Warner Music backs NFT project that aims to mint virtual superstars in the metaverse
- Singapore-based Ownft World said its new NFTs will effectively live like real celebrities, earning income through music videos, animations and fashion shows
- The project aims to tie an NFT’s value to the popularity of its idol rather than its resale value
A new metaverse project that includes Warner Music Group as a partner is using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to create virtual celebrities that can appear in various digital media and tie a token’s value to an idol’s popularity.
Called The Guardians of Fashion (GOF), the project will mint 6,888 NFTs for two-dimensional avatars based on human characteristics, Singapore-based start-up Ownft World announced in a statement on January 13. The tokens will use the Ethereum blockchain.
Warner Music has signed on as GOF’s first music partner. The company will issue a virtual casting call to identify 100 GOF avatar talents for upcoming partnerships, such as animatics videos. GOF has also collaborated with Yeah1 Group, a leading multichannel network in Asia that represents influencers, for an upcoming anime series based on the avatars.
“NFT values are usually based on rarity,” project director Eu Wing Leong said in an interview with the South China Morning Post. “However, with GOF, avatar owners are going to be able to enhance the value of their GOF avatars via the popularity route, as well.”
The public sale will start in early February, according to Leong, with each NFT starting at 0.18 ether (US$514).
GOF avatars are meant to exist as actual celebrities with their own careers, performing in things like music videos and virtual runway shows to maintain a regular income.
The companies involved will “share the streaming revenues for production and marketing costs of each project,” Leong said.