’Breaking new ground is never easy’ — Kings of Leon's NFT release takes in $2M

Kings of Leon generated $1.45 million to $2 million in sales from their new NFT releases and will donate some of the proceeds to Live Nation’s Crew Nation Fund.

The Kings of Leon’s tokenized album and NFTs sale that began on March 5 has generated at least $1.45M, or 820 Ether, in sales in its first five days according to figures on the Open Sea platform.

However Rolling Stone reports that a band representative estimates the revenue is above $2 million, with $600,000 of that going to the Crew Nation Fund for supporting live music crews affected by the pandemic.

The landmark reportedly event suffered teething problems as many of the band’s fans were complete newcomers to cryptocurrency and NFTs, resulting in a decision to extend the sale by 24-hours. It will now conclude on March 20.

The band returned from a four-year break to release their new album When You See Yourself, which was first launched as an NFT and limited edition vinyl, which will be available for regular purchases from March 19. Unsold editions will be burned at the end of the sale, adding to the scarcity of each token. Various other digital artworks were sold, as well as a handful of “golden ticket” experiences.

The income generated so far is significantly less than crypto influencer and DJ 3LAU’s recent album NFT drop which generated more than $11 million in under 24 hours. The electronic music producer auctioned off 33 NFTs in celebration of the 3rd anniversary of his Ultraviolet album, which included never heard before music, custom songs, and custom art.

However, 3Lau's crypto savvy audience is very different to Kings of Leon's more mainstream following. The band noted in a statement that being first came with its challenges:

“Breaking new ground is never easy….if it were, it wouldn’t be groundbreaking. Many fans are first-time NFT buyers and are experiencing a learning curve. WE HEAR YOU and are going to extend the NFT YOURSELF Collection for an additional 24 hours, in hopes that more time allows more fans to participate in this historic offering.”

The NFTs were released in collaboration with YellowHeart, a blockchain-based ticketing platform that is handling the auction on NFT marketplace OpenSea.

As part of the release, KOL dropped six golden tickets which all have six copies up for auction. The golden ticket NFTs offers fans a unique VIP experience which consists of four-lifetime front row tickets to one headline show per tour, band meet and greets, four sets of tour merchandise, transport to shows, backstage hospitality, and more.

One of the golden tickets fetched 89 Ether, or $160,000. The drop also includes a tokenized albums,  animated GIFs and artwork.