The World’s Largest Record Company Is Creating an NFT Super Group
Kingship, consisting of four virtual apes, reimagines the idea of a band — and a brand
Universal Music, the home to top-selling musicians like Drake and Taylor Swift, is working with collector Jimmy McNelis to convert four of his NFTs into a band called Kingship. Kingship consists of four digital characters — three bored apes and one mutant ape — all part of an NFT collection known as the Bored Ape Yacht Club. The club is one of the most successful NFT stories of the past year; it gave anyone who bought one of the apes full commercial rights to use the image.
...While Joshua has a novel idea — an NFT band — a virtual band is not unprecedented. In 1998, musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett created a virtual quartet called the Gorillaz. Albarn made the music and Hewlett designed four animated characters who appeared in music videos and the occasional interview or live performance. Albarn also gave interviews representing the group, and performed alongside musical collaborators.
What’s different this time around is how Kingship will make money — and interact with fans. Joshua plans to sell NFTs of Kingship, giving buyers access to exclusive music experiences and real-world events. Think of it as fan club for the virtual world.
Joshua pitched him on the idea of creating a new group, and picked four characters that she thought would work as a band. That includes a golden ape, another of which just sold at Sotheby’s for $3.4 million. Kingship's golden ape is valuedat around $190,000 at current prices, according to offer data on OpenSea, the largest marketplace for NFTs.
True believers say NFTs offer buyers something real — a bit of ownership in artists they like or access to special experiences. NFTs also speak to the blurring lines between our tangible and virtual worlds.
See the full story here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-11/the-world-s-largest-record-company-is-creating-an-nft-super-group
