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Lifestyle

NFT Melbourne Set to Launch at 170 Russell

Lucky NFT has announced the launch of NFT Melbourne, an interactive event showcasing the boundless possibilities in the new world of NFTs, and what they can do for the arts, music, events, and brands. The event isset to be held at the classic 170 Russell venue in Melbourne on 23 February with tickets on sale now at www.moshtix.com.au. A safe place for people to come and learn! No egos allowed and no such thing as silly questions. Learn about a world where the physical and the digital co-exist for a greater human connection.

The event will feature a variety of guest speakers and tastemakers from different walks of the creative and digital worlds who will share their insights into the exciting new technology of NFTs.

The guest speakers include Matty A.K.A DCLBlogger, a helmsman of the NFT storm and founder of event partner “The Metakey”, Geoff Measley, a marketing and digital specialist helping to pioneer the future of NFTs, Greg Oakford, a co-founder of NFT Fest Australia, Danielle Weber, an internationally recognised and diverse Australian artist, along with Mariella Mejia, CMO of Meadow Labs.

NFT Melbourne comes shortly after Lucky NFT’s successful collaboration with Tennis Australia to create a virtual and internationally accessible AO Metaverse closing party in a world-first. The event included a headline performance from the iconic international DJ, Steve Aoki and special guest performances from the Aussie Hip-Hop legend Masked Wolf and #1 female DJ, Tigerlily.

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Ridley Plummer, guest speaker and Tennis Australia NFT & Metaverse Project Manager will showcase how the collaboration with these creators came to life, offering invaluable insight to corporate brands and entrepreneurs looking to expand into the new and limitless NFT industry after his successful venture into the Metaverse with Lucky NFT, Run It Wild and Vegas City. 

“NFT Melbourne is a place where people can learn about a world where the physical and the digital co-exist for a greater human connection. We will be showcasing the possibilities that NFTs can bring to various industries and businesses that want to build a better connection with their audience. We will have Australian artists and entertainers on display and performing in both digital and physical format as the event which will also be streamed live in the metaverse,” said Lucky NFT Co- Founder, Theo Kanellopoulos.

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The evening will feature a special guest performance from global hit maker, Masked Wolf (pictured above). Image credit: Masked Wolf.

Tickets are on sale now at www.moshtix.com.au

I was able to interview Co-founder of Lucky NFT Theo Kanellopolous prior to the event - 

TWLM (David): How did you get into NFT's? Do you have a tech background?

Theo: I've got a Web2 Agency and I've actually got a music background. I understand NFT's and the possibilities, and it's a cross section of everything that I love. My Co-founder in Lucky NFT and I were reminiscing the other day about some of the posts we were posting this time last year. And one of them was literally (a Facebook post) "This just shows me the trajectory of my life. No joke, mind blown." Regarding NFT's the penny really dropped for me. It's amazing. 

TWLM: People have described NFT's and the Metaverse as the next big thing? Where do you see it going?

Theo: I think there's a lot of people that are taking the time to want to understand the NFT space. Rather than just instantly dismissing it. Because of the cultural relevance it's been picked up by more people faster. So although we are still early, the adoption has happened quickly. People understand it's not just a JPEG as an NFT, but there's more to it, and they are picking up on the possibilities a lot faster than even picking up on crypto. 

TWLM: How was the Tennis Australia experience for you? It looked innovative and I saw it on Twitter. A success? 

Theo: We were really impressed with Tennis Australia when they launched the project. Our involvement was more the closing party, and the artists on the Lucky Ent. Roster. Tennis Australia had some incredible NFT Agencies that helped them build out that Metaverse activation. It was one of the most impressive projects I've seen rolled out, full stop.

TWLM: What is the opportunity for Melbourne artists and creatives with Lucky NFT?

Theo: We're really excited. The initial idea around starting this came from me reaching out to Luke at Lucky Ent. to help his artists on board into Web3. Also an insurance policy against anything like COVID happening again that prevents any artist from performing and their major revenue stream being taken from them. Being able to move into NFT's and the Metaverse eventually will mean continued connection and the ability to perform and provide value to their fan base, without physically being in front of them. However, we strongly feel its important to combine the two (live performance and the Metaverse). It's not a game of "or" anymore - it's about "and" in providing options. You have a digital option for artists now that isn't just Zoom sessions, it's immersive in the Metaverse.

I think the Metaverse evolving to a stage where it's about "mainstream consumerism" is still a few years away. But it's happening. We've already had music festivals with tens of thousands of people logging into these Metaverse experiences.

TWLM: Can brands and creatives just contact you for possible collaboration? They should go to the Exhibition to check it out?

Theo:  Come to the event on Wednesday night! We will be looking to collaborate with artists but to some extent we need to be selective. There's a commitment involved with NFT's and you are essentially starting a new business. For bigger brands they are starting a new business unit. So there needs to be some litmus tests and criteria when it comes to collabs and a web3 strategy. We've already got a lot of people approaching us but we are being selective, as you can appreciate.

TWLM: Are we talking all kinds of assets such as static JPG's, videos, audios, even gaming, and other mediums for NFT's? Do you specialise across the board and are looking for a range of creatives? 

Theo: There's so many possibilities. It's about creating and packaging and taking a product to market. You can, say, put your "stick figure" on OpenSea but it probably won't "cut it". You need to build something great and make it a compelling experience and add value. I have NFT's where there's video built in. Animated loops. There's some that have come out with visual assets with music behind them. There's been major industry NFT collabs with artists, for example Justin Blau a.k.a. 3LAU has partnered with Nas the rapper on Blau's platform Royal, and has converted the streaming royalty rights to two of Nas' songs "Ultra Black" and "Rare", into limited digital assets. Which gives fans the ability to share in a percentage of his publishing and masters, something revolutionary.

In some ways it's like a "gold rush" right now but some adopters have come out and haven't added much value to the NFT experience, and that kind of thing can fizzle. On the other hand, there's been some incredible NFT projects that include, say, admission to events to one-on-one time with famous artists or celebs like Gary Vaynerchuk, through to courtside seats at an NBA game. The possibilities are endless with NFT's and you can build anything you want into it.

TWLM: Basically are you a One Stop Shop for brands and creatives in Melbourne wanting to get into NFT's?

Theo: Yes, but obviously there's a point where you need to put a lid on it as you can't be "everything to everyone". Because of Lucky Ent. being in the music and events and entertainment space, we thought "let's help artists in that industry first". We also know a lot of CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands as well. Budweiser, Pepsi, Adidas, Nike - many of these big brands are moving into NFT's and the Metaverse.

We will start off with certain industries but NFT's are being adopted across many industries as we know. In America we've already seen a smart contract deal being used for a house purchase. So it will eventually happen for the property industry as well. As well as the banking industry and other industries. The list goes on.

TWLM:When creatives collab with you, does the asset get assigned to you or stay with the artist? Profit share? 

Theo: Artists have full control over their creative. We are coming into this space in support of the artists and creatives. We can add value and make their creative piece "come to life" in terms of an NFT. We are here to support, not to take advantage of creatives. Of course there's a commercial aspect here. We are looking for deals that both parties are comfortable with. There's also a potential to utilise the art and musical talent of the Lucky Ent. artists when working with creatives and brands to produce NFT's.