Ahead of a sale at New York auction house Sotheby’s next week, Spanish soccer giants FC Barcelona have provided details on the introduction of their first “art” non-fungible token (NFT).
The cash-strapped LaLiga club is promoting the digital collection as a luxury artifact in the hopes that its aesthetic value, special privileges, and brand strength will ensure it fetches a high price.
Johan Cruyff, a Dutch legend for the team, is depicted in the NFT’s animated “audiovisual digital artwork” ‘In a Way, Immortal’ “flying” through the air to score a goal against Atletico Madrid in 1973.
The winning bidder will receive special club access, the ability to play at Camp Nou, and five years of hospitality rights as a “Barça digital ambassador.” They will also be permitted to take part in the official ball handover before a friendly game.
With more than 400 million social media followers, FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta said, “Barça is continuously introducing new methods to communicate with our supporters. We feel that with the club’s new NFT strategy we have a unique chance to continue developing and solidifying the Barça brand.”
It’s a wonderful way to honor Johan Cruyff, this famous event, and the entire lineage and historical heritage of FC Barcelona that [Johan Cruyff] was depicted in such an amazing way.
The club anticipates that the sale will bring in cash and launch a number of NFT projects that will enhance contact with younger, more technologically savvy supporters.
30-piece orchestral music and 40 seconds of animation were produced by 40 Hollywood computer graphics and visual effects professionals, who put in more than 10,000 hours of work.
This little film is a true work of Renaissance digital art, almost like a piece of marble chiseled by the best visual effects artists in Hollywood, as opposed to the standard NFT GIF. With the help of this initiative, NFTs will go into the next stage of development, when contemporary digital art will be on par with earlier masterpieces.
It shouldn’t be shocking that Barcelona would be interested in NFTs. The club has a massive global fan base and tremendous brand power, which are advantages that are extremely useful when trying to monetize foreign followers who will never visit its Camp Nou stadium and find new sources of income to assist it to overcome its well-known financial difficulties.
Spotify, a music streaming service, has purchased all of the club’s sponsorship inventory, including the stadium naming rights, while US investment firm Sixth Street Partners has agreed to purchase 25% of the club’s LaLiga television rights for the next 25 years.
