Musical guest Kings of Leon will perform on January 18, 2017.
Andrew Lipovsky | NBC | NBCUniversal | Getty Images
American rock band Kings of Leon is going into a frenzy for non-fungible tokens, widely known as NFTs.
The group announced that it will offer their latest album, “When You See Yourself”, in the form of an NFT, becoming one of the first bands to do so. Kings of Leon is offering its vinyl and digital downloadable album package for a $ 50 token. It will be released on Friday at YellowHeart (an NFT ticket and music platform) and open for two weeks starting at mid- ET day. After that two-week period, nothing else will be done.
Kings of Leon is also offering more exclusive items as part of a series called “NFT Yourself”. People can bid on one of six “golden ticket” experiences, which offer fans four seats in the front row for the show of their choice during each tour for life.
Crypto collectibles have exploded in popularity recently. Ownership of these assets is registered on a blockchain – a digital ledger similar to the networks that support bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. But unlike most virtual currencies, you wouldn’t be able to exchange one NFT for another in the same way you would exchange dollars or gold bars. Each NFT is unique and acts as a collector’s item that cannot be duplicated, making them rare by design.
In the case of music, proponents suggest that NFTs can help artists fighting digital piracy, low streaming royalty rates and lack of revenue from tours last year due to restrictions on the Covid-19 pandemic.
– Ryan Browne of CNBC contributed to this report.
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