Feb 13
Why Rihanna’s Super Bowl NFT won’t help you understand NFTs.
The Rihanna SuperBowl NFT hot takes across web3 praising its “use case” (as if to assume it paves the way for other artists who want to do as she did ) is exactly what’s wrong with everyone in web3 taking cues from web2 influencers and big brands.
The reason it worked for Rihanna has nothing to do with the NFT she deployed.
It’s got everything to do with Rhianna herself.
If you are NOT Rihanna, what are the chances of you doing anything remotely similar in web3? Slim to none.
Because you don’t have her audience.
- What Rihanna did with NFTs cannot be replicated by anyone except for…Rihanna.
- What Gary Vee did with NFTs cannot be done by anyone except for…Gary Vee.
- What Beeple did with NFTs cannot be done by anyone except for…Beeple.
Don’t concentrate on their NFTs.
Or their current strategies.
Concentrate on understanding how they built emotional connections with their audiences in the first place.
Audiences built for years, if not decades.
Rihanna dropping an NFT after years of being mega-famous tells us nothing about her NFT as a viable model for anyone outside of her brand.
Because….
People will literally buy ANYTHING from her at this point.
Rihanna can successfully sell perfumes without knowing a thing about perfumes now.
When you have an audience that follows you, you can drop the lamest NFT in the world and it will still sell out.
But wait! There’s more…
You will get praised for doing genius things that aren’t actually that smart. (just look at Logan Paul).
It’s not about the NFT.
Or the “NFT ownership”.
It’s not about the use case.
Or the utility.
So what is it about?
Who can…
👉 move the crowd;
👉 by telling the biggest stories;
👉 that tap into the beating heart of culture.
Stop chasing celebrity tabloid culture in web3.
Start building a meaningful audience by helping (real) people do stuff that matters to them.
Become their champion.
Become their storyteller.
Utility is found in helping people become better versions of themselves.
