On Friday, Kings of Leon will release their new album, entitled When you see yourself, in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) – becoming the first band to do so.
The band is releasing three types of tokens as part of a series called “NFT Yourself”, say the people involved in the project Rolling Stone. One type is a special album package, while a second type offers live show benefits, such as front row seats for life, and a third type is for exclusive audiovisual art only. All three types of tokens offer art designed by the band’s longtime partner, Night After Night; the smart contracts and intelligence within the tokens were developed by YellowHeart, a company that wants to use blockchain technology to bring value back to music and better direct relationships with fans.
A quick summary: NFTs are a type of cryptocurrency, but instead of retaining money, they can retain assets such as art, tickets and music. NFTs operate on a blockchain, which is a transparent and publicly accessible network – meaning that anyone can see the details of any NFT transaction. The computers involved in the transactions become part of the network, which is updated continuously and cannot be hacked due to its multifaceted hydra nature. In the case of NFTs, their value becomes subjective and, therefore, fluctuates, like similar actions. (To learn more about this, read Rolling Stoneencryption guide in music.)
Previously, NFTs had a relatively underground sequence made up of DJs and producers. But these digital tokens became popular in the past year, as many musicians sought additional sources of revenue in the pandemic-free era. I like Portugal. The Man, Shawn Mendes and Grimes have embarked in recent weeks.
Shortly after YellowHeart was first formed in 2018, the company attracted industry interest in the possibilities of cryptography in ticket sales, but founder and CEO Josh Katz says it is only one facet. As with the Reis de Leão and Portugal. The Man, Katz offers consulting services through YellowHeart to educate artists on blockchain and create their NFTs.
The Kings of Leon album will be released wherever they are released – Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon – but the NFT version available on YellowHeart will be the only product with special advantages. The token, priced at $ 50, includes enhanced media – a kind of alternative and mobile album cover – as well as a digital download of limited edition music and vinyl. The sale of the NFTs album starts on Friday at 12 noon, Eastern Time, and continues for two weeks. After that time, nothing else will be done and the NFT becomes a negotiable collectible.
“In the last 20 years – two lost decades – we have seen the devaluation of music”, says Katz Rolling Stone. “Music has become great at selling everything except music. There was a race to the bottom, where, with as little money as possible, you have access to it all. Previously, it cost $ 20 to buy a song. ”He believes that the subscription-based pro rata model of streaming irreparably hurts artists, and NFTs will make modern fans want to have the song again:“ It’s an early stage, but in the future, I think that’s how people will release their music. ranges: when they sell a 100,000 for a dollar each, then they won $ 100,000. “
YellowHeart is coining 18 unique-looking “golden tickets” as part of the Kings of Leon NFT launch. Of the 18, the band will auction six and skip the other 12 as a painter would with a rare piece from an art series. “Each of these is a unique NFT with the most incredible Kings of Leon art you’ve ever seen,” explains Katz.
Each “golden ticket” also unlocks a real concert ticket – marking the first time a song the ticket was officially sold as an NFT. Whoever owns the token is guaranteed four seats in the front row for any Kings of Leon show during each tour for life. The token owner also has a VIP experience that includes a personal driver, a concierge at the show to take care of your needs, a hangout with the band before the show and exclusive access to the lounge. Upon leaving the parade, the fan’s car will have four bags full of all items from the product stand.
Katz points out that this is an “extreme example for proving a point.” YellowHeart wants to show people how much control can be put on the ticket with smart contracts. In the future, he says this same technology can be used for general ticketing, which could be a major breakthrough in the secondary market. Each time an NFT is resold, a percentage of the money earned can go to the artist – or whoever is included in the contract, perhaps even a charity. (In these cases, YellowHeart can also set a maximum price for which the NFT can be resold, eliminating money changers.)
In the final option of Kings of Leon, there are six other exclusive-looking tokens that are standard NFTs with elaborate audiovisual art. Starting on Thursday, fans will be able to see them on the YellowHeart website. Prices range from $ 95 to $ 2,500. YellowHeart will coin as many as are sold before Sunday at 8 pm Eastern Time, which is also when the “golden ticket” NFT auction will end. (However, if someone bids in the last 10 minutes of the auction, they will zero for another 10 minutes.)
Over time, all of these NFTs are expected to increase in value. Thanks to these smart contracts mentioned, the revenue generated from future resale will go wherever artists want. Kings of Leon decided to donate all proceeds from two of the offerings – the $ 50 NFT album and the most expensive “golden ticket”, called Bandit Wave # 2 – to Live Nation’s Crew Nation fund for unemployed tour professionals.
Katz says that NFTs allow maximum creativity around the release of content, which he believes to be a big draw at a time when artists are taking a more DIY approach. He plans for YellowHeart to become an entertainment portfolio that holds songs, tickets and collectible content from fans.
As encryption broke out in the music industry, the Kings of Leon project this week is by far the most extensive foray into NFTs to date. With that, the band wanted to “deconstruct, degenerate and distort the band’s iconic symbols and photography,” wrote the Kings of Leon team in a press release to be released today (March 3). “The result is a stunning reimagination of the body of work of this legendary band. Without using external material, all source photos were taken by anyone [Kings of Leon creative director and Night After Night CCO] Casey McGrath or band member Matthew Followill. “
“We approach the launch of When you see yourself in an analog way, from approaching the band in the studio to filming everything on film and even went so far as to literally pull the tape and the glue sticks and the dry transfer letters, ”says McGrath in the statement. “Approaching ‘NFT YOURSELF’ with a digital art mindset sent electricity through work. For those in the space who understand, they will appreciate the techniques of audio-generated image, pose detection and pixel transformation that we use to create this collectible art. For those who do not, we hope you will appreciate the undeniable power and emotion that results from the collision of analog and digital. “