Warner Bros Partners with Sandbox to Launch First Music-Themed Metaverse

Ethereum-based game The Sandbox has announced a partnership with major recording label Warner Music Group (WMG) to create a musical theme park and concert venue within the gaming metaverse.

According to Sebastien Borget, chief operations officer and co-founder of The Sandbox, the partnership “brings the open metaverse one step forward in the direction of fan-owned and community-driven initiatives”.

We’re shaping The Sandbox as a fun entertainment destination where creators, fans and players can enjoy first-of-a-kind immersive experiences and be more closely connected to their favourite musical artists through non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Sebastien Borget, chief operations officer and co-founder, The Sandbox

Warners the First Major Music Label in the Metaverse

The unprecedented initiative, which marks Warners’ first foray into the NFT metaverse, will see WMG digital land in The Sandbox host concerts and other live experiences featuring artists represented by the label. The Warners roster includes Ed Sheeran, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Madonna, Charli XCX, Kylie Minogue and Rita Ora.

The Sandbox will provide some of those artists with another outlet to engage with fans, experiment with virtual entertainment, and generate new revenue streams while reaching a global community.

Sandbox Now Rivals Decentraland

Digital land remains in high demand, and consistent high trading volume in The Sandbox has made it one of the most competitive rivals to Decentraland in the metaverse sphere. According to the company, The Sandbox will hold a LAND sale in March to allow music fans to buy LANDS adjacent to the WMG property.

During a single week in late November, investors purchased more than US$100 million worth of virtual land, the majority of it coming from The Sandbox.

Other Metaverse Musical Projects

In December, another new project called Animal Concerts announced the formation of a virtual touring company to host virtual live music events in the metaverse. Through that project, artists can earn up to 50 percent of revenues from both ticket and NFT sales.

Earlier this month, a new blockchain-based music platform built for creators and investors was announced, intending to address the biggest challenge facing artists in the music industry today: raising capital. Opulous, as it’s called, allows fans to bankroll their favourite artists by harnessing the power of DeFi. They can also benefit from music sales as part copyright owners, thanks to NFTs.

All of which helps goes some way to prove that the world of NFTs is not all about mindless frivolity and outrageous prices.