Understand them or not, love them or hate them, NFTs seem to have a role to play in music's future - with that thinking solidified on Tomorrowland's 2022 lineup.
'Ape Rave Club' is set to become one of the biggest - and probably first - names in the NFT world to grace a festival stage, named to play Tomorrowland's main stage in July.
A product of the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, Ape Rave Club is one of a 10,000 strong collection of limited edition apes created last year - with celebrities who have bought into the collection including Shaquille O'Neal, Steve Aoki, and Paris Hilton. Some Bored Apes in the collection are selling for millions of dollars each, with the cheapest reselling for close to US$300,000 at time of writing.
But what does this mean for the performance? Our mates Montell2099 and SACHI will be there in person but at first glance we're not 100% sure about the internet monkey.
The performance will reportedly be 'visually focused and one of a kind, transporting Tomorrowland's 600,000 anticipated attendees and millions more watching online to a new never-seen visual experience merging the real world with the digital.'
The Bored Ape Yacht Club revealed a few more details in a statement. "Ape Rave Club is the first digital artist born on the blockchain to perform at a major festival," the statement read. "Combining the universal language of music and blockchain technology, expect NFT drops with real-world utility, special experiences, and endless ways to connect with fans on a whole new level."
"Ape Rave Club plans to release original crypto-native music via NFT platforms, and aims to be one of the first decentralised artists in the music industry. This means fans will be able to govern elements like artistic direction and even share ownership in Ape Rave Club," the statement added.
Regardless of whether we understand it or not, we're looking forward to seeing what the Ape Rave Club experience looks like!