The impresario behind superstars BTOB and (G)I-DLE tells Forkast. News there’s ‘no upper limit’ to how much Cube will invest in NFTs and a metaverse for concerts.
South Korea’s entertainment industry is going all out to embrace NFTs and the metaverse
South Korea’s entertainment industry is going all out to embrace non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse, with big industry names planning to bet on the new technology. K-pop fans may soon have more official merchandise to spend their money on.
Cube Entertainment, which manages popular artists and bands such as Jo Kwon, BTOB, PENTAGON, CLC, and (G)I-DLE, is one of the latest K-pop talent agencies to pledge to join the NFT and metaverse race. The Kosdaq-listed company partnered with Animoca Brands in November to form a joint venture aimed at creating a music metaverse. And issuing NFTs.
Ahn Woo-Hyung, CEO of Cube, told Forkast. News that the sky is the limit when it comes to investing in new technology.
Since last year, the company has formed a special team to study NFTs and, as a result, the metaverse. Additionally is “continuing to put a lot of thought into it,” according to Ahn.
Ahn revealed that the upcoming projects will center on music and feature the artists’ portraits and videos in creative and fun ways.
“Not only for our company, but for the entire entertainment industry,” Ahn said, “this could be a very important momentum.”
HYBE, the label behind global boy-band sensation BTS, is also actively investing in the field
HYBE, the label behind BTS, the global boy-band sensation, is also investing heavily in the sector. It announced last month that it had partnered with Dunamu to digitize BTS merchandise into NFTs and explore the possibility of allowing fans to collect and trade NFTs on the company’s fan community app Weverse.
HYBE founder Bang Si-Hyuk said the two plan to develop an NFT business under a new joint venture, which will “allow the artist content and products that Hybe has showcased to date to become digital assets for fans,” according to an online video briefing released today.
Metaverse showcasing idols’ lives
Many K-pop fans, according to Ahn, aren’t just interested in the music.
“I think they start empathizing and sharing a bond with different aspects of [the artists’] lives as they start to like our music,” Ahn said. “As a result, not only K-pop, but also K-drama and K-culture in general, receives their attention”. They’re interested in all of the cultural elements that make us who we are.”
The metaverse, according to Seo, can provide performers with a new way to interact with fans, or “Melody,” as BTOB fans are known. “I’m most excited about meeting our Melody [in the metaverse], who we haven’t met yet.”
and then