Yeah, me neither…
The Weeknd is holding an auction this Saturday at 2pm EST for his first NFT collection, though you may never hear or see any of it if you don’t want to take out another mortgage just for the pleasure. NFTs from other artists have been selling for monstrous amounts; to the tune of $389,000 a pop in the case of Grimes, Elon Musk’s other half, totalling a cool $5.8 million earned on the entire collection.
The Weeknd’s collection will contain new music and a limited edition digital print, made in collaboration with Strange Loop Studios, and will be listed on NFT marketplace ‘Nifty Gateway’. It will commence with three different digital prints, which although unlimited in number will only be on sale for a limited period. Finishing up will be a 24 hour auction for an exclusive piece of art, accompanied with his new song, which will only ever be attainable for the highest bidder.
new song living in NFT space. coming soon…
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) March 26, 2021
The Weeknd caused quite the stir on Twitter following this news, angering fans who see this new technology as a joke, pointless, or even “ruining the environment one song at a time”[1]. Nils Frahmhas recently called out artists for using NFTs too, stating “It’s unforgivable to participate in something which is so bleak and wrong”[2]. His main argument is with the quality of the pieces on offer; that they simply aren’t worth the premium price tag, and that they impose a capitalistic nature towards art.
References
[1] Ashish Singh, ‘The Weeknd’s new track: What is an NFT song? Album in cryptocurrency slammed as a ‘scam to fool and profit from’. March 26th, 2021. Available online at; https://meaww.com/the-weeknd-new-song-nft-space-twitter-latest-music-news-house-balloons-elon-musk-halsey-crypto-album
[2] Will Pritchard, ‘Nils Frahm: ‘NFTs are the most disgusting thing on the planet’’. March 29th, 2021. Available at https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/nils-frahm-interview-new-album-nfts-b1822876.html
Great view on this one!