Saturday, April 3, 2021

The Weeknd Unveils NFT With Unique Song and Artwork - Variety

The Weeknd has announced a new, exclusive NFT collection of artwork and new music, that will be available exclusively on Nifty Gateway. The limited-time auction will be held on Saturday, April 3rd at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT. The collection will include new music and limited edition art.

According the announcement, the campaign will begin with an open edition flash sale for three different visual artworks, each with a filtered segment of the new song. There will be an unlimited amount of these works available to purchase for a limited time.

Second, there will be a 24-hour auction for “an exclusive 1-of-1 piece of art” backed by the new song, in full and unfiltered. The winner of this auction will be the only person to have this song, as The Weeknd will not be releasing the song on any platforms in the future.

The artwork for these pieces was developed by Strange Loop Studios in collaboration with The Weeknd.

The Weeknd said: “Blockchain is democratizing an industry that has historically been kept shut by the gatekeepers. I’ve always been looking for ways to innovate for fans and shift this archaic music biz and seeing NFT’s allowing creators to be seen and heard more than ever before on their terms is profoundly exciting. I intend to contribute to this movement and can see that very soon it will be weaved into the music industry’s mechanics.”

Nifty Gateway co-founder Duncan Cock-Foster said: “The Weeknd’s entry into the NFT space marks a seminal moment in NFT history. One of the most influential R&B singers of our generation creating in this new medium is huge validation for the entire NFT space. We’re thrilled to present this unique, beautiful collection to the world.”

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From Publisher: Variety



Many things were taking place:

The Weeknd to sell his new song, limited edition art as NFT | Daily Sabah

Following YouTuber Logan Paul and artist Mike Winkelmann, Canadian singer, songwriter and record producer Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known professionally as The Weeknd, has caught on to the trend of non-fungible tokens (NFT ). Teaming up with Nifty Gateway, the singer said the sale will have two main components, which are an unreleased song and a limited edition art developed by Strange Loop Studios.

Excited to announce that my first NFT drop is taking place on Saturday at 2:00 pm EST on @niftygateway . The collection will feature new music and limited edition art. I developed the artwork with Strange Loop Studios pic.twitter.com/627BO4JekK

Nifty Gateway is the marketplace that worked with Beeple to auction off a piece of digital art for $6.6 million earlier this year. Sharing his collaboration with the marketplace on his social media, the 2021 Super Bowl headliner tweeted that the collectible will have a new song and a limited edition artwork. The new song is an NFT exclusive piece, meaning that it won't be made available on any digital platform in the future.

The auction will feature a flash sale of different visual art pieces, each with random and filtered clips of the song. A 24-hour auction of never-before-seen artwork, accompanied by the song in its full and unfiltered version, will follow.

From Publisher: Daily Sabah



The Weeknd to Sell NFT Collection on Nifty Gateway

Canadian musician The Weeknd has announced that he will release an NFT that includes music and art on Nifty Gateway.

The NFT, which includes new music and limited edition art, will be up for sale on April 3. The artwork was developed by Strange Loop Studios.

The musician teased the release of an NFT a few days prior to the official announcement. The tweet comes with a 15-second video displaying The Weeknd and Strange Loop names on a cloudy, red background. No other information has been made available, which could happen closer to the auction date.

The value of NFTs are highlighted via the fact that the new music will be unavailable on other platforms. Only the exclusive holder of the NFT will have access to the music. This could potentially lead to a much higher resale value, as art generally becomes more valuable with time.

The popularity of NFTs continues to surge, with more high-profile names and industries taking to the new type of asset. It has particular value in domains where fans will clamor after a rare item — like sports and video games.

The arrival of big names like The Weeknd has helped bring it to the mainstream. It has reached the point where it has overtaken DeFi in terms of mainstream adoption. This is unsurprising, as NFTs are far simpler to understand than the still quite obtuse DeFi market.

U.S. President Joe Biden's massive infrastructure proposal and the upcoming corporate earnings season could offer investors fresh insight on the sustainability of a rally that has taken stocks to all-time highs. The S&P 500 scaled 4,000 for the first time on Thursday and closed up 1.18% at 4,019.87, extending the benchmark index's gain to nearly 80% from lows in March 2020. The rally has been driven by unprecedented U.S. stimulus measures and expectations that widespread vaccinations against COVID-19 will spur an economic rebound.

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Save your tears (and your money) for an NFT from The Weeknd

Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter The Weeknd is launching his first non-fungible token (NFT) drop, the artist announced on Wednesday.

According to the announcement, the collection will feature new music and limited edition art The Weeknd developed with media production company Strange Loop Studios. The announcement comes five days after the artist hinted he would release an upcoming song with an accompanying NFT.

Per the announcement, the drop will take place on Saturday and will be hosted via the NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway. The sale is set to start at 2 PM EST.

Excited to announce that my first NFT drop is taking place on Saturday at 2:00 pm EST on @niftygateway . The collection will feature new music and limited edition art. I developed the artwork with Strange Loop Studios pic.twitter.com/627BO4JekK

More broadly, the news is the latest indication that performing artists and musicians are eyeing NFTs as a way to promote their work or expand to new audiences. NFTs are essentially digital certificates tied to a unique piece of data or token on a blockchain and have emerged as a kind of collectible piece of merchandise alongside a music release.

From Publisher: The Block



Not to change the topic exactly:

The Weeknd Drops His Exclusive NFT Collection, And Only One Person Will Have Access To His

Grammy award-winning artist The Weeknd has joined a list of personalities capitalizing on the ongoing NFT craze.

What Happened: The musician has teamed up with Strange Loop Studios to create artwork, and digital art marketplace Nifty Gateway to release his new collection, which will reportedly consist of new music and limited edition art.

Excited to announce that my first NFT drop is taking place on Saturday at 2:00 pm EST on @niftygateway . The collection will feature new music and limited edition art. I developed the artwork with Strange Loop Studios pic.twitter.com/627BO4JekK

Why It Matters: The exclusive sale is set to take place in two parts. The first will be a flash sale of three different pieces of digital art, with each containing a different segment of the new song. These NFTs will be available in unlimited quantities but for a limited period of time.

The second part of the sale will be a 24-hour exclusive auction for an exclusive single piece of art that comes with the new song, in its complete and unfiltered form. The Weeknd will not be releasing this song on any platform now or in the future, essentially making the winner of this auction the only one with access to it.

Blockchain is democratizing an industry that has historically been kept shut by the gatekeepers. I’ve always been looking for ways to innovate for fans and shift this archaic music biz and seeing NFT’s allowing creators to be seen and heard more than ever before on their terms is profoundly exciting,”  said The Weeknd, adding, “I intend to contribute to this movement and can see that very soon it will be weaved into the music industry’s mechanics.”

From Publisher: Benzinga



The Weeknd announces boycott of all future Grammys | Hilltop Views

After receiving no nominations for his chart-topping album, The Weeknd announced his boycott of all future Grammys. The nomination process is generally secretive.

Before The Annual 63rd Grammy Awards aired, as per usual, there was controversy surrounding nominations . Canadian singer, songwriter and producer Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, publicly known as The Weeknd told The New York Times that "he would boycott the awards from now on."

The Weeknd further explained that, "Because of the secret committees I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys." The Grammys are notoriously secretive about their voting process.

The process of deciding who will be nominated and who won't begins with the initial nomination choices, which are made by "thousands of music professionals who make up the voting membership of the Recording Academy." However, for 61 of the 84 categories in which Grammy Awards are given out, The Recording Academy has the ultimate say about who wins the award. This has led to many artists' distrust and hesitancy towards The Recording Academy.

In 2020, The Weeknd's song "Blinding Lights" was a chart topper and spent 66 weeks on the Billboard Charts, yet he did not receive any nominations for a Grammy. He also performed the Pepsi Halftime Show during the Super Bowl a few months ago.

The Weeknd is not the only artist to boycott The Grammys in one way or another. Other Black artists such as Drake, Kanye West and Frank Ocean have not submitted works because of their disbelief in the system. With a rise in racial awareness that has been happening across the World, the norm has become to question institutions’ morals and think about the role that race plays their decisions.

On NPR's Here and Now segment, Jenna Wortham of The New York Times and cohost of Still Processing and Ivie Ani, Cultural Critic and Editor in Chief of AMAKA Studio, discussed The Grammys. Specifically, they looked at Billie Eilish's acceptance speech where she said that Megan Thee Stallion deserved the award. Ani suggested that instead of white artists habitually touting that they do not deserve the accolades they receive over Black people, they should consider the institution they are a part of and reframe their apology to whoever they feel deserved the award, as well as start to criticize the institution for their selection.

Eilish started off her acceptance for Record of the Year "Everything I Wanted" with "this is really embarrassing for me." She then goes on to say that Megan Thee Stallion genuinely deserved the award. Ani noted that it was reminiscent of Adele's acceptance speech from the 59th Grammy Awards for Album of the Year for her album "25," where she said she "can't possibly accept the award." In re-watching the videos, it feels like an insult to these Black artists that arguably should have won.

This all comes together in support of what The Weeknd said in his statement. The committees who select Grammy winners are a faceless organization and need to take accountability for racially insensitive nominations. In such a competitive industry where accolades largely equate to success, The Grammys and any other awards segment should understand the need for acknowledgement of black artists. If the Grammys wish to remain relevant and have a strong selection for awards, transparency regarding nomination choices is needed.

From Publisher: Hilltop Views



The Weeknd to drop NFT song and artwork this weekend | People | scnow.com

The 31-year-old star - whose real name is Abel Tesfaye - took to Twitter at the weekend to explain that his latest release will be a little different and that his next song will be up for grabs in "NFT space" only.

The Weeknd has since updated his fans to let them his limited edition art and the track is available via Nifty Gateway, "the premier marketplace for Nifties", which are "digital items you can truly own", according to their website.

The 'Save Your Tears' hitmaker tweeted: "Excited to announce that my first NFT drop is taking place on Saturday at 2:00 pm EST on @niftygateway. "

The collection will feature new music and limited edition art. I developed the artwork with Strange Loop Studios."

The 'Blinding Lights' hitmaker said in a statement: "Blockchain is democratizing an industry that has historically been kept shut by the gatekeepers.

"I've always been looking for ways to innovate for fans and shift this archaic music biz and seeing NFTs allowing creators to be seen and heard more than ever before on their terms is profoundly exciting.

"I intend to contribute to this movement and can see that very soon it will be weaved into the music industry's mechanics."

NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are an emerging market within blockchain where single-impression unique digital art and goods known as the 'token' can be sold.

Russian supermodel Irina Shayk insists she is happy single and has no interest in looking for a man who could become her husband.

From Publisher: SCNow



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