Universal Music Group has signed a contract with a band made up of 4 virtual apes from the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection. This is UMG’s take on claiming a stake in the metaverse. They will work together with Jimmy McNelis, founder of the Avastars NFT collection, to convert four of his Bored Ape NFTs into a band called Kingship.
Kingship consists of three Bored Apes and one Mutant Ape. Each of the ape characters is part of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, one of the most successful NFT collections of this year. Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club community members have traded almost $1 billion worth of NFTs.
Universal will help to make the 4 Bored Ape NFTs into three-dimensional characters with the help of their 10:22PM label. In addition, they will record music for Kingship, which they will release on streaming services. The band will perform and participate in video games, VR applications, virtual worlds and other experiences in the metaverse.
The project seemingly has lots of overlap with Gorillaz, a band consisting of four animated characters. But this time around, the money-making business will be completely different. Universal will sell Kingship NFTs, giving buyers access to exclusive music experiences and real-world events. But of course the music needs to be good, or there will be no fans at all.
A future in the metaverse
According to LimeLight research video gamers spend an average of six hours, 20 minutes each week playing games. Over 32% play more than seven hours each week, with 17% playing more than 12 hours a week. Imagine when a percentage of those gamers finds out they can earn money for their time spent on platforms like Somnium Space. With the coronavirus outbreak currently wreaking havoc on global travel, VR worlds such as Somnium Space, AltSpace, VRChat, Rumii, and Engage, are quickly becoming the go-to platforms for workforce meetups and remote social interaction.
The rise of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has opened up prospects for virtual worlds. Projects like Somnium Space have enabled the creation of entire universes on the blockchain. These virtual worlds have properties, items, events, marketplaces, and perhaps most importantly, internal economies with their own currencies. Additionally, amidst what some see as an inflection point for blockchain usage driven by the massive adoption of play-to-earn games and NFTs, it has never been more important to understand virtual worlds and the metaverse concept.
