Company to offering artist-focused NFTs and exclusive real-world experiences
Breaking the mold of digital collectibles as expensive and exclusive, The Non Fungible Token Company (NFTCo), also known as Unblocked, is launching with the mission of connecting talent with fan communities, both online and in the real world. Its first digital collectible, in partnership with Primary Wave Music and multi-platinum hip-hop group Cypress Hill, drops on November 22nd.
The company has created NFTs with Cypress Hill to promote upcoming milestones for the iconic band. Fulfilling the goal to offer NFTs linked to fan-shared experiences, some Cypress Hill NFTs will allow fans to memorialize their experience at in real life events, while collectors and fans who can’t attend those events can buy collectible NFTs on their store at www.inrhthm.com. All Unblocked NFT experiences aim to also build fan communities with exclusive rewards such as talent meet-and-greets, signed merchandise, and recording sessions with artists.
Following the release for Cypress Hill, Unblocked will continue to work with Primary Wave Music to launch NFTs for other artists on their roster. Founded in 2006, Primary Wave is home to some of the world’s most iconic artists such as Prince, Bob Marley, Boston, Alice Cooper, Stevie Nicks, Luther Vandross, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and Olivia Newton-John.
“Unblocked’s founding team’s vast knowledge and experience in tech, blockchain and cryptocurrency made them an incredibly compelling partner for us,” says Natalia Nastaskin, Primary Wave Music’s Chief Content Officer. “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 are excited to launch Unblocked with Primary Wave Music, opening the door for other music and entertainment brands,” shares Unblocked co-founder Harrison Wang. “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.”
Earlier this year, B-Real teamed with BlockParty for a limited edition 3D animation NFT collection based on Mister Cartoon’s artwork.
Unblocked is led by an all-star team with extensive experience in the consumer and blockchain space. Co-founders Jeremy Arnold, Brian Dilley and Wang, as well as most other members of the team, have all worked together at Flipagram, TikTok, Blockfolio and FTX (as well as several other notable companies), leading growth, product, data, and engineering at several of those stops.
Founded in May 2021, Unblocked closed its seed round in July with an investor list which includes Primary Wave Music, 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.
