Theatrical production company Seaview and social media agency Marathon Digital are bringing non-fungible tokens to Broadway.
NFTs are digital assets, including photos, videos, GIFs, tweets or digital designs, which are then sold and resold on the blockchain using cryptocurrency. Seaview and Marathon Digital have partnered with Nifty’s, a platform for NFTs, to sell digital Broadway memorabilia as NFTs on the site.
The idea behind the venture, called Bway.io, is to develop an industry presence in the emerging technology space and to potentially provide another revenue stream for Broadway businesses.
Playbill will be the first partner to launch a collection this fall, followed by record label Sony Masterworks Broadway, which owns a 50% stake in Seaview. Seaview is the producer behind “Slave Play” and “Ratatouille: the TikTok Musical.”
“The opportunity to partner with Nifty’s and join their highly curated group of premium publishers and brands allows Bway.io to serve as a conduit between the vibrant Broadway community and the NFT ecosystem,” said Greg Nobile, chief executive of Seaview. “We believe that this technology could be as impactful in the future as the internet has been over the past several decades, and we are proud to be at the forefront of this evolution on Broadway.”
Brisa Trinchero, a Broadway investor and entrepreneur, and Liberty Media senior advisor Mark Carleton will serve on the board of Bway.io.
NFTs have made headlines this year as they’ve gained prominence in the art world. In March, an NFT created by artist Beeple, in the form of a 10-second video clip, sold at a Christie’s auction for $69 million.
The digital files are bought and sold on the blockchain, which exists as a type of digital ledger to verify ownership of the asset. The buyer may then receive limited rights to display or present their purchase in some fashion or he or she may later resell the item on the blockchain.
Most NFTs exist on Ethereum blockchains, which uses ether, a cryptocurrency similar to bitcoin, to facilitate transactions. The Bway.io NFTs will use the Palm blockchain, which is a type of Ethereum blockchain.
