Artists have been collecting physical awards for their sales (and now streams) achievements since the 1950s: gold, platinum, diamond etc. Now Universal Music Germany is adding a digital twist to the idea. It is working with German industry body BVMI and web3 startup Twelve x Twelve on a scheme that will complement (not replace) the physical awards with digital tokens. “Effectively certificates of authenticity linked to the video and image versions of the awards,” as the label group put it. “Unlike conventional digital files, the tokens on the blockchain are limited and in this case, non-transferable.” So no secondary market for ‘gone platinum in Germany’ NFTs here! Universal artists Lena, Nico Santos and DJ Robin & Schürze are the first artists to receive the new awards for recent hits.
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