In recent days, a number of problems have emerged concerning the relationship of Meta, and Instagram in particular, with the Italian SIAE (copyright collecting agency) and NFT.

Instagram is the popular App owned by Meta, i.e., the company once called Facebook that still controls the famous social network and messaging app WhatsApp.

However, for some time now, the social network Facebook has seemed to be somewhat in decline, while Instagram, on the other hand, continues to grow, despite facing very strong competition from China’s TikTok.

Instagram and NFT

By now, after the half-failed initiative related to its own metaverse, Meta has decided to focus mainly on Instagram, and for several months it had also begun to explore the potential related to NFTs.

The first tests were conducted in May last year, and they focused on artworks and a small number of US users.

In September, the new NFT-related features were opened to all US users, with the ability to link their wallets to share NFTs or digital collectibles.

You can now post digital collectibles on @Facebook and @Instagram Connect your digital wallet to either app and start sharing your #NFTs today.

Learn more https://t.co/aH8036aVwX pic.twitter.com/0AuZWHUFsy

— Meta (@Meta) August 29, 2022

At the time, they stated that NFTs on Ethereum, Polygon and Flow were compatible, with the goal of extending support to the Solana blockchain and the Phantom wallet as well.

However, a few days ago Meta’s head of Commerce & FinTech, Stephane Kasriel, said they are scaling back digital collectibles (NFTs) to focus on other ways to support creators.

Some product news: across the company, we’re looking closely at what we prioritize to increase our focus. We’re winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses. [1/5]

— Stephane Kasriel (@skasriel) March 13, 2023

While there is not much more information about this, it is assumed that Meta has simply decided to stop focusing on NFT features, although for now it does not appear to have eliminated them altogether.

Indeed, it does not appear that this initiative has been very successful, perhaps partly because it was undertaken at an unfavorable time.

NFT Bubble

Taking as a reference the dollar volume of NFT trades on the main marketplace, OpenSea, the peak occurred in January 2022 at the height of the bubble.

That bubble then burst, shortly after the bursting of the bubble in the crypto markets, so much so that by September, when Meta actually launched NFT functionality on Instagram, trading volumes were down 93% from their highs at the beginning of the year, and 87% from a year earlier.

Although they were still 230% higher than the first NFT market boom in March 2021, the hype was now over.

It is possible that Meta’s decision to enter this market was made during the bull run, that is, when the hype was exaggerated, and that afterwards they simply discounted the bursting of the bubble.

Last month, the NFT market seemed to have recovered somewhat, with $700 million in volumes traded on OpenSea, or twice as much as in September 2022, but the 2021 hype has now worn off.

Given that Meta is actually riddled with problems, to the extent that it is continuing to lay off thousands of employees, it may be that they have decided to cut off some dead branches.

Instagram and the Italian SIAE

The decision not to renew the agreement with the SIAE can also be understood in this context.

SIAE is the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers, which is the organization that protects copyrights in Italy.

Meta decision

Yesterday ANSA revealed that Meta has not renewed its licensing agreement with the SIAE, and so it will be forced to remove from all of its platforms intellectual works protected by the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers.

In particular, it will be forced to remove from Instagram’s catalog all music by authors registered with the SIAE, so much so that a Meta spokesperson confirmed:

“The protection of the copyrights of composers and artists is a priority for us and for this reason from today we will start the procedure to remove the songs from the SIAE repertoire in our music library.” 

However, the spokesman also mischievously commented that Meta has licensing agreements in more than 150 countries around the world, and that it will continue its efforts to reach an agreement with the Italian SIAE “that satisfies all parties.”

The SIAE itself added that Meta’s decision to exclude SIAE’s repertoire from its catalog is unilateral, and remarks on the matter stating that they were in fact asked to accept a unilateral proposal from Meta “regardless of any transparent and shared assessment of the actual value of the repertoire.”

As such, the issue appears to be an economic one.

Indeed, Meta is making extensive and deep cuts in expenses, and probably had in mind to cut costs related to the exploitation rights of SIAE-protected songs on its platforms as well.

Evidently SIAE did not agree to accept a reduction in revenue, and so the negotiations broke down because the two companies could not find common ground.

From the words of Meta’s spokesperson there seems to be a willingness to resume negotiations, but from those of the SIAE there also seems to be an unwillingness to negotiate on the economic figures requested.

The fact remains that Meta is not experiencing a good time at all, economically speaking, and it is not only the company’s employees but also the users of its platforms who are paying the price.

NFTs, Non-Fungible Tokens, are coming to Instagram as well: here is the full tutorial on how digital assets will be managed in one of the most influential social platforms in the world. 

In recent months, Meta brought a novel feature useful for sharing non-fungible tokens purchased or held on other platforms. Recently, however, came the announcement of a system that will allow people to create and sell them directly, without having to go through external services. 

For now, the company has involved only a small group of creators in the United States. It is important to highlight that Meta’s choice demonstrates how the NFT market is becoming increasingly attractive around the world.

NFT collections on Instagram based on the Polygon blockchain 

Similar to what happens on TikTok, it will also become possible on Instagram to purchase virtual assets to give away to influencers during reels and live streams, and for creators to translate into earnings. 

NFT collections on Meta are based on the Polygon blockchain, but they will also be able to be sold through third-party marketplaces. This Instagram feature was recently made available to users in more than 100 countries. 

Moreover, the beta release had not yet introduced all the features that will now be accessible. In fact, for a few months now, the social network has already allowed users to show their token collection by relying on blockchain networks such as Flow and Ethereum and wallets such as MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Dapper Wallet, Rainbow and Trust Wallet.

Specifically, Meta communicated: 

“Everyone on Facebook and Instagram in the US can now link their wallets and share their digital collectibles. This includes allowing people to cross-post digital collectibles they own on both Facebook and Instagram.”

So, as of now, users of these two social media outlets will be able to publish their collectibles. By doing so, they will also be able to link their digital wallets to either or both applications. With this, Instagram’s interest in NFTs complements the project of Meta, which is building the metaverse precisely as a container for this virtual world filled with digital assets.

Tutorial for Instagram’s NFTs: the step-by-step guide 

The creation of non-fungible tokens on Instagram will be very simple, in a way that will make them usable and enjoyable to a less tech-savvy audience. However, creating a digital asset with an economic value that remains constant or increases over time is not as easy. 

The risk is that creators and influencers, who do not have the necessary experience to create NFT-related business models that are sustainable over time, can create collections that will quickly reset their value. For this reason, those who want to invest should always focus on a project that has utility and a medium- to long-term perspective.

In any case, to publish NFTs on Instagram, you must first own an NFT and a digital wallet. Only then will you then be able to mint digital collectibles directly within your Instagram account, even though this feature is still under development at the moment. 

In all this, Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said in May that Meta will not charge any fees for publishing or sharing digital collectibles on Instagram or Facebook. However, this could change in the future, as soon as the coin is available, as gas fees will be involved in registering new NFTs on a blockchain.

Step one: link the digital wallet to the social 

To publish an NFT on Instagram, the first thing you need is a digital wallet, which is an app that allows for sending and receiving electronic transactions, fungible assets such as crypto and non-fungible assets such as NFTs. 

At present, Instagram supports multiple digital wallets, but you will only be able to share NFTs stored in Trust Wallet, Rainbow or Phantom on your Instagram feed. Hardware wallets, such as Ledger, are unfortunately not supported at this time.

In any case, after selecting a digital wallet, you must log into your Instagram account, go to your profile, and select the “digital collectibles” tab in the settings. From there, you will see the option to connect a digital wallet in order to start the verification process and share NFTs on Instagram. 

At this point, it is necessary to click on “Connect Wallet” and there will be a few steps to select it. 

Second step: choose the NFT to publish 

This second step is quite simple: just go to the settings from the profile page and select “Digital Collectibles” from the menu. At this point, you are directed to a new page, which lists all the NFTs currently available from the linked digital wallet. 

Step three: caption, hashtag, and ownership information 

The third step is optional but important because in many cases the virality of any Instagram post also depends on the factors we are about to list. Namely: adding a caption and hashtags to the chosen digital collectible. 

As anticipated, this is not a mandatory step but is often recommended or chosen by the users themselves, as a proper caption and targeted hashtags can help the NFT to index properly in the platform. In a nutshell: reach as many people as possible. 

Last step: share the NFT, and, if you want, sell it on Instagram 

Once the previous steps have been completed, all that remains is to click “Share” to make your work visible to everyone in the Instagram feed. Also, once the new post is published on the feed, you will notice a new checkmark in the upper right corner of the image. 

The same check mark will also appear in the lower-left corner of the image if displayed in full size, indicating that it is a digital collectible. If you select the icon, a new panel will be displayed to provide additional information about the NFT, such as ownership and origin.

When viewing NFTs on Instagram, you will notice a new white shimmer effect on the image, confirming that it is a digital collectible. Finally, if you want you can opt to put the NFT up for sale on Instagram. 

Be careful, however, because in order to complete even this step, you must first have a Business or Creator account. Then, connect a digital wallet that supports the Polygon blockchain, create the collectible on Instagram. (As, currently, only collectibles created on Instagram can be sold on Instagram.) And, finally, select the sell option during creation. 

However, this option is also still under development at the moment.