On Friday, NFT (non-fungible token) brand Bored
Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) released its own music video, in which apes ride a yacht to the moon.
According
to Billboard, which broke the news, this is the first NFT to release a music video.
Currently, the video
has been viewed on YouTube over half a million times.
The song itself is called “Delist Your Ape
(2DaMoon),” featuring hip-hop artist Reo Cragun, and Clear Eyes (Jeremy Lloyd from electronic duo Marian Hill).
What’s most interesting about the video, created by a Syft
and Beverly films, is the cast list: 13 actual BAYC NFTs are credited in being filmed.
In other words, while BAYC
#9797 –– also known as “Jimbo” –– is voicing Cragun’s lyrics, 12 other NFTs owned by real people (their Twitter handles are also included in the cast list)
act as a virtual entourage.
The video itself was posted on YouTube by “Jimbo.” “Thank you to my fellow apes for pulling up to the video shoot,” they wrote in
the YouTube description -- a not-so-subtle reminder of how NFTs are moving life into the metaverse.
This move also
showcases a special aspect of BAYC, along with other PFP
NFT projects –– whoever buys one of the Bored Apes also owns commercial rights to their respective avatars, which allows them to do what “Jimbo” did: sell derivative
projects, physical goods, and even music videos.
Even after this newsworthy debut, #9797’s owner
remains anonymous. But they did offer Billboard an interview, saying: “I knew this is what we have to release to represent the Bored Ape Yacht Club and my vision ‘cause we are all
going to the moon.”
BAYC are now taking the music industry by storm. In November, Universal signed a group by the name of KINGSHIP to its 10:22PM
label. The group is entirely made up of NFTs, 4 Bored Apes owned by a collector named Jimmy McNeils.
A few
days prior, famed artist and producer Timbaland announced the creation of his own
production company specifically for Bored Apes. He is featuring his own music group comprised of 6 Bored Apes, and naming it the TheZoo.
That same month, mega-star Post Malone spent 160 ETH (approximately $682,000) on two Bored
Apes, one of which was featured in the first 20 seconds of his new music video with The Weeknd.
Furthermore,
the manager of Madonna and U2, Guy Oseary, is now representing Yuga Labs, the company behind BAYC. Right now, the least one can buy an original Bored Ape NFT for is over $200,000. Rolling Stone reported that the BAYC as a whole has already
generated around $1 billion.
Advertisers and brands are taking advantage of this NFT music surge in a number
of ways. Pepsi, for example, just launched Pepsi
Mic Drop, their own collection of NFTs which encapsulates the brand’s history in the music industry. Other brands are altering their products to be suitable to be used in the
metaverse. However, the virtual future of music has roots in real life as well.
Over the weekend,
popular indie-rock band, Arcade Fire, played their first live show in over a year at the Gala Games’ Galaverse crypto party in Las Vegas, where virtual gaming and music met. Other featured
artists included Kings of Leon, Maroon 5, Snoop Dogg and more. The metaverse and NFTs are attracting big names and it seems industries of all kinds are joining the bandwagon.