Music buffs will soon get their hands on renowned musician Ilaiyaraaja’s NFTs. The first set of these limited-edition digital collectibles are slated to be launched on his birthday, June 2, on WishWorld — a music and entertainment marketplace.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest music composers, he has composed more than 8,000 songs in nine languages and has more than 100 unreleased albums. From the Maestro’s unreleased tracks to unplugged song versions, fans can look forward to a carefully curated set of NFTs.
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) give buyers exclusive access to watch, listen and transact with digital assets.
Advertising industry veteran Gowthaman Ragothaman-owned blockchain solutions provider Aqilliz, and celebrity management firm One Mercuri have teamed up to launch WishWorld, which has bagged the exclusive rights to sell and market the musician’s NFTs.
Back-end transactions
Gowthaman Ragothaman, CEO, Aqilliz, told BusinessLine, “We have been working closely with Raaja Sir to deep dive into his personal collections to design and carefully curate these NFTs and believe it will be a dream come true for his fans. Most of us have grown up listening to his breath-taking compositions; not just the songs but the background scores as well. Each of his compositions has a story behind it. We want to bring this story to fans.”
Fans will be able to buy these limited edition NFTs on the platform without having to open a crypto wallet.
“We are not getting into the auction mode and fans will be able to log into the platform to buy or trade these NFTs just like online shopping. The platform takes care of all the back-end transactions, including creating a wallet for them as well as the much-needed storage,” said Ragothaman, who was the former GroupM’s global blockchain solutions lead. He added that the monetisation potential is huge given that the Maestro’s fans are spread across the globe.
Offline utilities
WishWorld will look at making fortnightly, monthly and annual drops of the musician’s NFTs.
“Not every asset can be successfully tokenised. So, there is a lot of effort that has gone into curating these NFTs to ensure authenticity, exclusivity and utility for the buyers and fan engagement is at the heart of it. We are putting a lot of thought behind crafting not just online but also offline utilities such as passes to attend his concert, a chance to meet him in person or a music notation sheet handwritten by him,” he added.
Other artists
In recent times, from actors to cricketers, many celebs have jumped onto the NFT bandwagon. But Ragothaman believes WishWorld will set a new benchmark in the Indian NFT space.
“We are designing NFTs in a manner that will help creators to get direct access to their fans in a totally transparent and addressable manner. Monetisation is also instant and so. creators can just focus on their core and leave it to our infrastructure to do the rest,” he added.
WishWorld is also looking to work with other established as well as young and upcoming artists to launch their NFTs. “NFTs are still a top of the pyramid luxury items and we need to test what is the suitable price point that leads to the inflection point. But I think the inflection point may happen rather quickly in the next 1-2 years,” Ragothaman said.
Published on
May 20, 2022
