Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) has been booming lately. It was just a few days ago that we covered the story of a few apes that teamed up with Universal Music Group to form a new band, ‘Kingship.’
Now, Grammy-award winning producer Timbaland is the latest to ‘ape in’ – and we mean that quite literally. The super-producer is pairing up with BAYC to form ‘Ape-In Productions’ (AIP), an artist-owned virtual community and entertainment company that will promote Bored Ape Yacht Club artists.
All A-Bored
Timbaland is wholeheartedly “all-in” on NFTs. His website has already been host to an initial NFT auction and giveaway and he’s running an email list for early release access as well as a Discord channel. Additionally, he has been slowly unleashing his ‘Producer Mix Series’ NFTs, which are computer generated NFTs synced to his upcoming project, ‘Opera Noir.’ Oh, did we mention that his Twitter profile picture is his Bored Ape as well? When it comes to high-level music artists, Timbaland is definitely pushing the fold.
Reports have said that Timbaland plans on “disrupting the music business” and building “a new entertainment platform in the metaverse that puts creative control and long-term ownership back in the hands of artists, a concept that is incredibly important to us.” Indeed, it’s much needed for creatives today as well.
In quick time, AIP has already signed ‘TheZoo,’ a BAYC-composed hip-hop group. AIP NFTs are expected to include exclusive content, concerts, and live performances. Additionally, TheZoo is expected to be releasing music NFTs in the weeks to come.
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Audius is one of many emerging audio-first NFT platforms. | Source: AUDIO-USD on TradingView.com
Music NFTs Can Go Much Further Than Just Bored Ape Yacht Club…
Music NFTs are largely untapped thus far in the NFT community, and many have speculated that audio NFTs are “next up.” Why? The answer is arguably best stated in a recent tweet from savvy crypto and culture investor and writer Magdalena Kala:
mad bullish about music x web3:
• music industry is undermonetized vs. other entertainment
• musicians capture v little value from total $$$ they help generate
• most passionate fans have limited avenues to express support or join on the upside of an early artist they discover https://t.co/fPVAqONyB9— mags.eth ⬇️⬇️ (@magdalenakala) November 15, 2021
The music industry is ripe for reinvigoration that NFTs can supply. The revenue stream for creators has largely gone unchanged for decades, leaving artists and musicians with pennies on the dollar. Furthermore, to Magdalena’s last point, music artists have some of the most loyal fan groups amongst entertainment verticals – but avenues to support your favorite artists are constrained. Want to find a new artist? I hope the Spotify algorithm is working out for you. Want to support your favorite artist? Hopefully they’re on tour in a city near you, or maybe they have merchandise online for sale. However, if none of these things are shaking out for you, you’re essentially out of luck. As the old adage goes, blockchain “fixes this.”
There are a ton of emerging projects in music and audio now, but most are in very early stages. One thing is for sure: there’s a lot more in music and blockchain to come.
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Featured image from timbaland.com, Charts from TradingView.com
