Hey, Tenor Drummers! Let’s talk about the drumline trading cards of the future.
Blockchain and digital assets are taking over the World and will soon affect almost every aspect of our lives.
One obvious and super high priority use case is digital Drumline Trading Cards!
NFT’s can easily make Drumline Trading Cards a reality
“NFT’s, or non-fungible tokens, are one-of-a-kind digital assets that can take the form of pictures, music, video, event tickets, and more. They exist on a blockchain and give the buyer/holder immutable digital ownership rights.”
What drummer wouldn’t want rare, verifiable, digital drumline trading cards from the Bluecoats, Cavaliers, SCV, or Blue Devils?! Not to leave anyone out, but you get the idea. There could even be separate ones for quads, bass, and snares.
Any NBA fans? They’ve been doing digital trading cards for a while now with NBA Top Shots. Let’s steal their idea!
In addition to social media street cred and potential resale profit, what if corps offered special prizes or benefits to NFT holders?
American Idol is doing just that for their 20th season. Viewers can purchase NFT “contestant-based trading cards” and get prizes as the performers advance through the show.
DCI fans aren’t the only ones who would benefit. This could also dramatically affect corps fundraising. In addition to the profit from the initial sale, corps can receive a portion of any NFT resales.
Maybe, just maybe, dues could even decrease with the extra revenue generated.
Some other ideas that could be available only to NFT holders:
- Drumming session/lesson with the line
- Dinner/hang with staff and members
- Special seat blocks at shows
- behind-the-scenes videos
- discounts on merchandise
- high quality audio recording downloads
The possibilities are endless. And even though I began only referring to drumlines, this could of course apply to the horns, colorguard, and corps as a whole.
But, the world of digital assets is a little tricky right now. It’s very new technology and not the easiest to operate.
Tenor Drum Champ NFT
To get you all acquainted with the process, I issued my own Tenor Drum Champ NFT’s on the Solana blockchain.
Yes, they cost money, but also come with gifts.
Purchasers not only get at least one free drum lesson but also free merchandise from my store.
You obviously also get the bragging rights of owning one of the first ever tenor drum-themed drum lesson/merch NFT’s.
(Since I’ve posted this, the actual $ price of my NFT’s has plummeted. So if you want to buy some merch, you can get it cheaper by buying this NFT and redeeming the free merch/lesson. BUT, you still have to jump through all those crypto hoops. I’m not offering lessons right now to regular customers, but I’ll make exceptions for NFT holders.)
Okay, looks interesting. So how do you actually do this?
To buy NFT’s on Solana, there are a few steps. Might want to sit down though.
- You first need to get some SOL, the currency of the Solana blockchain. Download a centralized exchange app, like Coinbase, FTX, Crypto.com, or Binance. Link up your bank account, and buy some SOL. (other blockchains require different currencies)
- Next, you need a digital wallet for the Solana blockchain. I recommend the Phantom Wallet, no pun intended :). Be sure to WRITE YOUR SEED PHRASE ON PAPER, NOT ON A COMPUTER, AND STORE IT SOMEWHERE VERY SAFE AND SECURE. ANYONE WITH YOUR SEED PHRASE CAN TAKE EVERYTHING IN YOUR WALLET AND YOU CAN’T GET IT BACK, EVER. Withdraw your SOL from the centralized exchange to your Phantom Wallet.
- When that’s all done, head over to SolSea, connect your wallet/register, and buy yourself a Tenor Drum Champ NFT. You can request your lesson and merch by sending your Public Wallet Address (not seed phrase!) and merch selection to me on the Contact Us page.
I know, I know, that was a lot
Yes, this is probably very intimidating, but like anything, it’s not too bad once you get used to it. I guarantee that understanding this process will be well worth the effort in the future.
Again, blockchain will affect everything in your life sooner than you think, so you might as well get comfortable with it.
Don’t hesitate to search YouTube for instructional videos on how to use centralized exchanges, digital wallets, Solsea, etc. There’s plenty of info out there.
One last thing, this is not in any way financial advice. Please be careful at every step and be extremely wary of anyone direct messaging you with help. These are usually scammers and will take all your money. Be sure to check with your local, state, and federal laws regarding cryptocurrency before proceeding.
Most importantly, reach out to your favorite drum corps and let them know you want Drumline Trading Cards!
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