, DJ at Large, Earns More From NFTs Than From Music

Steve Aoki has made more money with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) than in his 10-year music career.

The legendary EDM DJ has been one of the biggest advocates of NFTs over the past 12 months. 

In April 2021, for example, the sale of Aoki’s NFT Dream Catcher art collection brought in over $4 million. Former T-Mobile boss John Legere shelled out $888,888 for a single work.

“But if I was to really break it down, in the 10 years I’ve been making music… six albums, and you [combine] all those advances. What I did in one drop last year in NFTs, I made more money,” Aoki told a private event in California. 

He claims that nowadays royalties are minimal, with 95% of his income coming from live gigs.

Steve Aoki: NFTs will transform the music industry

Aoki called himself a “visionary.” He said he believes  NFTs will truly transform the music industry. Part of the reason NFTs are so exciting, he says, is that they depend on the communities that form and support them. 

For Aoki, this is a great thing, because many musicians have a large and passionate following.

“As musical NFTs become an integral part of how we onboard and support artists, labels will need to offer more than music.”

For the DJ, Web 3.0 is synonymous with ownership, and that includes ownership of your data. He said that in the future, as technology improves, the days of Facebook and Instagram hoarding user data will come to an end. And that the internet will become something that empowers users.

Last month, Aoki interrupted one of his own sets, pulling out his phone to show a picture of a pink NFT alien which cost him nearly 270 ETH.

In the video, which he posted on Twitter, he told the crowd: “Check this little gorgeous alien out. I had to stop the music because I’m so excited. NFTs make me feel like a kid again!”

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