Dance music star Deadmau5 and Grammy Award-winning indie rock band Portugal The Man (PTM) have teamed up to release one million copies of their new single "This is Fine" as non-expendable tokens (NFT).
The single was released on Deadmau5's (real name Joel Zimmerman) label, Mau5trap, with the goal of making the single the first NFT to go platinum.
The artists minted one million units in the NEAR blockchain protocol and released them in the Mintbase market. A quarter of a million units were available for purchase during Art Basel's "Miami Beach" art. Show on December 2.
We are excited to welcome @ deadmau5 @portugaltheman to Miami to #ArtBasel and the exciting release of his "platinum" #NFT musical project in @Mintbase with @closeprotocol
- Mayor Francis Suarez (@FrancisSuarez) December 2, 2021
The remaining singles will be sold as a combination of individual units and grouped units, each with unique attributes. Pooled unit prices have yet to be determined.
The announcement promised "multiple metaverse integrations and rewards for collectors of this NFT," but did not provide additional details.
mau5 x @portugaltheman "This is fine" now available at @mintbase : D https://t.co/qvfGeLAWVC pic.twitter.com/EXPXIONcbl
- Lord of the goat (@ deadmau5) December 2, 2021
According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) guidelines, a certified platinum sale is one million units. It is unclear if the song will go platinum even if it sells a million copies due to its unconventional release method.
Each NFT sells for NEAR 0.25 a piece, or about $ 2.20, similar to the price of an iTunes download in the years leading up to broadcast.
In addition to the single, each NFT also features a unique artwork by Wooden Cyclops, the art director of PTM. He collaborated on the artwork with Smearballs, the artist behind the Deadmau5 characters in his "Monophobia", "Drama Free" and "Pomegranate" music videos.
NFT + Poster Celebrating NFT Song Collaboration @portugaltheman X @ deadmau5 Get directions to get an 18x24 poster signed by John Gourley of Portugal the Man and myself #wood #portugaltheman # deadmau5 #OpenSeaNFT https://t.co/P7RsWBGT14 pic.twitter.com/gNFw0LnIlh
- Wooden Cyclops (@WoodenCyclops) December 2, 2021
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DeadMau5 is not new to the NFT game. In December 2020, Zimmerman partnered with augmented reality artist Sutu to create NFT In the light of Titan - a 30-second audio-reactive art loop paired with a section of deadmau5's SATRN track.
One month later, in January 2021, associated with digital artist Mad Dog Jones will launch two NFT art collections at Nifty Gateway, owned by Winklevoss.
In the same month, PTM launched its crypto token "PTM Coin" on the ETH-based Rally Network. The token grants fans exclusive access to events and perks.
