The Universal Music Group and Curio, a non-fungible token (NFT) platform, announced a partnership last Thursday to produce NFT collections for its record labels and artists.
The agreement represents a significant step forward for the world’s largest music corporation, which, like its competitors, relies mainly on streaming music to stay afloat.
Universal Music has announced that it will collaborate with Curio on the creation of digital artwork and other collectibles for the firm and its artists. Starting in March, with a collaboration between Capitol Music Group and British singer-songwriter Calum Scott, Curio will act as an online store where fans may purchase officially licensed NFTs.
NFTs and Web3, the next generation of the internet based on blockchain technology, present an opportunity for labels and artists to create unique digital products for fans at a time when streaming has made music accessible to everyone, according to Michael Nash, Universal Music Group’s Executive Vice President of Digital Strategy.
“We have an opportunity, with Web3, to have ownership on top of access,” Nash said. NFTs are unique data files that can be music, art, and more.
“With all the innovation happening around Web3 and NFTs, you’ve got the opportunity to make all kinds of digital products available that provide that ownership and you have technologically enforced scarcity, so you can appeal to collectors,” Nash said.
Universal has been actively pursuing methods to profit from the expanding popularity of digital collectibles, even forming a rock group, Kingship, comprised exclusively of simian characters from the NFT brand Bored Ape Yacht Club. Hollywood celebrities and other collectors have been enamored by the animated apes, which exist as one-of-a-kind things on the digital blockchain.
Universal discovered a well-versed executive in Curio’s co-founder and co-Chief Executive Officer Ben Arnon, who previously worked at Universal Music Group. Marc Geiger, a former head of music at William Morris Endeavor, is one of Curio’s consultants.
Curio, which was created in 2020 and released its first NFT in February, has reached a watershed moment with this relationship. Working with music, film, and television industry partners, the firm has since published over 75,000 digital artifacts.
NFTs inspired by Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” television series and Universal Pictures’ 2010 cult film “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” are available on the platform.
According to Reuters, Arnon designed the NFT marketplace to be accessible to ordinary users, even those who had never used bitcoin before.