Blockchain-based music research and analytics platform Viberate (whose native token VIB is listed on Binance, Bittrex, OKEx, and Uniswap) just announced they will be launching a special NFT featuring the right to a live music performance and other exclusive content by one of their founders, renowned Techno DJ and producer UMEK. 

The drop will happen on April 29 in partnership with the Blockparty marketplace, marking the launch of the first-ever “live gig NFT”. UMEK’s offer will include five different NFTs:  three exclusive remixes of his 1999 hit Techno track “Lanicor”, one livestream performance, and one live event performance.

Several music artists have already successfully sold their NFTs, either as albums, VIP tickets, digital art, or other concepts. UMEK’s upcoming drop is the first to experiment with the possibility for musicians and organizers to securely manage their bookings once live events return. 

“We’ve been actively involved in the crypto scene for the last several years,” explains Vasja Veber, one of Viberate’s co-founders and UMEK’s manager.

“Our platform includes blockchain and we have our own token (VIB), so tokenizing the rights to a live performance seemed not only the logical next step in the evolution of NFTs, but also an exciting opportunity to explore how the live music industry could handle bookings in the future. The live music industry is among those hit hardest by the pandemic – just in 2020, the estimated losses revolved around $30 billion, so it’s important to explore such options.” 

Viberate and Blockparty will use the drop to test the “gig NFT” concept, and Viberate will be verifying it. If the concept proves to be successful and gains industry interest, Viberate plans on providing the option of gig token minting to nearly half a million music artists in its database, along with minting artist ID NFTs through a secure verification process. These ID NFTs will then act as a certificate of authenticity, reassuring the buyer that the contents indeed come from a verified artist.

UMEK’s NFT drop will launch on Blockparty on Thursday, April 29, 2021, at 8:00 pm GMT+1 (3:00 pm EST).