Why Are NFTs Suddenly Taking Over the Music Industry? After 10 years of the nihilism brought on by Spotify, I ll entertain any conversation that at least posits itself on bringing value to artworks, says Jacques Greene
Illustration: Shingo Shimizu (shingo.ca)
Published Mar 11, 2021
Any music fans overwhelmed by the sudden news onslaught about non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the dense techno-babble therein, may not expect to find clarity from 90s star Raine Maida of all people. Yet, the famed Our Lady Peace vocalist is gaining fresh attention as a Chief Product Officer for S!NG, an app designed to help musicians easily create NFTs of their art. What s more: that app s users can skip the prior required crypto know-how and begin using those unique digital tokens (hence the non-fungible in their name) that allow for ownership within blockchain technology (i.e., an online ledger that can t be modified or hacked).
Published Mar 08, 2021
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An endorsement from legendary Stax Records singer Carla Thomas would be a dream come true for most musicians, but Valerie June attains much more than that. The Tennessee-bred rising soul star is backed up by that Queen of Memphis Soul on Call Me a Fool, a highlight from June s latest album,
The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers. No wonder Thomas was keen to pass the torch June brays that song s chorus with rafter-shaking passion and brazen, open-wound vulnerability.
Much of the album features enough storied R&B, roots, gospel and soul motifs to instantly win over fans of those genre s classics. But
This installment focuses on the Wuhan inquiry to unravel the origin of the coronavirus. Recall that in Part 7 of this serial, I presented the debate about whether COVID-19 is natural or genetically modified.