I think the more apt analogy to NFTs was if George Lucas shot Star Wars, and then sold a single copy of it to a wealthy patron for a large sum of money (see: Martin Shkreli buying the only copy of the Wu-Tang album), and from there on out the film passes through a successive chain of wealthy collectors, only occasionally shown at exclusive parties for the aggrandizement of their owners. The only chance for the general public to see the film would be occasional exhibitions held in conjunction with museums.

I don't think it'd be controversial to say that the world would've been poorer for it - and George Lucas too. If the goal is financial success for artists, mass distribution always beats selective exclusion, and if the goal is broad cultural impact the case for mass distribution is even clearer.