Why Brian Eno doesn't like NFTs

Ambient music pioneer Brian Eno is not a fan of the recent NFT craze, labelling the blockchain technology mainly as a tool for “hustlers looking for suckers.”

In a recent interview with the Crypto Syllabus, the musician opened up about his concerns with the rise of Non-Fungible Tokens.

"I’ve been approached several times to ‘make an NFT’," Brian Eno revealed. "So far nothing has convinced me that there is anything worth making in that arena. ‘Worth making’ for me implies bringing something into existence that adds value to the world, not just to a bank account."

"If I had primarily wanted to make money I would have had a different career as a different kind of person," he added. "I probably wouldn’t have chosen to be an artist."

"NFTs seem to me just a way for artists to get a little piece of the action from global capitalism, our own cute little version of financialisation. How sweet – now artists can become little capitalist assholes as well."

But NFTs are not the only aspect of the larger crypo ecosystem which Eno eyes with suspicion. When the topic of cryptocurrencies came up, the artist was not too optimistic.

"Much of the energy behind crypto arises from the very strong need that some people feel to operate outside of a state, and therefore outside of any sort of democratic communal overview."

"The idea that Ayn Rand, that Nietzsche-for-Teenagers toxin, should have had her whacky ideas enshrined in a philosophy about money is what is terrifying to me."

When asked if he sees any potential silver linings or advantages for the artists, Eno admitted that there was potential but overall seemed unconvinced.

"I imagine there can and perhaps even are now interesting creative uses of crypto technologies, as yet I don’t see them," he said. "I am not sure what is being brought into the world that makes any difference to anything other than some strings of numbers moving about in some bank accounts."

"I want to know what is changing, what is being made different, what is helping, what is moving? I don’t see any answers to that question."

Other artists have not been as reticent towards the new technology, as Kings of Leon put out an NFT version of their latest album When You See Yourself. 

Earlier this year Eno teamed up with Against All Logic (aka Nicolás Jaar) and a number of other artists to put together It's Not Complicated – a new compilation album with all proceeds going to Medical Aid for Palestine and Grassroots Al-Quds.