Non-fungible token the next big thing?

I am a patriot

Kings of Leon is putting their next album out as a non-fungible token.  See rolling Stone article below.
How long until Pearl Jam do the same?  I'm a big fan of the physical media that is an LP and/or a poster, but the little blurb about front row tickets for life - I might be swayed.
I do listen to a bunch of things streaming, but I love putting the devices away for a few also.
Thoughts?

https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/kings-of-leon-when-you-see-yourself-album-nft-crypto-1135192/

On Friday, Kings of Leon will release their new album, titled When You See Yourself, in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) — becoming the first band to ever do so.

The band is actually dropping three types of tokens as part of a series called “NFT Yourself,” people involved in the project tells Rolling Stone. One type is a special album package, while a second type offers live show perks like front-row seats for life, and a third type is just for exclusive audiovisual art. All three types of tokens offer art designed by the band’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 bring value back to music and better direct-to-fan relationships.

A quick rundown: NFTs are a type of cryptocurrency, but instead of holding money, they can hold assets like art, tickets, and music. NFTs operate on a blockchain, which is a publicly accessible and transparent network — meaning anyone can see the details of any NFT transaction. Computers involved in the transactions become part of the network, which keeps updating and can’t be hacked due its nature as many-headed hydra. In the case of NFTs, their value becomes subjective and therefore fluctuates, kind of like stocks. (To learn more about the subject, read Rolling Stone‘s guide to crypto in music.)

NFTs previously had a a relatively underground following made up of DJs and producers. But these digital tokens have gone mainstream in the last year, as many musicians sought out additional revenue streams in the concertless era of the pandemic. The likes of Portugal. The Man, Shawn Mendes, Grimes, and Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda have gotten on board in recent weeks.

Shortly after YellowHeart first formed in 2018, the company garnered industry interest for crypto’s possibilities in ticketing, but founder and CEO Josh Katz says that’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 will be released everywhere albums are released — Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon — but the NFT version available on YellowHeart will be the only product with special perks. The token, priced at $50, includes enhanced media — kind of like an alternate, moving album cover — as well as a digital download of the music, and limited-edition vinyl. The sale of the album NFTs opens on Friday at 12 p.m. E.T. and continues for two weeks. After that time, no more will be made, and the NFT becomes a tradable collectible.

“Over the last 20 years — two lost decades — we’ve seen the devaluation of music,” Katz tells Rolling Stone. “Music has become great at selling everything except music. There’s been a race to the bottom where, for as little money as possible, you have access to all of it. Previously, it cost $20 to go get one song.” He believes streaming’s subscription-based pro rata model irreparably hurts artists, and NFTs will make modern fans want to own music again: “It’s early stages, but in the future, I think this will be how people release their tracks: When they sell a 100,000 at a dollar each, then they just made $100,000.”

YellowHeart is minting 18 unique-looking “golden tickets” as part of the Kings of Leon NFT release. Out of the 18, the band will auction six and vault the other 12 like a painter would do with a rare piece from a series of art. “Each one of those is a unique NFT with the most incredible Kings of Leon art you’ve ever seen,” explains Katz.

Each “golden ticket” also unlocks an actual concert ticket — marking the first time a music ticket has been officially sold as an NFT. Whoever owns the token is guaranteed four front-row seats to any Kings of Leon concert during each tour for life. The token owner also gets a VIP experience that includes a personal driver, a concierge at the show to take care of their needs, a hangout with the band before the show, and exclusive lounge access. Upon leaving the show, the fan’s car will have four bags filled with every item from the merch booth.

Katz points out this 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. Going forward, he says this same tech can be used for general tickets, which could be a huge advancement in the secondary market. Every time an NFT is resold, a percentage of money earned could go to the artist — or whoever is included in the contract, perhaps even a charity. (In such instances, YellowHeart can also set a maximum price that the NFT can be resold at, eradicating scalpers.)

In Kings of Leon’s final option, there are another six unique-looking tokens that are standard NFTs with elaborate audiovisual art. Starting on Thursday, fans will be able to preview them on YellowHeart’s website. Prices range from $95 to $2,500. YellowHeart will mint however many are sold before Sunday at 8 p.m. E.T., which is also when the “golden ticket” NFT auction will end. (However, if someone bids in the last 10 minutes of the auction, it resets for another 10 minutes.)

Over time, all of these NFTs are expected to increase in value. Thanks to those aforementioned smart contracts, proceeds generated from future reselling will go where the artists want them to go. Kings of Leon decided to donate all proceeds from two of the offerings — the $50 album NFTs and the highest-priced “golden ticket,” named Bandit Wave #2 — to Live Nation’s Crew Nation fund for out-of-work touring professionals.

Katz says NFTs allow for maximum creativity around the release of content, which he believes is a huge draw in an age when artists are taking a more DIY approach. He plans on YellowHeart becoming an entertainment wallet that holds fans’ music, tickets, and collectible content.

As crypto bursts into the music industry, Kings of Leon’s project this week is by far the most extensive foray into NFTs so far. With it, 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 go wide later today (March 3rd). “The result is a stunning reimagination of this legendary band’s body of work. Using no outside material, every source photograph was taken by either [Kings of Leon creative director and Night After Night CCO] Casey McGrath or band member Matthew Followill.”

“We approached the release of When You See Yourself in such an analog way, from the band’s approach in the studio to shooting everything on film and went as far as literally pulling out the scotch tape and glue sticks, and dry transfer lettering,” McGrath says in the release. “To approach ‘NFT YOURSELF’ with a digital art mindset sent electricity through the work. For those in the space that understand, they’ll appreciate the techniques of audio-generated imaging, pose detection, and pixel morphing that we used to create this collectible art. For those that don’t, we hope they’ll appreciate the undeniable power and emotion that results from the collision of analog and digital.”

Tl:dr - crypto art (albums, covers, videos) replacing LPs; allowing artists to have more control over art and provide special perks to buyers/collectors?

Loujoe

Whaaaa

dankind

Loujoe said:

Whaaaa

^^^ yeah, I don’t speak that language. 

LeafsJaysCubsRaptorsFan

Go have a read about nba top shot. That will really blow your mind. 

KS80184

I glazed over in about 3 lines...

Weston1283

Can someone TL;Dr this for those of us who cant quite understand wtf is going on with this lol

dankind

Weston1283 said:

Can someone TL;Dr this for those of us who cant quite understand wtf is going on with this lol

I thought that you were one of the younger ones. 

Weston1283

dankind said:

Weston1283 said:

Can someone TL;Dr this for those of us who cant quite understand wtf is going on with this lol

I thought that you were one of the younger ones. 

I am, and I am absolutely confused.

So, instead of a vinyl record I can actually play, am I getting a digital token that says "I own a picture of a vinyl record on a token"

3 YouTube videos in and I am almost even more confused

EDIT:  It is starting to seem more and more like an NFT is just a virtual certificate of authenticity for something physical that you own

I am a patriot

yeah, sorry. Definitely didn't look that long on a desktop. 

It looks like it's a special digital album. Neat. The NBA Top Shot where you own a video clip just like a baseball card doesn't even register with me. 

I can't understand why you'd want the digital piece of art or video clip (that is almost entirely available to anyone who can Google) and then treat it like a Falla Sheep - straight to flipping. 

To be honest, I also don't get the resurgence of baseball cards during the pandemic either.

mdgsolo

I always thought that robot on Buck Rogers was named 'Twinkie' and that it kinda looked like wiener.  Turns out it's name was Twiki.  Weird

Zod

I don't know.  I buy albums and concert tickets anyways.   I feel old, I'd rather just buy them the normal way.. lol. 

RS65573

LeafsJaysCubsRaptorsFan said:

Go have a read about nba top shot. That will really blow your mind. 

I just got a few moments this week and my first pack. We shall see.

Jimmydean55

I don’t understand any of this. Just give me physical media. Please. 

tempo_n_groove

mdgsolo said:

I always thought that robot on Buck Rogers was named 'Twinkie' and that it kinda looked like wiener.  Turns out it's name was Twiki.  Weird

miniminiminiminimini

tempo_n_groove

Blockchain type things are going to be the new "in thing" which really makes zero sense because you actually don't own shit.  Basketball card company Panini did this last year with some cards and I thought it was absolutely ludicrous.

Selling digital cards, digital anything, where you can't actually hold it is just silly to me especially when that thing you collect is physical in the first place.

pjsteelerfan

Its growing in the art world too, and some are selling for crazy amounts.  I would not be surprised to see digital gig posters with tickets one day, as much as that would suck. 

tempo_n_groove

pjsteelerfan said:

Its growing in the art world too, and some are selling for crazy amounts.  I would not be surprised to see digital gig posters with tickets one day, as much as that would suck. 

Why would you pay for a digital poster when you can just screen shot it from somewhere else?  It's really a dumb idea that critical thinking should be dismissing after the initial sell off happens.

RS65573

Because it will be numbered and have value as a digital item.

Abe Froman

Jimmydean55 said:

I don’t understand any of this. Just give me physical media. Please. 

Yes. This seems really dumb to me. Why would I pay to own a digital image?  Seems really dumb. I want music on vinyl that I can hold, spin and look through artwork and liner notes. Not another thing to look at on a screen. 

P34RL J4MM3R

You guys are missing the point...."It's like an investment."

pjsteelerfan

tempo_n_groove said:

pjsteelerfan said:

Its growing in the art world too, and some are selling for crazy amounts.  I would not be surprised to see digital gig posters with tickets one day, as much as that would suck. 

Why would you pay for a digital poster when you can just screen shot it from somewhere else?  It's really a dumb idea that critical thinking should be dismissing after the initial sell off happens.

Oh I agree, I don't plan to spend a couple hundred bucks on a .gif that literally anyone could make in say MS Paint or photoshop just because it has a limited code attached to it. But it has been fun to watch this happen. And people are making money on it, so probably not going away. or not anytime soon. 

RS65573

pjsteelerfan said:

tempo_n_groove said:

pjsteelerfan said:

Its growing in the art world too, and some are selling for crazy amounts.  I would not be surprised to see digital gig posters with tickets one day, as much as that would suck. 

Why would you pay for a digital poster when you can just screen shot it from somewhere else?  It's really a dumb idea that critical thinking should be dismissing after the initial sell off happens.

Oh I agree, I don't plan to spend a couple hundred bucks on a .gif that literally anyone could make in say MS Paint or photoshop just because it has a limited code attached to it. But it has been fun to watch this happen. And people are making money on it, so probably not going away. or not anytime soon. 

I dropped about $350 on some Knicks and a couple packs. I look at it like bitcoin. Should have thrown a few hundred at that huh?

Malroth

I would like some non-fungible toes.

pjsteelerfan

RS65573 said:

pjsteelerfan said:

tempo_n_groove said:

pjsteelerfan said:

Its growing in the art world too, and some are selling for crazy amounts.  I would not be surprised to see digital gig posters with tickets one day, as much as that would suck. 

Why would you pay for a digital poster when you can just screen shot it from somewhere else?  It's really a dumb idea that critical thinking should be dismissing after the initial sell off happens.

Oh I agree, I don't plan to spend a couple hundred bucks on a .gif that literally anyone could make in say MS Paint or photoshop just because it has a limited code attached to it. But it has been fun to watch this happen. And people are making money on it, so probably not going away. or not anytime soon. 

I dropped about $350 on some Knicks and a couple packs. I look at it like bitcoin. Should have thrown a few hundred at that huh?

Who am I to tell you what to do with your money?  Maybe it will work out and maybe it won't. I'm sure a lot of people are hoping its the next bitcoin. 

tempo_n_groove

RS65573 said:

pjsteelerfan said:

tempo_n_groove said:

pjsteelerfan said:

Its growing in the art world too, and some are selling for crazy amounts.  I would not be surprised to see digital gig posters with tickets one day, as much as that would suck. 

Why would you pay for a digital poster when you can just screen shot it from somewhere else?  It's really a dumb idea that critical thinking should be dismissing after the initial sell off happens.

Oh I agree, I don't plan to spend a couple hundred bucks on a .gif that literally anyone could make in say MS Paint or photoshop just because it has a limited code attached to it. But it has been fun to watch this happen. And people are making money on it, so probably not going away. or not anytime soon. 

I dropped about $350 on some Knicks and a couple packs. I look at it like bitcoin. Should have thrown a few hundred at that huh?

Or at the PJ fallasheep?

PJammer4life

Maybe it’s a millennial thing we just don’t get, but they are being groomed to accept ie streaming.

2-feign-reluctance

My new KOL record is on its way. That’s all I need for now. Read this last night on RS and like the intention behind it, but isn’t for me. 

LukinFan

PJammer4life said:

Maybe it’s a millennial thing we just don’t get, but they are being groomed to accept ie streaming.

exactly 

jjflash

Last week Greg Mike, an ATL-based artist, offered a NFT drop of his artwork where buyers purchased a physical frame that displayed limited edition images. Blockchain of the images is encrypted into the physical frames, and the frames list the edition number of the limited run. The frames went for thousands and instantly sold out. Prior to the sale going live you had to submit a lottery request to purchase one of the pieces of 'artwork' (I stayed away from this as they were way beyond my pay grade) and upwards of 8,000 people were in queue to be one of the thirty purchasers paying around 2K each. Crazy stuff, no doubt.

I don't pretend to understand it all but am definitely fascinated to see how it all evolves. At this early stage in the game I'd much prefer to own/hold/touch/frame a physical poster, for example, as opposed to investing in a digital image of it. In the words of Chuck D, "What Chu Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?" On the flip side....you wouldn't have to worry about the post office dinging corners or losing a package LOL

https://niftygateway.com/collections/gregmike

2-feign-reluctance

Anyone else hear Beavis and Butthead giggling saying the word "fungible"?

huntersthompson

https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-owner-who-lost-password-made-peace-potentially-huge-loss-2021-1

If this dude can lose upwards of $220 million worth of bitcoin, what the hell hope do I have?  I would be so pissed if I had a "front row for life at Pearl Jam shows" non-fungible token that required a password -- which I would invariably forget.  Or I would need to input the passcode to view my digital concert posters from shows that I watched online whilst warming my feet in my digital PJ socks and playing with my Falla Sheep characters.....what in the actual f*ck is going on....

I will yell "boomer" at myself as I leave....