Independent record label Monstercat and NFT marketplace Universe.xyz partnered for an audio-visual immersive evening combining NFTs, technology, and music during last week’s NFT.NYC conference.
The invite-only event, called Universal Poetry, was held in NYC’s Hammerstein Ballroom and featured live performances by Kaskade, Destructo, and Haywyre. It also served as the first in-person gallery event from NFT artist Pak, whose work has sold at auctions this year for millions of dollars, and showcased work from other artists toomuchlag, NessGraphics, and Jack Butcher.
Universal Poetry was free to attend but was only open to guests who owned certain NFTs. Attendees also received a Proof of Attendance Token when they arrived at the venue.
“From an outside perspective, requiring an NFT to attend an event may seem exclusive, but the intention was that we wanted to bring together specific communities with a shared interest in a curatorial and innovative way, with no cost to the attendee,” explains Tim Kang, Founder of Universe.xyz. “Guests were able to prove their support and ownership of the various NFTs, collections, and communities while being able to bring a friend.”
The ticketing for Universal Poetry was powered by Ticket Fairy, which leveraged its new NFT functionality, allowing guests to connect their MetaMask wallet so that organizers could verify whether they held the required NFTs.
NFT technology is still in its early days, but it has a lot of potential and is something that many in the music and events industries are excited about. Monstercat CEO and co-founder Mike Darlington notes that NFTs provide a great way for artists to connect with their fans while also building an additional revenue stream.
“It's abundantly clear that NFTs have already changed the landscape of the music industry,” he says. “Between Monstercat's two drops on Nifty Gateway in 2021, we split the earnings equitably with all of the artists involved, which was incrementally more than what they'd make through traditional revenue streams.”
He continues, “By bringing digital collectibles into an artist's release strategy, we're giving them the opportunity to introduce their music to new audiences, become an integral part of the creative process, and further achieve sustainability. Our digital collectibles are structured for both collectors and fans. We think these communities can co-exist and we're building rarities and rewards into our offerings so everyone benefits from holding a Monstercat NFT.”
NFTs also have the potential to disrupt event ticketing, as more and more events are beginning to experiment with using NFTs as a secure and efficient way to process tickets. Ticket Fairy’s new offering is evidence of the increased demand, and it looks to be only the beginning.
“There is so much creativity in this space at the moment that will lead to no-brainer applications of NFTs that benefit both fans and artists,” says Ritesh Patel, CEO and co-founder of The Ticket Fairy. “We’ve already been approached by a record label in India that is launching their own NFT series, which they want to use to give access to exclusive areas of their tours, harnessing the same Ticket Fairy workflows that powered Universal Poetry.”
Time will tell whether some of the hype around NFTs will last in the long-term, but it is already providing several use cases for the events sector and will be a space to watch in the coming months.