The concept of blockchain-backed contracts could transform how artists manage their bookings – but is the industry ready?

In April, Viberate worked with acclaimed Techno DJ and producer UMEK to successfully drop the world’s first live gig NFT. Now, the music research and analytics platform has published an open call to all musicians who might be interested in what they call “the new music economy”.

With it, Viberate plans to test whether the NFT craze is more than just a fad, and whether the music community is indeed ready to start managing bookings and fan engagements with the help of big data insights and tokenized contracts.

“It was an amazing opportunity and I’m so glad I went for it,” UMEK commented on his drop. “We sold both my live gig NFT and my livestream NFT in less than 24 hours – and to an L.A. venue of all places. What’s more, I immediately got another offer for a Miami gig thanks to the drop, so you can imagine my absolute joy – not only will live events finally return after all these months being stuck indoors, I’ve just secured bookings in two of my favorite cities on the planet! Now, I hope more industry people will jump on the bandwagon, as NFTs are more than a current craze – they’re the beginning of a smarter, safer and more flexible way of doing business.”

Viberate proposes three main NFT categories: live performance NFTs, livestream NFTs, and customized “experience” NFTs (artists engaging with their fans on- or offline, e.g. going shopping with them). Any interested artist or their representative can submit their NFT application here.