Universal music group debuts virtual ape band

The Future. Universal Music Group (UMG) is launching a hot new band — a group of popular NFT apes that will perform in the metaverse. The band, Kingship (consisting of characters from the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection), is the first stab at a fully virtual band to exist on the blockchain… but it may only have staying power if the music itself actually catches on.

Bananas
In the most 2021 move of all, UMG has started a band of NFT apes to play in the metaverse.

• The band, Kingship, consists of three bored apes and one mutant ape from the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection.
• UMG set one of its labels, 10:22PM, to oversee a group of crypto artists and animators to render the images into 3D characters.
• Music (by who is a mystery) will be created for Kingship to play across video games, VR platforms, and eventually the metaverse.

UMG will sell NFTs tied to Kingship that will give fans access to music, exclusive experiences, and even “real-world events.” The whole gambit is made possible by the unique accessibility that holding a Bored Ape Yacht NFT allows: it gives holders full commercial rights to them.

NFTour
UMG plans to introduce this band as they would any real-life, human-fronted act — creating a marketing campaign around them, detailing how they met and who they are. In a larger sense, this is UMG experimenting with fictional storytelling. It’s influencer-creation that they can 100% control.

Granted, we have to pay respects to the OG virtual ape band, Gorillaz. Damon Albarn’s animated creations became top-charted sensations. But, fans always knew who was behind the music. Will an enterprising musician be okay living anonymously in Kingship’s shadow in order to keep up the illusion?