How The Brag sold NFTs to people who had never bought one before

With most of us stuck in lockdown, waiting for the dark clouds to clear, NFTs have emerged as new tool in an artist’s armory.

Tones And I recently dipped her toe in the NFT pond, by way of a project with Rolling Stone Australia which saw the ‘Dance Monkey’ star sell a bundle around the release of her debut album, Welcome To The Madhouse.

The results are out, and they’re worth pouring over.

The Tones NFT, or Non Fungible Tokens in longhand, reached more than 400,000 people in the 24-hour sales window, and was a hit not just with early adopters.

Today, TIO can confirm 91 NFTs changed hands, with 82% of those sales made to folks buying their very first NFT.

Less than 10% of those buyers paid with cryptocurrency.

The bundle was sold last month with a limited release price of $130 at The Brag’s new NFT Store  – built in partnership with Origin.

Fans who participated scored a physical copy of Rolling Stone Australia’s sold-out first issue signed and numbered by its cover star, Tones And I, plus an exclusive cassette of her debut LP.

For an added bonus, the buyers will feature in an upcoming issue of Rolling Stone Australia in a double-page spread designed by the magazine’s Australian Creative Director, Katie Taylor.

Tones’ Madhouse is now in the books, with a No. 1 debut on the ARIA Albums Chart.

And it’s a mission accomplished for The Brag, which entered the game with a three-step plan to educate and engage with audiences, and, ultimately, drive NFT sales.

Sales of the bundle were both ARIA Charts accredited, and it marked the first time in Rolling Stone’s global 53-year history that a cover has been released as an NFT.

NFTs will be explored in greater depth at the virtual 2021 Indie-Con, with an afternoon session this Thursday (August 5) featuring speakers Nickolas Falkner, Jaguar Jonze, Julian Hewitt, Nathan McLay, Clare Smith and ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd on moderator duties.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.