Def Jam Creates NFT Band With Solana’s Catalina Whale Mixer

Legendary hip-hop music label Def Jam Recordings is the newest to strive its hand at making a musical act constructed round NFT avatars, right now asserting a collaboration with Solana-based challenge Catalina Whale Mixer to create a digital band.

Referred to as The Whales, the digital band will pair colourful whale avatars from the Solana profile image (PFP) assortment with music from what the businesses declare can be “an all-star solid” of musicians and producers. These collaborators have but to be introduced.

It’s related in strategy to Kingship, a digital band made up of Bored Ape Yacht Membership avatars was band members, with plans to launch music throughout the metaverse. Kingship comes from 10:22PM, a Web3-centric sub-label beneath the foremost music label Common Music Group (UMG), and Def Jam additionally falls beneath the UMG umbrella.

WAGMI Seashore, the studio behind Catalina Whale Mixer, was based by music trade veterans, and execs will form The Whales’ tunes. However WAGMI Seashore CEO Carlo Fox mentioned Whale NFT holders would assist form the challenge and may doubtlessly have their owned NFT avatars grow to be a part of the band by way of an upcoming audition course of.

“As an alternative of it simply being like 4 guys of their storage which might be deciding what it’s, it is like this group of all these individuals figuring out the route that it goes,” Fox informed Decrypt.

Kingship in the end tapped Grammy-winning hitmakers Chauncey “Hit-Boy” Hollis and James Fauntleroy to create its music. Nonetheless, in contrast to Kingship—which wasn’t developed with Bored Ape Yacht Membership creator Yuga Labs and solely used the IP commercialization rights afforded to all Bored Ape NFT holders—The unique NFT challenge creator facilitated The Whales.

Fox mentioned this strategy lets all Catalina Whale Mixer holders doubtlessly have a say in some facet of the challenge. His crew’s leisure trade expertise places it ready to “tee up these alternatives for our group.”

Anticipate upbeat, energetic music from The Whales, as Fox cited inspirations like in style non-NFT digital band Gorillaz and veteran musician and producer Pharrell Williams (who’s concerned with the Doodles NFT challenge). Benjamin Willis, one other WAGMI Seashore co-founder, mentioned the working album title is “A Compilation of Vibes.”

“It’s not miserable, it’s not darkish,” Willis defined. “It’s aspirational, it’s enjoyable—you possibly can dance to it, you possibly can occasion to it. That’s type of the concept.”

Def Jam and WAGMI Seashore intention to roll out the primary music from The Whales this summer time, with plans to launch tunes by way of conventional channels and as collectible music NFTs. Likewise, they’re planning performances by way of real-world live shows and festivals and digital metaverse worlds.

Willis mentioned the deal was within the works for months and that there “had been a number of hoops to leap by way of” to pair the normal document label with a Web3 upstart. In the end, nonetheless, the WAGMI Seashore founders mentioned they’re thrilled to have Def Jam’s backing on this new endeavor.

“Def Jam is without doubt one of the most vital labels of all time, culturally—and from early hip-hop onward, they’ve all the time taken a leap on supporting what’s new earlier than it is in style,” mentioned Fox. “We had been very humbled and appreciative that they had been in a position to see the imaginative and prescient and why that is one thing particular.”