First-ever non-fungible token-based rock album is out

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American rock band ‘Kings of Leon’ released a music album last week as a non-fungible token (NFT), making it the first-ever band to distribute digitised art, Rolling Stone reported citing people familiar with the development.

NFT is a type of crypto-asset that represents a variety of assets, including artforms, tickets and music. This type of asset is becoming popular as several investors and enthusiasts are showing eagerness in spending large sums of money on items that only exist digitally.

The band’s new album titled ‘When You See Yourself’ will be distributed in three tokens as part of a series called ‘NFT Yourself’, according to Rolling Stone.

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One token is a special album package; second offers live show perks, like front-row seats for life; and third offers exclusive audio-visual art. The system has been developed by YellowHeart, a New York City-based ticketing firm specialising in blockchain and distributed ledger technology.

While the album will be released on music-streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon, the version with special perks will only be available on YellowHeart.

The concept of ‘smart contracts’ can be used for general tickets in the future, allowing artists to earn a small percentage of the money every time an NFT is resold, Josh Katz, founder and CEO of YellowHeart had told Rolling Stone.

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Many artists including Shawn Mendes, Grimes and Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda are said to have gotten on board in the recent weeks as artists around the globe are seeking additional revenue streams in the concert-less era of the pandemic, according to the magazine.