Aqilliz, a Singapore-headquartered Blockchain-as-a-Service company, on Thursday announced that it has set up a first-of-its-kind curated music and entertainment non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace “WishWorld” in partnership with leading talent & celebrity management company One Mercuri.
WishWorld will be releasing the first set of exclusive assets from music maestro Ilaiyaraaja on February 14.
‘Extension of brand’
In a press release, Aqilliz said that apart from the 8,000-plus songs the maestro has composed in nine languages, there are more than 100 unreleased albums from his treasured personal collection. WishWorld will be releasing these as digital collectibles with the original soundtrack, along with interesting anecdotes, features, and even musical notes from these compositions.
“We look at NFTs as a consumer engagement tool that brings a brand closer to the consumer. NFTs cannot be treated as a one-off-sale or a gimmick; they need to be treated as an extension of the brand in the virtual world. I am extremely honored to be launching this marketplace with none other than the maestro himself,” Gowthaman Ragothaman, CEO of Aqilliz, said in the press release.
Built as a marketplace for the creator economy, WishWorld provides creators and artists a platform to exchange their creations with their fans in the form of exclusive experiences. Fans will be given an opportunity to directly exchange their collections with other community members as well.
“We received numerous proposals and evaluated several offers received the world over to build an NFT marketplace addressing the Indian music and entertainment industry, and decided to partner with Aqilliz because they have built a robust platform that is very unique,” said Sriram Bakthisaran, MD, One Mercuri, in the press release.