#56 | Warner Brothers Music Group Launches NFT Music Platform!!

Estimated Read Time: 7 mins

Hey friends,

Thanks for joining us this week! We've got a fun curation of headlines this week that cover how various companies are attempting to capture the timelessness of their products through NFTs, from musical classics to luxury watches and diamonds. Let's jump into it!

Warner Music Group Bringing Music to NFT Platform LGND

Owners of the 3rd and 4th largest record labels in the world, any Web3 moves from Warner Music Group (WMG) are a huge win for the space, though the goliath's recently announced partnership with NFT Music Platform LGND might take it to the next level. World-renowned artists like Led Zeppelin and Red Hot Chili Peppers on WMG's roster may soon have their music NFTs hosted on the LGND music platform in collaboration with the Polygon network.

Set to launch in January, WMG songs and other digital collectibles dubbed “Virtual Vinyl” will be offered as NFTs to fans, which can be listened to through the platform similar to a new-age iTunes.

WMG has already been an active player in Web3 with recent innovations like bringing back collectible movie box sets as NFTs and their “Probably A Label” Web3 music label, but this new NFT music platform goes back to its root of selling tracks. NFTs were set to majorly disrupt the music industry by offering new ways for artists to crowdsource and monetize their art instead of signing their soul to a label; and it seems like Warner has taken the “if you can't beat them, join them” approach, looking to leverage new technology by potentially bringing back our pre-streaming culture of music ownership. I guess we'll just have to see how this new music plays out!

Exclusive Timex Watches Offered in Partnership With Bored Ape Yacht Club

In 2021, American watch manufacturing company Timex topped the charts as the world's most profitable watch brand, but now the 1854-founded corporation is trying its hand at Web3. Timex is gunning straight for the top by collaborating with the world's second-highest-selling NFT project; the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). Timex recently announced it will launch an exclusive one-of-a-kind line of 500 watches and digital twin NFTs for BAYC holders. These bespoke watches will leverage the commercial intellectual property of the BAYC holder's ape, with personal customization on the case, strap and etchings.

The killer quote here is the talk of phygital NFTs, since the aforementioned “digital twin NFTS” enable BAYC holders to wear their limited-edition Timex watch in both the physical and virtual world. Over the past few issues, we've covered an increase in phygital talk including just last edition with Nike's RTFKT iRL Cryptokicks; so news like this from one of the world's top watch brands not only getting involved with NFTs, but also pioneering steps towards the future of phygital accessories, continues our trend towards the future.

NFTs To Save... Diamonds?

Let's take a break from global superbrands pushing boundaries within the NFT space, and look into an interesting story out of the diamond industry looking to leverage Non-Fungible Tokens in a new and exciting way.

To first set the scene, the diamond industry is fraught with corruption and theft; whether that be through lab-grown diamonds certified as natural diamonds or just straight certificate forgery. Now, imagine if only there was a global decentralized system to verify these assets... Here's where NFTs and Mike Moldawsky’s new Diamond Dawn project come into play: putting diamond certification reports on the blockchain.

To kickstart this movement, Diamond Dawn has recently announced it will deposit 333 Gemological Institute of America (GIA) certified diamonds as NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain, where holders can then acquire the actual diamond and have it digitally verified, something that has yet to be possible at this scale. This isn't a new concept though; earlier this year, GIA-certified gemologist Olivia Landau co-founded The Clear Cut Web3 diamond certification platform that also seeks to leverage NFTs to evolve the industry, saying:

Although perhaps we didn't quite expect it, NFTs as digital diamond certifications is another use case we can cross off our Web3 bingo board! This again exemplifies the real-world benefits that this new technology brings over anything previous in Web2.

We hope you enjoyed this edition! Have a great couple of days and we will see you soon with the next round-up. Take care!

What's the NFTea?

ApeCoin ($APE) staking has been live since the weekend; holders of Bored Apes (BAYC) and Mutant Apes (MAYC) could stake their $APE along with their doggo companions (BAKC) into a staking pool which yielded, you guessed it, more $APE.

How has it been going so far?

Yikes, that doesn't sound great. On the other hand, let's take a look at the ridiculous numbers that prominent NFT whale dingaling is putting up...

Currently, there are 2 camps of sentiment — one that's ridiculing the system for being counterintuitive, especially with the volatility and decreasing price of $APE as supply grows. On the other hand, there's speculation that any sort of token sink or Otherside use cases for $APE in the future will spike the price and thus it's a good way to slowly accumulate more $APE for the future. Which side is right? Only time will tell.

Need a more quantitative breakdown of $APE staking? Don't take it from us, here's a thread straight from the Animoca's mouth:

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DISCLAIMER:

None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.