$2.2M Beeple NFT art drop to be tokenized in virtual music festival

Metapurse, a crypto and NFT fund financed by renowned NFT collector Metakovan and stewarded by Twobadour, recently announced that it had acquired all 20 of the 1/1 NFT artworks auctioned in December’s Beeple Everydays: The 2020 Collection.

This in itself was a gargantuan undertaking, utilizing multiple accounts to put other bidders off the scent, costing around $2.2 million, and with no “Plan B” in case any of the artworks was won by somebody else.

As Cointelegraph reported, the drop raised a total of $3.5 million, when open editions were also taken into account.

Of course, one doesn’t spend $2.2 million on NFT art without a gameplan, and Metapurse spoke exclusively to Cointelegraph to explain what happens next.

On Jan. 23, it will launch the B.20 bundle. This consists of all 20 unique NFT artworks, along with prime virtual real estate in the Cryptovoxels, Decentraland and Somnium Space metaverses, and custom-designed VR galleries in each metaverse to house the art.

To celebrate the launch, Metapurse is hosting a free cultural quasi-festival called Metapalooza, featuring a live virtual performance from DJ, Producer and crypto-evangelist 3LAU.

The B.20 bundle will be tokenized and sold, meaning that festival-goers will be able to enjoy the art, not just as viewers, but also in the knowledge that they can own some part of it. Twobadour gave an insight into the thinking behind this:

“Art was historically an open, communal experience. Over the years, the rules of scarcity and profit locked it up in warehouses and vaults. For the experience of art to evolve, to be open again, the economics must make sense, too. B.20 is that experiment. It infuses ownership into your experience of art. You know the feeling of kinship, of ownership you get when you stand before art that moves you? We just tokenized it and made it real.”

Metakovan went on to explain that the project was about more than just the art, and included $500,000 of post production input from writers, voxel architects, strategists and others who aren’t traditionally artists, but who infuse the metaverse with energy and creativity.

Noting that the project will benefit all of these contributors, he pointed said, “We are initiating a new economy, a wider circle around the traditional artist-collector zone.”

Each metaverse’s gallery space is unique and incorporates elements native to their virtual world. There will be a scavenger hunt across the three metaverses during the Metapalooza festival.

Following the festival the galleries will remain open and free for public access.

Metakovan and Twobadour have built up an enviable collection of iconic NFTs through Metapurse, including the F1 Delta Time 1-1-1 car, and an NFT representing 5% of the Monaco Grand Prix circuit in the same game.