The Brag’s NFT store will be ARIA Charts accredited
The Brag‘s limited edition NFT of the first-ever Rolling Stone Australia cover will be ARIA Charts accredited.
In an Australian first, all sales of the Rolling Stone Australia cover, featuring world-beating artist Tones And I will be sold as a bundle next week via The Brag’s new NFT Store – built in partnership with Origin. The move from The Brag Media’s culture publication means that the NFT will be bundled with Tones And I’s debut album Welcome To The Madhouse (set for release July 16th) and count towards her first-week sales and the ARIA Chart placing.
Annabelle Herd, Chief Executive Officer at the Australian Recording Industry Association, said ARIA is very proud to continue to evolve the way music sales are recorded, ensuring that Aussie artists and their successes are well documented and celebrated – as they should be.
“It’s no surprise to see a forward-thinking step like this taken by a brand as iconic as Rolling Stone Australia, allowing fans to further engage with the artists they love. Congratulations to Tones And I and The Brag Media for making it happen,” Herd said.
The Brag Media’s Chief Executive Officer, Luke Girgis, said the NFT release presents a groundbreaking opportunity to further its mission in supporting Australian artists.
“We know that being featured on the cover of Rolling Stone is a monumental moment for artists, and it was no different for Tones And I who was picked by The Brag Media’s Managing Editor, Poppy Reid, to feature on the cover of our first issue last May,” Girgis said.
“By minting an exclusive NFT of this cover to celebrate the issue and create a one of a kind collectable for the NFT community, we also have an opportunity to – hopefully – help Tones And I achieve the first-ever #1 ARIA album sold as a NFT on our new store.”
Matt Liu, the founder and CEO of Origin, added:
“We’re very excited that Rolling Stone Australia, an iconic media brand with global recognition and over 40 years of history influencing music culture, is entering the NFT space with the Tones and I NFT release.
“NFTs enable creators to engage and interact with fans and collectors at a new, deeper level. This launch is another example of traditional media and music converging with the best of blockchain technology.”
In another first, the initiative marks the first time in the iconic masthead’s global 53-year history that a cover has been released as a NFT, with a limited release priced at $130 each, and available from July 19 at 12:00pm AEST. The sale will end 24-hours later, closing at 12:00pm AEST on July 20.
The Tones And I x Rolling Stone Australia NFT’s, along with 350 collectable bundles, will go on sale at the same time via The Brag’s new NFT Store.
Those lucky enough to get hold of one of 350 NFT 350 collectable bundles, priced at $140, will also receive a physical copy of Rolling Stone Australia’s debut, sold out issue, signed and numbered by Tones And I, plus an exclusive Cassette of her debut album.
“It’s an absolute honour to be the first artist in the world to have a Rolling Stone Australia magazine cover released as a NFT,” Tones And I said, as she prepares for Friday’s album release.
The 350 collectors to secure one of the collectable bundles will also get their names etched in history, with all willing NFT buyers to feature in an upcoming issue of Rolling Stone Australia in a double-page spread designed by the magazine’s Australian Creative Director, Katie Taylor.
In March, The Brag Media presented Tones And I with its first Rolling Stone diamond ring at a special event at Sony Music. The new initiative sees every person featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Australia receive their very own diamond ring to mark the occasion.
Earlier this year, Rolling Stone Australia expanded its brand with the inaugural Sailor Jerry Rolling Stone Australia Awards, and, according to new Roy Morgan data on the national magazine market published, Rolling Stone Australia bagged 152,000 readers in the year to March 2021, ahead of such staples Australian Golf Digest, Family Circle and Men’s Fitness.
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.