Universal Expands Metaverse Group Plans With New Bored Ape Ethereum NFT

Briefly

• Record label Universal Music Group has acquired Bored Ape Yacht Club’s NFT to create a character for their virtual band Kingship.
• Bored Ape NFT owners can use their images for commercial purposes such as marketing, products, and more.

NFT Bored Ape Yacht Club owners have the option to commercialize their own images, and back in November, major label Universal Music Group (UMG) announced plans to turn the Apes into a metaverse virtual band called Kingship. Now, the firm has just acquired its own Bored Ape NFT to further expand the initiative.

Today, the UMG imprint at 22:22 announced the acquisition of Bored Ape NFT #5537, which was purchased on February 12 for 125 ETH, which at the time was about $365,000. An illustration of a monkey with attributes such as a blue dress, a pilot’s hat and white fur will be used to create a character called Noët All who will lead a fictional group.

What’s different from today’s announcement is that 22:22 (founded by Celine Joshua) actually owns the image associated with this Ethereum NFT, which Universal claims makes it the first imprint in one of the major record labels to own Bored Ape.

The other members of the band are based on NFTs owned by Jimmy “j1mmy” McNelis, a renowned NFT collector and entrepreneur who is working with UMG on the project. Public blockchain data displayed on the OpenSea marketplace suggests that McNelis himself did in fact sell the latest NFT from his personal collection to Universal.

Meet Manager Noet All, the new man in charge leading KINGSHIP to greatness. She and the group were busy working on top-secret schemes. If there’s something she learned in her #BIKE Club days, it’s that good things come to those who wait. Right, @BoredApeYC? pic.twitter.com/LayDx39Dsv

— KINGDOM (@therealkingship) March 18, 2022

Kingship is inspired by Gorillaz, the popular virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett. Nicholas Adler, previously identified as the band’s real-life manager, told Decrypt in November that “Gorillaz is the northern star” for the band. The collaborators will create narration and music for the virtual band.

In addition, Kingship is building on its Web3 origins and plans to host concerts in the online spaces of the metaverse as well as release its own NFTs. When asked about UMG’s plans, Adler, who is also rapper Snoop Dogg’s brand manager and curator, said in November that he was still being explored.

“We develop personalities and [NFT] drops around them,” Adler told Decrypt. “We design sounds; we develop stories and narratives. I think the project, the process and the music will be something that consumers and fans will see online as we develop it.”

UMG isn’t the only known music industry organization trying to turn NFT-owned Bored Ape characters into virtual artists. Shortly after last November’s announcement, music producer Timbaland launched his own standalone record label for Bored Ape NFT owners, along with a virtual hip-hop group based on some of the Apes.

The NFT Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club characters have been used by the owners for other commercial purposes, ranging from merchandise to packaging for a cannabis brand and even for a future Los Angeles fast food restaurant.

The NFT acts as a blockchain-verified document of ownership of a unique digital object, whether it be an image of an uninterested monkey, a digital illustration, a video file, or something else. In 2021, trading volume in the broader industry has risen to $25 billion, according to DappRadar.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club has quickly become one of the most famous projects in space. To date, its collections, including Mutant Apes and Bored Ape Kennel Club, have generated over $2.9 billion in cumulative secondary trading volume, according to CryptoSlam.

Over time, NFTs have become very valuable and many famous celebrities have bought them. Right now, the cheapest Bored Ape NFT available on the marketplace is 93 ETH, or about $272,600.

A utility and governance token called ApeCoin (APE) was released yesterday and was given to NFT holders for free, and Bored Ape holders could claim 10,094 APE for each NFT held. At the current APE price, that’s over $139,000 of free tokens.