Fresh from the Superbowl stage, Snoop Dogg is back on the news. His metaverse play is getting bigger and bolder, but, is he on the right track? The legendary rapper recently bought the iconic Death Row Records brand. He now owns the record label where his career started, but, what is he going to do with it? Death Row Records will be… an NFT label? Really?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoELGzKbzXw&t=16s
Apparently so, in a recent ClubHouse appearance Snoop Dogg confirmed his plans:
“Death Row will be an NFT label. We will be putting out artists through the metaverse, or through a whole other chain of music. Just like we broke the industry when we was the first independent to be major, I want to be the first major in the metaverse. So, Death Row will be in NFT land.”
Related Reading | Is Snoop Dogg A Mysterious NFT Whale?
On one hand, it sounds incredible. Snoop Dogg is already in business with a few metaverse-oriented brands. On the other, it just doesn’t click. Death Row Records used to be America’s most controversial and dangerous record label. That and the metaverse don’t seem to mix.
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How Did Snoop Dogg Get Death Row Records?
When Snoop Dogg “acquired the Death Row Records brand from MNRK Music Group,” he told BusinessWire:
“I am thrilled and appreciative of the opportunity to acquire the iconic and culturally significant Death Row Records brand, which has immense untapped future value. It feels good to have ownership of the label I was part of at the beginning of my career and as one of the founding members.”
The hip-hop community loved the news. Trapital’s Dan Runcie tweeted, “In most deals, artist sells to investors or record labels. This is the artist who helped make that catalog now buying it outright. That’s dope.” However, look at the announcement’s wording. Snoop Dogg only bought the Death Row Records brand, not its catalog. He surely had some other deals in mind.
Snoop Dogg buying Death Row Records is the best story of all these recent catalog deals.
In most deals, artist sells to investors or record labels.
This is the artist who helped make that catalog now buying it outright. That's dope.
— Dan Runcie (@RuncieDan) February 10, 2022
The Dogg, NFTs And The Metaverse
A couple of months ago, Snoop Dogg announced he bought a family of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs and started talking about The Sandbox metaverse. Our sister site NewsBTC reported on the news:
“Snoop Dogg is launching himself into NFTs with two feet. A couple of weeks ago, the superstar rapper announced a partnership with The Sandbox metaverse. There, he will have his own piece of the virtual world. There will be Snoop avatars and other Snoop-inspired NFTs for sale. And he will even perform live, an event that’s already selling early access passes.”
SAND price chart on Kucoin | Source: TradingView.com
The plan is moving fast. The Snoop avatars are already out and about, he has a new record label to play with, and he’s hanging out with NFT royalty Gary Vee:
See yall at VeeCon. 👊🏿👊🏿 N.F.T. never 4get 2 pass it 💪🏿📈🎤🤣🔥🔥https://t.co/w8g4GAPTNp@veefriends @veeconference #SeeyouatVeeCon pic.twitter.com/nSESFIxNsV
— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) February 16, 2022
Snoop Dogg also recently released his latest album B.O.D.R., which stands for “Bacc on Death Row.” For the NFT portion of the release, he partnered with Gala Games, a blockchain gaming company. Through the Gala Music store, people can buy a version that has 3 bonus tracks and goes for $5K. What’s the catch? Well, for $5K you get NFTs for all of the songs.
Related Reading | The Sandbox Purchase Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT for More Than $2.9 Million
In a press release, Snoop Dogg said:
“If anything is constant, it’s that the music industry will always be changing. Blockchain tech has the power to change everything again and tip the table in favor of the artists and the fans, and we’re going to be right at the front of the pack with this Gala Music deal.”
So, to summarize: Snoop Dogg bought the Death Row Records brand and released an album titled “Bacc on Death Row” just before performing on the biggest stage around, the Superbowl. What a businessman. Maybe he’s just the person to successfully mix Death Row and the metaverse.
Featured Image: The Snoop Avatars screenshot from this video | Charts by TradingView
