The musical guest Kings of Leon will perform on January 18, 2017.
Andrew Lipovsky | NBC | NBCUniversal | Getty Images
The American rock band Kings of Leon is starting to go crazy over non-fungible characters, commonly known as NFTs.
The group has announced that they are releasing their latest album, “When You See Yourself”, in the form of an NFT, which will make it one of the first bands to do so. Kings of Leon is offering its album package with a vinyl and digital download for $ 50. It will be released on Friday on YellowHeart (a ticket and music NFT platform) and open for two weeks from 12:00 ET. After the two-week period, no more will be made.
Kings of Leon also offers more exclusive items as part of a series called “NFT Yourself.” People can experience one of six “golden ticket” experiences, which can give fans four seats in the front row for displaying their choice for life during each tour.
Crypto collectibles have exploded in popularity recently. The ownership of these assets is recorded in a blockchain – a digital ledger similar to the networks that support bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. But unlike most virtual currencies, you can not exchange one NFT for another in the same way as with dollars or gold bars. Each NFT is unique and serves as a collectible that cannot be duplicated, making it barely of design.
In the case of music, proponents suggest NFTs could help artists struggling with digital piracy, low streaming royalty rates and a lack of tourist revenue during the past year of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
Ryan Browne of CNBC contributed to this report.
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