The Original Winamp Skin Is Selling As An NFT (theverge.com) 47
Winamp will sell a non-fungible token (NFT) linked to its media player's original 1997 graphical skin, becoming the latest company to blend nostalgia and crypto. The Verge reports: Winamp will put the NFT up for auction through OpenSea between May 16th and May 22nd, followed by a separate sale of 1997 total NFTs based on 20 artworks derived from the original skin. The proceeds will go to the Winamp Foundation, which promises to donate them to charity projects, starting with the Belgian nonprofit Music Fund.
The NFT sale appears to be a combination of a publicity move and a fundraising effort. Winamp is sourcing the derivative art NFTs by asking artists to submit Winamp-based works between now and April 15th, then giving selected artists 20 percent of the proceeds from each sale of their image as an NFT. Nineteen of the pieces will sell in editions of 100 copies, and the remaining one will have 97; they'll all sell for 0.08 Ethereum -- around $210 at current exchange rates. The artists will get 10 percent of any royalties on later sales, where the seller will set their own price.
Winamp's head of business development Thierry Ascarez tells The Verge that buyers will get a blockchain token linked to an image of either the original skin seen above or one of its derivatives, which is a common setup for NFTs. Buyers will have the right to "copy, reproduce, and display" the image, but they won't own the copyright. Likewise, selected artists will agree to transfer all intellectual property for their work to Winamp, according to a page of terms and conditions (PDF).
The NFT sale appears to be a combination of a publicity move and a fundraising effort. Winamp is sourcing the derivative art NFTs by asking artists to submit Winamp-based works between now and April 15th, then giving selected artists 20 percent of the proceeds from each sale of their image as an NFT. Nineteen of the pieces will sell in editions of 100 copies, and the remaining one will have 97; they'll all sell for 0.08 Ethereum -- around $210 at current exchange rates. The artists will get 10 percent of any royalties on later sales, where the seller will set their own price.
Winamp's head of business development Thierry Ascarez tells The Verge that buyers will get a blockchain token linked to an image of either the original skin seen above or one of its derivatives, which is a common setup for NFTs. Buyers will have the right to "copy, reproduce, and display" the image, but they won't own the copyright. Likewise, selected artists will agree to transfer all intellectual property for their work to Winamp, according to a page of terms and conditions (PDF).
You say, I hear (Score:3)
Translation: Sell out for a quick buck.
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It's not the original Winamp of course, it's just a bunch of chancers who bought the ip from the twitching corpse of AOL about half a decade back promising to release new versions and um...
footage not found.
I now own this NFT (Score:2, Funny)
I now own this one of a kind original WinAmp skin from 1997. I went to The Verge website, where believe it or not they just had it posted on the article page. I downloaded the image and it is now up for auction. Shall we start the bidding at $1000?
Providence: Slashdot [slashdot.org] > Slashdot Article [slashdot.org] > Verge Article [theverge.com] > Image Link [vox-cdn.com] > My Computer.
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So just to be clear if someone came said "can I offer you a $200 to have may name listed in some blockchain next to a URL pointed some of those old GIFs you have laying around and I'll even agree up front it in no way transfers the copyright or other legal ownership to me"
you would say, no?
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Honest question: Since I can aim the actual pointer string at any conceptual imaginary thing, why wouldn't I just declare an NFT of an NFT?
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I would say no, for sure.
Money doesn't buy integrity.
We are still doing this? (Score:3)
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I thought the NFT craze had passed
There is an endless supply of stupid people.
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You owe me 2K monies (Score:2)
If you click this link [external-preview.redd.it] then you owe me 2K in fake money. This is a binding contract because I wrote a program for a virtual machine that you are supposed to run before you send me the fake money.
Winamp? (Score:5, Insightful)
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You sir, win an Internet and a free AOL CD.
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Came here to say exactly this.
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Takes me back, and not in a good way. If you look at the thing they are selling you immediately notice that it was too low resolution to properly render most of the text. It's just a blurry mess that the brain can process with a bit of effort and some guesswork.
The late mid to late 90s were not good times for graphics. Before then we had peak 16 bit greatness, all hand drawn in DPaint or some clone and looking great. Then people got hold of Photoshop and early raytracing apps and everything devolved into a
Still confused (Score:2)
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The knowledge that you contributed to a good cause, I guess? That was the original idea behind NFTs, anyway -- that you'd be supporting the creative work of an artist.
At least when you contribute to public radio, you get a tote bag.
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I I purchase the NFT, what do I own?
A blockchain entry which contains a URL to something that may or may not exist on the internet in the future. Like if NFTs had existed back in the days of the original goatse, whoever bought it would have had two very bad days by now. The first when they realized they paid good money for a picture of a gaping asshole, and the second when it got taken down and replaced with whatever is there now.
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you're not gonna trick me into looking what's there now.
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"I I purchase the NFT, what do I own?"
You'll put it beside your other NFTs in an exhibition and every visitor will get hospitalized with Stendhal Syndrome.
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I I purchase the NFT, what do I own?
A URL to a JPEG. Be careful of link rot [theverge.com], however.
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...A receipt for a link to a website that will at least for a time contain a copy of a digital asset that is easily copied and certainly already has been ....
It conveys no rights whatsoever to the digital asset, it's copyright, or ownership
I want some of that idiot money. (Score:2)
Problem is, I'm not geared for spotting the opportunity for it. I believe in negotiating for common benefit. They might be perfectly aware of the nature of the facade they've purchased, but I won't be the one selling it to them. It feels slimey... like I imagine Ticketmaster would feel if it were a person...
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It's not really a matter of having a lack of scruples. Anybody can make NFTs and attempt to hock them. The ability to actually be successful at selling NFTs requires already being famous and/or wealthy enough to put your scheme in front of enough "suckers".
Well in the world of digital seling... (Score:1)
I have two different bits to sell.
I know what I have so no low ballers.
Really whips the llama ass (Score:2)
How is this news? (Score:1)
They couldn't make it more obvious (Score:2)
--Nostalgic brand promising a comeback, but light on development or deliverables? Check.
--Redesigned website that removes dated-but-still-useful information in lieu of something that is stylish and trendy? Check.
--New nonprofit organization from a brand that wouldn't generally be linked with a nonprofit, with the intent to give money to other nonprofits? Check.
--Generating hype for NFTs of something purely nostalgic months before said NFT is available? Check.
--Consistent but detail-lacking social media pres
Clink on link and copy. free (Score:1)
Liar (Score:2)
The Original Winamp Skin Is Selling As An NFT
No it is not.
An NFT of a link to something that could generously be referred to as a copy of the original Winamp skin for as long as the seller chooses to maintain it. No rights or ownership is actually transferred as that requires actual legal contracts documenting the sale. And NFT is none of those things.
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I'll sell you a copy for $5 (Score:2)
WTF is a Winamp skin (Score:2)
and did it hurt the Winamp to skin it?