Coachella, the famous US music festival, has launched lifetime festival passes. But the truly surprising news is that these passes will be sold as NFT. Coachella has partnered with FXT.US to create the Coachella NFT marketplace. The NFTs will be put on sale on February 4, and need to be redeemed by February 25, 2022.
What is an NFT?
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are unique digital items, that are registered on a blockchain (such as Ethereum, Polygon, Terra, Solana, Tezos and any other blockchain that supports NFTs) in order to retain ownership of that item. Unlike cryptocurrency, NFTs are not fungible, and cannot be exchanged for another, as each one has a different meaning and potential value.
The main advantage of NFTs is transparency. Think of NFTs are items registered on a public ledger, where anyone and everyone can check the exact trading history of that item. All dates and prices for previous sales are fully disclosed and all events are transparent.
The consent of NFTs has been around since 2012 when the concept of coloured coins on the blockchain emerged.
The first digital artist to create an NFT was Kevin McCoy, in May 2014. He minted a GIF image, of a hypnotizing collection of shapes that keep pulsating, entitles “Quantum”.
The NFTs continued to evolve and take different shapes and have different purposes. In 2021, the market exploded, as it grew from $94.9 million to over 24.9 billion, considering total sales volumes.
The concept of NFT became popular for almost everyone in the digital space, from big brands such as Coca Cola to local digital artists.
What is an example of an NFT?
NFTs can be almost anything that can have a digital representation. The tokenisation process is required to register that digital item on the blockchain and actually turn it into an NFT.
While NFTs were mostly used for digital art and some in-game assets at the beginning, the concept is now rapidly expanding. NFTs can be songs, music albums, digital art, in-game digital assets, assets with real-life benefits, and more.
The key to creating and using NFTs is that these tokens can be traded. Gamers, for instance, are now able to make a profit from their gaming efforts.
Coachella festival NFTs
Coachella is a huge California-based music festival. It started in 1999 and it has grown tremendously since then.
As of 2021, Coachella will introduce NFTs to grant lifetime access to the festival. This is a limited 10-item NFT collection, which features 10 different keys, to offer VIP access to the festival grounds.
Coachella offers three different NFT collections for sale:
- Coachella Key Collection
- Sights and Sounds Collection
- Desert Reflections Collection
The 3 Coachella NFT collections
The Coachella Keys Collection will be auctioned by the company. This collection includes 10 NFTs that grant holders lifetime tickets to Coachella. The token holders will receive passes to Coachella each year and access to Coachella-produced virtual experiences forever. NFTs can also be purchased to get special perks at the 2022 festival, such as front row access and a celebrity chef dinner.
It’s not surprising that the festival is getting into the NFT craze. In November 2021 Coachella parent AEG renamed the LA arena, Staples Center into Crypto.com Arena. Other traditional companies have also shown that there is plenty of money to make by attaching physical products or services to digital goods. NFT resales can also generate profits for the original seller which could prove to be a bonus for permanent items such as lifetime passes. In the case of these Coachella NFTs, the festival, artists who have created art installations and designers will be paid a royalty if the NFTs are sold again.
The other two collections feature never before heard soundscapes and posters. Owners can redeem their NFTs for a physical copy.
The Sights and Sounds Collection include 10 digital collectables, of which a total of 10,000 will be minted and each one can be bought for $60.
The Desert Reflections Collection represents 10 posters from Coachella’s history. Buyers will receive a random NFT of the collection. Only 1,000 items will be minted and the floor price is $180.
Coachella will donate a portion from NFT sales to HelpDirectly and Lideres Campesinas.
Three collections of NFTs will be available for sale starting February 4th.
NFTs and digital tickets
Digital tickets are one of the top potential use cases for NFTs. In 2021, the NFL announced that it will add NFTs to tickets. However, those NFTs will not grant you access to any football event. The NFL has eliminated paper tickets from the 2021 season, so digital ticketing and resales can be done without NFTs.
And there are other companies that have also tied NFTs to physical products or real-life experiences. For example, the Bored Ape Yacht Club gives exclusive access to parties. Companies ranging from Gap up to Adidas all have sold NFTs that include physical merchandise.