Universal Music is launching a band of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT avatars

15 November 2021, 13:12 | Written by Cerys Kenneally

(News)

Universal Music Group is set to launch a digital supergroup called Kingship which is made up of four ape avatars from the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT project.

Kingship will launch under UMG's 10:22pm label, who have reportedly hired a team of crypto artists and animators to turn the virtual ape avatars into a band.

Bloomberg reports that Kingship will perform and feature in video games, VR applications and the metaverse. 10:22pm boss Celine Joshua said of the group, "You can call it an NFT band, or think of them as characters. The characters will come to life. The apes will come to life."

The piece also states that each virtual ape from Kingship will have its own identity, and 10:22pm are currently planning a campaign to tell each of their stories as a way to introduce the group to potential fans.

Kingship's characters are taken from the Bored Ape Yacht Club, a collection of NFTs belonging to Jimmy McNelis, who recently sold a golden ape NFT for $3.4 million.

According to OpenSea marketplace, Kingship's own golden ape is worth approximately $190,000 at current prices.

Last week Variety reported that Timbaland's Ape-In Productions' (AIP) hip-hop group TheZoo - also part of the Bored Ape Yacht Club universe - will release their debut single "ApeSh!t" this week.