3LAU Sells NFT Collection for Record-Breaking $11.6 Million

03 March 2021 - Press release

‘Ultraviolet,’ Becomes World’s First Tokenized Album Selling 33 unique NFTs in Online Auction

YMU Hail “Exciting Opportunity to Monetize New Aspects of Creative Output”

In a groundbreaking move acclaimed musician and longtime blockchain advocate Justin Blau aka 3LAU has sold a non-fungible token (NFT) collection for $11.6 million via an online auction, which took place between February 25-28.

To celebrate the 3 year anniversary of his album ‘Ultraviolet’,  Blau sold 33 NFTs as part of the Ultraviolet Vinyl NFT Collection on Origin Protocol’s ‘Dshop’, a decentralized marketplace built on the InterPlanetary Filing System (IPFS) and Ethereum. The top NFT sold during this particular auction, which included an opportunity for the buyer to record a song with Blau, fetched $3.6m, a world record for a single NFT and the total auction take of $11.6M also broke the record for the primary sale of an NFT collection.

NFTs use blockchain technology to authenticate and designate an official copy of a piece of digital media, allowing artists, musicians, influencers and others to commercialize digital goods that would otherwise be of little value or free. A record of each NFT transaction is kept on a blockchain, making it part of a permanent public record and serving as a certification of authenticity that cannot be altered or erased.

NFTs generated over $100m in sales last month alone.

Justin Blau is a world-renowned American musician and producer. To date he has amassed over 1bn music streams with over 300m of those coming from his ‘Ultraviolet’ album. An early crypto adopter he has realized over $12.7M in primary sales from NFT auctions across his 3LAU and SSX3LAU releases and has been a vocal advocate for tokenizing music and building an investable layer for music on blockchain technology.

To commemorate the third anniversary of “Ultraviolet”, 3LAU fans placed bids on 33 NFTs during the auction period. Successful bidders are able to redeem their NFTs for special edition pieces of vinyl, unreleased music, unique experiences, and bonus song NFTs across a number of tiers. The top bidder for the 1 of 1 platinum tier will be able to collaborate with 3LAU on a brand new single; taking creative direction from the winner, the track will truly be one-of-a-kind.      

YMU the international artist management company that represents 3LAU has recognized the potential impact this new technology could have on artist revenue streams and are lining up a number of new NFT auctions for other artists on their roster.

Andrew Goldstone, 3LAU’s Manager and GM of YMU (NYC) said, “Justin is truly a pioneer, having seen the potential of NFT's years before they were on anyone's radar. His talent and passion are what brought him to this incredible milestone in his career and are what will drive him to even further heights. At a time when artist income has been severely impacted due to the loss of touring income and other factors during the COVID-19 pandemic, NFT auctions offer an exciting opportunity to monetize new aspects of creative output and Justin demonstrated that in a historic way this past weekend.”