November 2022, London, UK/Zug, Switzerland: The NEAR Foundation, the non-profit organization that supports and funds sustainable Web3 projects based on the NEAR protocol, today celebrates the first NFT album to be nominated for a Grammy.
Released by DAOrecords and building on NEAR, Rhythm and Soul is a jazz masterpiece produced by legendary 10-time Grammy winner Arturo Sandoval in collaboration with MetaJAX. The compilation was nominated for a 2023 Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album, a historic achievement for the music industry – and a major step forward for Web3 in terms of mainstream recognition and acceptance.
Founded in 2020, DAOrecords reinvents the record label and democratizes the music industry using Music NFTs and Web3 technology. Leveraging NEAR blockchain technology, the company envisions the future of the music industry as a place where artists control not only their music, but the relationship with their fans and community within their own economy that will be networked with all developed tools.
Mareieke Flament, Executive Director of the NEAR Foundation, commented on the Grammy nomination and the album’s success: “We are absolutely thrilled and delighted that ‘Rhythm and Soul’ has been nominated for the most prestigious award in the music industry. This is an outstanding achievement for the musicians and their artistic independence, as well as for the adoption of Web3.”
She added: “Being the first NFT album to be nominated for a Grammy shows that it is possible for creatives to harness the power of Web3 innovation to gain market share in highly competitive markets such as entertainment and more have opportunities to own and share their work and build relationships with fans—without the involvement of third parties.This recognition is also an excellent example of a real-world case study for Web3 and how it can help create a more inclusive and exciting future for shape everyone.”
About CLOSE
NEAR is a powerful blockchain that knows no boundaries. Super fast, incredibly secure, and infinitely scalable, NEAR enables anyone to build at scale and deploy quickly. NEAR’s vision is to create a network that empowers people to reimagine finance, creativity and community in new and inclusive ways. NEAR enables mass adoption of the blockchain. Developed by an award-winning team of engineers and entrepreneurs, NEAR is easy to use, inclusive and good for the environment. NEAR is backed by leading VCs such as A16Z, Pantera Capital, Electric Capital, Dragonfly Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Blockchain.com, and Baidu Ventures.