On Friday, Kings of Leon will release their new album, titled, If you see yourself, in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) – which becomes the first band to ever do so.
The band is actually dropping three types of tokens as part of a series called ‘NFT Yourself’, say people involved in the project. Rolling clip. One type is a special album package, while a second type offers life benefits such as lifetime front seats, and a third type only for exclusive audiovisual art. All three types of characters offer art designed by the group’s longtime creative 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 give value back to music and better direct-to-fan relationships.
A brief overview: NFTs are a type of cryptocurrency, but instead of owning money, they can hold assets such as art, cards and music. NFTs operate on a blockchain, which is a publicly accessible and transparent network, which means that anyone can see the details of any NFT transaction. Computers involved in the transactions become part of the network, which is constantly updated and cannot be hacked. In the case of NFTs, their value becomes subjective and varies, similar to equities. (Read more about the topic Rolling clip‘s guide to crypto in music.)
NFTs have previously had a relatively underground following of DJs and producers. But these digital signs have become mainstream in recent years as many musicians have sought additional revenue streams in the concertless era of the pandemic. Like Portugal. The Man, Shawn Mendes and Grimes have been on board for the past few weeks.
Shortly after YellowHeart first emerged in 2018, the company gained interest in the industry for the possibility of crypto for tickets, but Josh Katz, founder and CEO, says it’s just one facet. As was the case with both Kings of Leon and Portugal. The Man, Katz offers consulting services through YellowHeart to educate artists about blockchain and create their NFTs.
Kings of Leon’s album is released everywhere – albums, Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, but the NFT version available on YellowHeart is the only product with special benefits. The token, which costs $ 50, includes enhanced media – such as an alternative, moving album cover – as well as a digital download of the music and a limited edition vinyl. The sale of the album NFTs opens Friday at 12 noon ET and lasts for two weeks. After that time, there will be no more making, and the NFT will become a tradable collectible.
“Over the last 20 years – two lost decades – we’ve seen the devaluation of music,” Katz says. Rolling clip. ‘Music has become very good at selling anything but music. There was a race to the bottom where you, for as little money as possible, have access to everything. Previously, it cost $ 20 to get one song. He believes streaming’s subscriber-based pro rata model is irreparably harming artists, and NFTs will want modern fans to have music again: ‘It’s early stages, but in the future I think that’s how people release their tracks: when they a 100,000 at a dollar each, then they only earn $ 100,000. ‘
YellowHeart is making 18 unique “gold tickets” as part of the Kings of Leon NFT release. Of the 18, the group will auction six and the other 12 will auction off as a painter with a rare piece from a series of arts would do. “Each of them is a unique NFT with the most incredible Kings of Leon art you have ever seen,” Katz explains.
Each ‘gold ticket’ also unlocks an actual concert ticket, which is a music for the first time ticket was officially sold as an NFT. Whoever owns the token has four lifelong seats in the front row for each Kings of Leon concert. The token owner also gets a VIP experience that includes a personal manager, a porter at the show to look after their needs, a hangout with the group before the show and exclusive access to the lounge. After leaving the show, the fan cart will contain four bags filled with each item from the store.
Katz points out that it is an “extreme example to prove a point.” YellowHeart wants to show people how much control can be put into the ticket with smart contracts. In the future, he says, the same technology could be used for general purpose tickets, which could be a major advancement in the secondary market. Each time an NFT is resold, a percentage of money earned can go to the artist – or whoever is included in the contract, perhaps even a charity. (In such cases, YellowHeart may also set a maximum price at which the NFT may be resold, eliminating scalpers.)
In the last option of Kings of Leon, there are six more unique characters that are standard NFTs with extensive audiovisual art. Fans can preview them on YellowHeart’s website from Thursday. Prices range from $ 95 to $ 2500. YellowHeart will be on sale, but many will be sold before Sunday at 20:00 ET. This is also when the NFT auction of the ‘golden ticket’ will end. (However, if someone bids in the last ten minutes of the auction, it will be reset for ten minutes.)
Over time, all of these NFTs are expected to increase in value. Thanks to the above smart contracts, the proceeds will go from future resale where the artists want them to go. Kings of Leon has decided to donate all proceeds from two of the offerings – the $ 50 album NFTs and the most expensive ‘golden ticket’, called Bandit Wave # 2, to Live Nation’s Crew Nation fund for professional tourists out of work .
Katz says NFTs allow for maximum creativity around content release, which he says is a big draw at a time when artists are taking a more independent approach. He plans to turn YellowHeart into an entertainment wallet featuring fans’ music, tickets and collectible content.
As crypto erupts in the music industry, Kings of Leon’s project this week is by far the most extensive decay to date in NFTs. With that, the band wanted to deconstruct, degenerate and distort ‘iconic band symbols and photography’, Kings of Leon’s team wrote in a press release that will be broad later today (March 3). ‘The result is a beautiful rendition of this legendary group’s work. No outside sources used, and each source photo was taken by one of them [Kings of Leon creative director and Night After Night CCO] Casey McGrath or orchestra member Matthew Followill. ”
‘We have the release of If you see yourself in such an analogous way, from the band’s approach in the studio to the recording of everything on film and went so far as to literally pull out the tape and glue sticks, and dry transfer letters, ”McGrath says in the release. “Approaching ‘NFT YOURSELF’ with a digital art way of thinking has sent electricity through the work. For those in the space who understand this, they will appreciate the techniques of sound-generated imaging, post-detection and pixel change that we used to create this collection art. For those who do not, we hope they will appreciate the unmistakable power and emotion due to the collision of analog and digital. ”