Tech and K-pop artists join to create NFTs to attract fans

Tech

Published: 06 Sep. 2022, 18:04 Updated: 06 Sep. 2022, 18:31

Tech and K-pop artists join to create NFTs to attract fans

Girl group Nmixx to drop second single ″Entwurf″ on Sept. 19 [NAVER]

Tech companies are partnering up with K-pop artists to create non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and attract fans with the blockchain-based ownership of digital content.

Naver and Line Next will start a new K-pop-based NFT service named "NOW. Drops" as a part of Line’s DOSI NFT trading service that opens later this month.

NOW. Drops is linked with Naver’s streaming service NOW, which specializes in livestreaming K-pop performances and other entertainment shows. Viewers can purchase “crystals” and use them to issue NFTs of the scenes they like from the livestream, which they can own through the DOSI Wallet.

The first K-pop artist on the NOW. Drop service will be JYP Entertainment’s girl group Nmixx. The group will hold a live showcase on Sept. 19 for its upcoming single “Entwurf” and follow with behind-the-scenes footage and original content for fans. The showcase and other content will all be available for the NFT service.

NOW. Drops is a part of DOSI, an NFT platform operated by Line Next set to open later this month. Line Next is a subsidiary of Line, owned by A Holdings, the joint venture founded and owned 50-50 by Naver and SoftBank.

“NOW has been providing unique, original content in the entertainment sector,” said Kong Jin-hwan, executive officer of the NOW service in Naver. “We will continue to develop content especially suited to be connected with NFTs so that users will find them easier to approach.”

Local tech company Meta Beat will release 3,500 non-fungible tokens (NFT) of girl group Mamamoo's albums and other content on Sept. 19 [META BEAT]

Meta Beat, a local NFT platform, will release NFTs of girl group Mamamoo on Sept. 19 through crypto.com. A total of 3,500 Mamamoo NFTs will be sold, including eight albums that have been released by the group so far and other things related to the group.

“The entertainment industry is actively using NFTs because artists’ photos, videos and music — even performances — can be turned into NFTs,” the company spokesperson said. “It also helps artists and fans develop a closer relationship with each other.”

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]