John Legend Starts NFT Platform for Artists, Musicians, Names It ‘OurSong’

John Legend has started a new NFT platform called ‘OurSong' to help established as well as up-and-coming entertainers score funding via non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Supported on the blockchain, NFTs are digital collectibles inspired by an array of things like songs, videos, and artwork among other things. From American rapper Snoop Dogg to Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, artists from several parts of the world have dived into the NFT sector in a bid to connect with a wider audience base. For this NFT platform, Legend, 43, has collaborated with Chris Lin, the CEO of Taiwanese music service provider KKBOX. Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin and venture capitalist Matt Cheng have also been roped in to be part of the project.

“OurSong, is a social commerce platform where everyone can turn everyday creativity into tradable assets and build super fan communities. In plain English – an app for your ideas to make money and friends,” the company website reads.

The NFT platform will allow users access to private chatrooms with other artists as well as check out unreleased music.

Speaking to Bloomberg, the Grammy-winning singer said: ”It can be really intimidating for an emerging creative who wants to share their art, their work with the world but they feel like they can't possibly do something that's going to be worth that much money”. It is these artists that Legend is targeting to help with his NFT venture.

The platform will allow people to convert their work into NFT trading cards called “Vibes”.

“Creators can create Vibes by contributing songs, lyrics, images or other materials”, the OurSong site said.

Users will be required to purchase the platform's native “OurSongDollars” (OSDs) by “purchasing it with credit card, debit card, wire payment, or USD Coin deposited in your wallet on Circle's blockchain”.

The app has been made available for download on Apple's App Store as well as on Google Play store.

The sales of NFTs reached some $25 billion (roughly Rs. 1,84,700 crore) in 2021 as the speculative crypto-asset exploded in popularity, data from market tracker DappRadar showed.

Several international artists and celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Amitabh Bachchan, and Salman Khan among others have launched their own NFT collections.

As the NFT sector continues to see interest from the artist community, more celebrities are joining in on the trend.

In April 2021, Super Bowl champion Tom Brady launched a sports-focused NFT platform called “Autograph” to allow football fans collect NFTs from their favourite players.

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