generate value from your historical content (or Content Archives) With NFTs

Companies often have decades of content in their archives, much of it special and related to a period or message that resonated with their audience. Media companies have archived past works, videos, news stories, or audio recordings. Consumer brands have saved past advertising, and creative professionals have past creations in abundance.

 All of this can be monetized thanks to NFTs. 

How NFTs and Historical Content Come Together

Historical content can have tremendous value, especially when something unique in its time can now offer some rights of ownership to select individuals. For instance, a classic commercial that was well received could be purchased and owned by a loyal customer that associates a great memory to first seeing it run.

The NFT tells the world that content ownership is restricted to only one individual or entity, giving the historical content considerable value.

 The best way to show how historical content can be monetized would be through a few high-profile examples.

 CNN

In June 2021, CNN announced the availability of NFTs tied to its historical news archives, making over 700,000 "Moments" available for purchase through Vault by CNN. If the picture of a specific event, like a political rally, or the news story announcing the arrival of the Delta variant of COVID-19, is something that one would like to own, it's available.

 Currently on the website are postcards from the war in Ukraine, videos from the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, and defining moments from the eighties. Yes, you could own the video projecting Ronald Reagan will beat Walter Mondale for a second presidential term in 1984. Well, actually, that one’s sold out.

Interestingly, CNN still retains copyright and ownership, meaning owners do not have control over the content. Yet, many of the moments on the site are sold out. Every Hubble video NFT is sold, and the "Free Britney" story from November 2021 didn't last long before selling out.

Nyan Cat

In April 2011, a video was uploaded to YouTube that merged a Japanese pop song and an animated cartoon cat with a Pop-Tart for a torso flying through space, and it was the 5th most viewed video of 2011. Ten years later, it sold as an NFT for $580,000.

 You can buy an official Nyan Cat NFT on Opensea for about $840 at the time of this writing.

 Beeple

An artist named Beeple had never sold any of his works for over $200 before NFTs. A collage of 5,000 digital images created by him, called Everydays: the First 5000 Days, sold for $69.3 million at Christie's in 2021. That sale made Beeple one of the most valuable living artists.

What set Beeple apart is that his work was 5000 days of continuous pictures or artistry to which only one person could claim ownership. It was unprecedented in the market.

 Carl's Jr. and Hardee's

Using shots from their 2015 "All-Natural Burger" campaign, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's started monetizing the ads as NFTs in 2021.

 Other Notable Sales

Other notable historical content NFT sales include:

• Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sold the “First Tweet NFT” in 2021 for $2.9 million.
• Lebron James Moment NFTs sell for an average of $44,861.
• Eminem's first NFT collection included original instrumental beats that were previously unreleased. The collection earned $1.8 million.
• Stan Lee's estate sells posthumous NFTs of Lee's cartoon characters.
• Domino's resurrected the former 1980s "Noid" advertising campaign in a series of NFTs.

Celebrities, sports stars, media companies, artists, and pizza chains are only some of the entities benefiting from monetizing their historical content.

Your Content Has Value Too

Any company or personality with fans or brand loyalists has monetizable historical content. If Dominos Pizza can monetize the "Noid" campaign from the 1980s, imagine what you have in your archives. We're talking about an intentionally  annoying ad campaign featuring a pizza villain that once drove a man to take two hostages and demand $100,000.

While your content may not have Hubble Space Telescope launch videos, it has advertisements, images, music, or artworks that once connected with people. Adding the value of exclusivity through NFTs makes your content appealing and valuable.

Evaluating Content Value

When considering the value to attach to your historical content, it's safe to say we're still in somewhat uncharted waters considering the infancy of the NFT market. The key considerations in valuing your content NFTs are: 

Rarity

At the core of NFTs is rarity, as each NFT is one of a kind unless part of a co-ownership structure. In the case of co-ownership, the token is actually fungible, as it is equal to the other tokens with which ownership is shared. Scarcity drives price, and an offering that has resonance, and feels rare, drives value. Historical content can be sold as a one-time offering or to multiple owners at a limited volume.

History

The origins of NFTs matter. If it has a particular creator or story behind it, the NFT's value increases significantly. Lebron James' NFTs are videos of especially memorable slam dunks, but it's safe to say a video of King James standing on a street corner might not have the same value. 

If your ad campaign or artistic piece has a great story behind it, the value of your NFT goes up.

Community

Does your brand have an active online presence and community? The size and activeness of that community are determinants of value. The larger the community, the more word of mouth for the NFT, helping it reach even more potential buyers.

Marketing

Marketing drives perception and value. If you offer significant historical content, let everyone know that you have something unique.

Personal Taste

The CNN site shows a tremendous variety of NFTs to match different personal tastes. Many historical content NFTs are repackaged to be more artful or expressive, thus increasing their appeal to modern personal preferences and improving their value. 

Take a Look Around

When considering what content to monetize and how best to do so, look to others' offerings. NFT sites like Opensea are great places to explore current values and what's popular. If you are not as up-to-date on the NFT market as you'd like, you'll be shocked to see the variety of monetized content.

If the Noid can be monetized, you have a treasure trove in your archives.

Anterdit offers media organizations a unique way to create new revenue streams with their content and historical archives. Using Anterdit’s white-label marketplace, media groups can create new releases, mint assets and more. To learn more about launching your own NFT marketplace, set up a call with our team today.