Unreleased David Bowie Recording to Debut as Music NFT

NFT

In his lifetime, David Bowie—broadly thought of probably the most influential musicians of the twentieth century—produced a prodigious catalog of 27 studio albums, 11 reside albums, 4 soundtracks, and 128 singles. However it seems that the singer-songwriter, who handed away in 2016, nonetheless has one music left to sing.

On Thursday, Gala Music, an offshoot of Web3 startup Gala Video games, introduced a partnership with music producer Larry Dvoskin and writer Warner-Chappell Music to launch a never-before-heard model of Bowie’s hit 1983 music “Let’s Dance” by way of a restricted sequence of NFTs.

On April 14th, 40 years to the day after “Let’s Dance” initially debuted, Gala Music will launch 3,003 NFTs, every that includes a bit of Bowie-inspired paintings, that may unlock the holder entry to the unheard model of “Let’s Dance” that Dvoskin produced with Bowie in 2002.

Put in your pink sneakers and dance the blues!

To have a good time the fortieth anniversary of ‘Let’s Dance’ we’re releasing a by no means earlier than heard model of #DavidBowie’s iconic monitor with proceeds donated to @MusiCares.

Let’s Dance! https://t.co/bzbfHiHBZV#BowieForever #ABetterWayToPlay pic.twitter.com/rTLPEHr6v8

— Gala Music (@GoGalaMusic) April 6, 2023

The NFTs might be bought on a pay-what-you-wish mannequin; all preliminary proceeds from the sale will profit MusiCares, a charity that gives well being and human companies to the music neighborhood.

Dvoskin described the monitor in an announcement as a “extra dreamy, digital” model of the smash music, which stays considered one of Bowie’s hottest tracks ever launched. The music producer and songwriter has lengthy wished for the music’s revamp to see the sunshine of day.

With the fortieth anniversary of the discharge of “Let’s Dance” approaching, Dvoskin turned to Bowie’s property to try to persuade it to launch the music by way of NFTs.

“Once I first talked with the executor of the Bowie Property, he advised me he initially deliberate to hearken to my pitch about releasing this as an NFT after which politely move,” Dvoskin mentioned in an announcement. “However when he pulled up the unique 2002 e-mail wherein Bowie expressed his enthusiasm for doing the recording, that modified his thoughts. This was a inventive endeavor David by no means bought to see launched throughout his lifetime. We’re honoring his want by releasing it now.”

Subsequent week’s launch won’t, nonetheless, mark the Bowie Property’s first foray onto the blockchain.

David Bowie Ethereum NFTs Set off Twitter Backlash

In September, Bowie’s property launched a sequence of NFTs in partnership with market OpenSea titled “Bowie on the Blockchain.” That assortment, which was additionally bought to boost cash for charity, obtained substantial backlash from Bowie followers who derided the blockchain experiment as inconsistent with the late artist’s ethos and values.

Bowie’s total music catalog is at the moment owned by Warner Chappell Music, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, which bought the gathering early final yr for upwards of $250 million. In November 2022, the music label introduced a cope with Web3 leisure incubator Defient to “unlock the facility of Web3 for songwriters.”

Dvoskin’s cope with the label is described as Warner Chappell Music’s “first utterly native NFT settlement” for a music that had by no means been launched by way of bodily or digital codecs.

Final week, within the midst of a large-scale layoff, Warner Music Group mentioned that it deliberate to spare staff concerned in its burgeoning slate of Web3 and AI initiatives, citing “new tech initiatives as central to the corporate’s future.”

Gala Deletes ‘Overzealous’ Tweet About The Rock, Mark Wahlberg—Token Falls 13%

Gala Video games is finest recognized for its titular Web3 gaming efforts, however has additionally made inroads into music and movie because it explores different leisure use instances for NFTs and tokens.

The startup confronted some scrutiny earlier this yr when it tweeted about upcoming movie tasks with actors Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Mark Wahlberg—an announcement that seems to have boosted its native token GALA some 115%—solely to later delete the tweet and name it a “bit overzealous.” Gala clarified that each actors’ respective manufacturing corporations are co-producing documentary movie tasks unrelated to their very own lives or careers.