GEAR + TECH
Dillon Francis Mints Psychedelic NFT for Charitable Cause
Dillon Francis is diving deeper into the blockchain game by launching a new NFT, which is available now for charity auction. Developed by 3D artist Nicole Ruggiero, the quirky NFT titled “I think there’s something wrong with my phone” features a trippy visual of a translucent, paper-like cellphone interface. Synced to a beat crafted by Francis himself, the music pairs appropriately with the scene at hand featuring a thumping bassline and a swirling chorus of distorted background vox. The sale of the psychedelic visual will go towards an environmentally friendly cause as the artists have pledged to plant 100 trees in the winner’s name. You can make your bids here. Dillon Francis and Ruggiero first connected just a couple weeks ago, when the former purchas...
ODESZA to Release Debut NFT Collection
As lockdown measures and the absence of live music events continue into a second year, the EDM community has recently experienced an explosion in the popularity of NFTs. The items have emerged as a means for artists to gain financial support during a time when many performers’ livelihoods remain uncertain. For those unfamiliar, an NFT, or non-fungible token, is a digital collectible item. NFTs are stored on a decentralized blockchain and can never be deleted or replicated, meaning that the person who buys or obtains one will be the sole owner. In the electronic music space, NFTs often appear as digital artworks accompanied by exclusive music. Following the likes of Flume, Disclosure, and many more, ODESZA is the latest major dance music act t...
Audius’ $AUDIO Token Reaches All-Time High, But Payouts are Still to Come
Music streaming service Audius has seen a recent surge of popularity since its beta phase in October 2019 and ensuing public launch a year later. The controversial blockchain-powered platform’s cryptocurrency token, $AUDIO, has hit a new all-time high after Audius surpassed 3 million active users, according to Cointelegraph. The report claims that the beginning of March 2021 saw the price of $AUDIO go from a low of $0.38 to a new all-time high of $0.79 on March 4th, and spike from $3 million to a record $55 million trading volume. While that’s certainly good news for the project and its decentralized approach to music streaming, Audius still hasn’t publicly shared information on how or when its users will obtain $AUDIO. According to an&...
Turntable.fm is Back—But With a Twist
Fans of social music platform Turntable.fm despaired when the app was shuttered in 2013. Despite being active for only two-and-a-half years, the app developed a cult-like following, prompting many calls and petitions to bring the platform back in the years since. Today, those calls were answered two-fold, as Turntable.fm is poised to make a comeback and a new platform, Turntable.org, is readying its own launch. The two platforms seem to have the same core format, allowing users to create their own rooms and perform for digital audiences. However, Turntable.org will be introducing a subscription-based pricing model. Considering the founders of the original site cited an inability to monetize the platform at a pace capable of offsetting their costs at the time, perhaps a subscription w...
Dillon Francis and Lane 8 are Beefing About NFTs
It seems the NFT craze is starting to rear its ugly head. Electronic music producer Lane 8 recently took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the current climate of NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, writing that sales of the digital collectibles are “pandering to the ultra rich while excluding the normal fans who built [him] up in the first place.” Hours after Lane 8 published the tweet, Dillon Francis took a screenshot of it and went on to mint the image as an NFT on the Zora marketplace, dubbing the item “cool story bro.” “[D]on’t worry Lane 8 when you make an NFT we will all remember this,” he wrote in the description, along with a smiley face. Francis then shared his newly minted NFT on Twitter, announcing that he would be donating the pro...
Flume Enters the NFT Space With Trippy “Saccade” Digital Artwork
Flume is the latest major electronic music artist to join the wildly popular NFT space. Flume’s foray into the NFT space, which could be one of its most lucrative, is a stunning collaboration with visual artist Jonathan Zawada. Titled “Saccade,” the trippy artwork depicts a polychromatic eye and pupil, which mutates and dilates in awe-inspiring fashion. It’s one of the most intricate NFT drops to emerge during the non-fungible token craze, which has exploded in the EDM landscape. Flume and Zawada’s “Saccade” NFT is accompanied by a hypnotic ambient song produced by the future bass pioneer, the audio of which the winning bidder will receive in MP3 and WAV formats. The rare 1/1 item is the first in a series of NFTs to be offered by th...
Disclosure Produced a New Song Live on Twitch and Minted It as an NFT
Grammy Award-nominated dance music duo Disclosure has thrown their hat into the red-hot NFT ring. Disclosure recently took to social media to announce their debut NFT release, which was streamed live on Twitch via a music production session. Immediately after the song was created, it was minted and made available for purchase on Zora, a major marketplace to buy, sell, and trade limited edition digital collectibles. Watch Disclosure’s Guy Lawrence explain their debut NFT release below. There’s a good chance you’ve found yourself in a Google rabbit hole recently due to the NFT craze. NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital collectibles whose ownership is verified and protected by blockchain technology, ensuring authenticity. The items—often unique pieces of...
Nifty Gateway Founders on Why Musicians Should Embrace Digital Art: “EDM Artists Are Just the Perfect Fit for NFTs”
As the latest Bitcoin and cryptocurrency hype cycle has gripped investors and driven a whole new wave of adoption to the space, Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster find themselves at the epicenter. The twin brothers and entrepreneurs have helped spearhead a meteoric trend in the digital asset space with their company Nifty Gateway, a marketplace for digital art and collectibles called NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, which are collectible assets authenticated and secured by blockchain technology. A few years ago, the idea of collectors purchasing digitally minted art pieces to the tune of thousands and sometimes even millions of dollars would have seemed ludicrous. However, as public comfort and interest in blockchain technology has only continued to rise, cultural influencers—especially musicians...
Steve Aoki Announces Debut NFT Release
Steve Aoki is the latest dance music producer to join in on the blockchain-powered art craze after announcing his debut NFT release. NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital collectibles that are unable to be replicated or mutually interchanged. The value of NFTs lies in their singularity, since they are truly unique and belong solely to their owner. Hosted on the popular Nifty Gateway marketplace, Aoki’s foray into the NFT space finds the dance music superstar teaming up with renowned visual artist Antoni Tudisco. Known for his beautifully chaotic releases, Tudisco has provided artwork for a litany of major brands, including Apple, Nike, Adidas, Sony, and BMW, among many others. Aoki took to Twitter to share a short preview of the new collection of NFTs, te...
Adventure Club Teases New NFT Release
Famed electronic music production duo Adventure Club has teased a new NFT release. You may have found yourself in a Google rabbit hole recently due to the rise of NFTs, or non-fungible tokens. The digital collectibles, which are stored on a decentralized blockchain and are therefore unable to be replicated, have quickly emerged as an alternate source of revenue for musicians who may be experiencing the pitfalls of COVID-19. Dance music producer and cryptocurrency pundit 3LAU recently sold a collection for a record-breaking $3,666,666, opening the floodgates of the arcane NFT world, which had experienced only lukewarm popularity at the time of Adventure Club’s first release back in December 2020. The duo took to social media yesterday, February 28th,...
Digital Artist Creates Daft Punk Music Video by Programming His Own Artificial Intelligence
After last week’s announcement by Daft Punk that legendary electronic music duo have split up after 28 years together, a flurry of tributes have been shared. One digital artist, however, took an appropriately high-tech route in his homage to the fabled French robots. Award-winning Irish computer artist Glenn Marshall has shared an artificial intelligence-generated music video for Daft Punk’s 2001 single “Voyager.” Without getting too technical, Marshall essentially trained a computer to create visuals inspired by Daft Punk. As Marshall explains in the description of the video, he used the phrases “robot headgear,” “robot heads,” “robot disco,” and “Tron” to guide the AI’s creation. The result ...
Lindsay Lohan is Selling a Daft Punk NFT for $15,000
NFTs have been taking the dance music world by storm as of late. Many artists are finding that the digital collectibles are a great way to recoup some of the revenue lost due to the pandemic. Now, a recent story from Decrypt reports that a seller named “Daft Punk” has been gifting NFTs to a number of celebrities on the online marketplace Rarible. While the artwork featuring images of the duo was transferred to Mark Cuban, Soulja Boy, and Tyga, among other celebrities, only one has put theirs up for sale—Lindsay Lohan. The report shared that the listing was set to 8.8 ETH, which converted to around $15,000 when posted. However, at the time of this article’s publication, the listing for Lohan’s sale has been restricted from public viewing. Decrypt Simi...
