Tattoo artist Scott Campbell joined Yahoo Finance to discuss how artists can unlock value from their tattoo designs using NFTs.
Video Transcript
– Brian Cheung, you said first in our history. Let’s talk about another first. And that is in regards to the value of tattoos. Let’s bring into the stream Scott Campbell. He is a tattoo artist launching a platform called All Our Best that will help value tattoos. He’s here to explain it because we’re also talking about NFTs. So if– well, what is it and then we’ll break down where you’re going with it. How do you value the design of the tattoos for the platform?
SCOTT CAMPBELL: I mean, basically– historically tattoos have been valued by the amount of time it takes to apply to someone’s skin, you know? Like tattoo artist– we have huge cultural impact on pop culture and– but then we’ll– you know, we will create original artworks and charge by the hour for how long it takes to apply to the skin. And so basically with– you know, as I’ve learned more about NFTs as a as a device, what we want to do is we’re shifting the way we offer what we do to releasing certain amount of images each month as NFTs, which you would purchase the image as an NFT and then you have the option to come and get it tattooed. So in– the summary is we’re– instead of selling hours in our chair, we’re selling you the actual image. And that shift in value, kind of, has a lot of repercussions and changes throughout our industry and the way what we do is valued.
– Scott, what’s the income potential of this? How do you plan to price these NFTs?
SCOTT CAMPBELL: I’m not– I mean, you know, there’s so many crazy headlines with NFTs getting these like astronomical, you know, values, but I really– I want to change tattoo culture. I want to change the value of what I do in, kind of, an organic and permanent way. This isn’t, like, a cash grab where I’m trying to, like, get the most expensive tattoo in history.
I really want to just, you know– I mean, I charge between $1,000 and $5,000 for my tattoos. And so I’ll sell these for similar, maybe a little bit more, because now the client is getting more than just a mark on their skin. They’re actually getting a digital asset that is worth a dollar amount. So they walk away with a little bit more than just bragging rights and an Instagram post.
– Are they getting a digital asset that also has copyright with it? For instance, you buy the NFT, you can get the image, but let’s say your buddy sees your– the image– and says, oh, I want that and then goes to another tattoo artist, have they violated some kind of code? Is that where the value is?
SCOTT CAMPBELL: I mean people already– you know, most influential tattoo artist– our stuff is already being, you know, kind of, copied off the Instagram and re-tattooed over and over. If anything, the whole– the NFT, kind of, acts as a certificate of authenticity for these tattoos. You know, It’s, kind of, like– the best analogy I can come up with is imagine, like, you get a tattoo from this famous tattoo artist, and you pay a bunch of money for it, and now you get this, sort of, digital baseball card of your tattoo that comes along with it. You know, so it, kind of, it– it’s like if the tattoo is the painting, the NFT is the signature that certifies it.
– Scott, you’ve worked with a number of celebrities in the past year, what is the reception been like or have you gotten any feedback to this idea so far?
SCOTT CAMPBELL: People are really excited. I mean, you know, the NFT world is kind of one big experiment that I think every creative and artist is looking at. But yeah, I mean, I’ve had a number of clients reach out and are pretty excited about participating in it. And, yeah, I’m really excited about it because I think it gives tatoos kind of stature in– you know, that’s on par with other fine art mediums, you know, where now actually it’s not so finite like now. Like if the tattoo exists as an NFT, like, that NFT has resale value.
You know, the idea that you– that tattoos have resale value– that sentence alone is kind of mind-blowing, or that your kids could inherit your tattoos, you know? Giving them a larger life is really– I feel like it just gives honor to this craft that I’ve been doing for so many years.
– The platform is called All Our Best. We appreciate your being here. Scott Campbell is the artist, the tattoo artist, and the brains behind that platform and good luck.
