Independent music venues have been crushed by the pandemic, and last week’s breakdown of the Small Business Administration’s website has only delayed the $16 billion in federal relief they’re scheduled to receive. But they have received some financial aid from friends in high places, including Spotify, YouTube Music, and now Mick Jagger.
The Rolling Stones frontman has announced an NFT around his new song with Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, “Eazy Sleazy,” that will raise money for indie venues in the U.S. and the U.K. Jagger and 3D artist Oliver Latta (akaExtraweg) have collaborated on an audio-visual charityNFTfeaturing a loop of the song that is set to drop today at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT. The 1-1 piece will go live as an auction for 24 hours, with all proceeds going to charity.
100% of the proceeds from theNFTsale are being divided betweenMusic Venue Trust, a UK registered charity which acts to protect, secure and improve grassroots music venues;Back-up, which provides financial support to entertainment technology industry professionals who are seriously ill or injured or to their surviving family members; andNational Independent Venue Association (NIVA), an organization working to preserve and nurture the ecosystem of independent live performance venues and promoters throughout the United States. A portion of proceeds will also be going to environmental causes.
According to the announcement, the 30-second audio-visual piece “evokes a surreal essence of breaking through the barriers of the human mind and pushing forward on the brink of social collapse to provide a much needed moment of artistic relief as the world slowly transitions out of lockdown.”
TheNFTvisual was created by Oliver Latta AKA Extraweg and produced by Pink Salt, with special thanks to Guia Quaranta.
