Los Angeles-based NFT firm The Non Fungible Token Company (NFTCo), known as Unblocked, has launched its first digital collectibles, in partnership with Primary Wave Music and hip-hop group Cypress Hill.
Founded in May 2021, Unblocked closed its seed round in July with a heavyweight list of investors.
The company’s backers include Primary Wave, Dapper Labs, Oaktree Capital, Marcy Venture Partners (Larry Marcus, Jay Brown, Jay-Z), B Capital, M13, BAM Ventures, Defy Ventures, and GFT Ventures.
Individual investors include Shawn Mendes, music manager Andrew Gertler, Shopzilla and Flipagram founder Farhad Mohit, Honey founder and CEO George Ruan, and Dapper Labs founder and CEO Roham Gharegozlou.
Unblocked’s Co-founders include Jeremy Arnold, Brian Dilley and Harrison Wang who have worked together at Flipagram, TikTok, Blockfolio and FTX.
The company has created NFTs with Cypress Hill to promote upcoming milestones for the band and it says that the Cypress Hill NFTs “will allow fans to memorialize their experience at real life events”.
Fans who can’t attend the events can purchase collectible NFTs here.
Unblocked describes its NFT experiences as a way to “build fan communities with exclusive rewards” that include meet-and-greets, signed merchandise, and recording sessions with artists.
Following the Cypress Hill release, Unblocked says that it will continue to work with Primary Wave Music to launch NFTs for other artists on its roster.
In recent months, Primary Wave has acquired stakes in the catalogs of Gerry Goffin, for a reported $20 million, Bing Crosby, in a reported $50 million+ deal, and Luther Vandross for $40 million.
“We could not be more excited about our platform’s launch with Cypress Hill.”
Natalia Nastaskin, Primary Wave Music
Natalia Nastaskin, Primary Wave Music’s Chief Content Officer, said: “Unblocked’s founding team’s vast knowledge and experience in tech, blockchain and cryptocurrency made them an incredibly compelling partner for us.
“We are seamlessly aligned on our collective approach to building fan communities based on engagement through serialization and gamification of digital collectibles.
“We could not be more excited about our platform’s launch with Cypress Hill, to be followed by a steady pipeline of artists who are passionate about serving their fan bases with unique and dynamic drops.”
“we look to democratize the digital collectible market.”
Harrison Wang, Unblocked
Harrison Wang, co-founder of Unblocked, added: “We are excited to launch Unblocked with Primary Wave Music, opening the door for other music and entertainment brands.
“While offering partners a full suite of services to monetize their assets, we look to democratize the digital collectible market by giving everyone the opportunity to own a shared social moment – or in a larger sense, a piece of history – building communities and increasing fan-to-fan and fan-to-artist engagement.”Music Business Worldwide
