Legendary producer Quincy Jones threw his support behind NFT platform OneOf as non-fungible tokens continue to explode in the music industry. OneOf recently launched a three-year partnership with the Grammys.
The 64th Annual Grammy Awards, originally scheduled for January 31 but postponed amid the Omicron surge, is finally set to take place this Sunday in Las Vegas.
Big-name performers including K-pop band BTS, breakout star Olivia Rodrigo and newly minted Oscar winner Billie Eilish are all slated to perform, with Trevor Noah returning as host.
Jon Batiste leads the nomination list with 11 total nods followed by Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, and H.E.R., with eight nominations each.
However, the lead-up to this year's award show offered something different to fans than in years past — a collection of music-inspired non fungible tokens (NFTs).
The Grammy Awards NFT Collection, which is part of a three-year partnership with the Quincy Jones–backed NFT platform OneOf, comes as the market for NFTs has exploded within the music industry, providing new revenue streams and opportunities for song ownership by bidders and fans.
"To be on the forefront of technology while simultaneously serving the music community with a new and innovative platform is only the beginning of what NFTs are doing to change the musical landscape and to generate more income for music creators," Adam Roth, SVP of partnerships & business development of the Recording Academy, said in a press release.
NFTs will be part of the music ecosystem...This is not just a 2021 or 2022 fad...Lin Dai, OneOf Co-Founder
Various drops throughout the month of March included a free NFT available to all fans, as well as a single "golden ticket" NFT for an all-inclusive travel stipend for two to this year's award show. Prices ranged from $250 to $2,000 with select "tiers" to attract fans at a variety of price points.
A portion of the proceeds went to the Recording Academy's scholarship fund.
"We aim to bring NFTs to the mass consumer," Lin Dai, co-founder of OneOf, told Yahoo Finance during a recent interview.
"We applaud the Grammys for really leaning into this new wave of technology that is fundamentally going to be very instrumental and helpful to artists' careers," Dai continued. He added that the three-year partnership signals a "green light that NFT and blockchain technology is here to stay."
"This is not just 2021 or a 2022 fad...[NFTs] will be part of the music ecosystem," the exec predicted.
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