‘Pokemon Go for music’: Aussie bands join digital drop

Music fans will soon be able to walk the streets and digitally collect merchandise including unreleased music and signed music.

One of the first bands to join the platform is Australian electronic and dance band Winston Surfshirt. Picture: Supplied

Music fans will soon be able to walk the streets and digitally collect merchandise, including unreleased music and signed music notes, under an initiative that has been likened to Pokemon Go.

Several Australian artists have begun experimenting with the sales of digital merchandise on the new platform, which uses an NFT marketplace to buy, sell and trade the assets.

Behind the project, known as a Web3AR game, are whisky producer Jack Daniels and Serenade, which have developed what they call “digital pressings”, and Smart Media Technologies, which developed the game.

The game works by allowing artists to deliver digital assets via what is called an “AR drop”, allowing the assets to be stored at specific times and locations.

Players can collect the items by visiting the location and scanning their smartphones. The ­assets themselves, called digital pressings, will be available on NFT platform Opensea.

The concept, similar to that of NFTs, is being spruiked as a way to make up for the low revenue earned through streaming platforms.

One of the first bands to join the platform is Australian electronic and dance band Winston Surfshirt, which has confirmed that some of its digital assets up for grabs include cover art and what might be the band’s first and last ever acoustic song.

“I never do acoustic songs, so it was probably the only one that’s ever going to be released,” said 33-year-old lead singer Brett Ramson, who goes by the name Winston.

Ramson admitted that, while he was not the most technologically advanced, he did hope he could learn more about the NFTs, and that he was excited to play the game.

When he was approached about the project, it took some time to understand, he said.

“They came to me and it took me a solid week or two to understand because of my non-technological brain … I was born in the 90s,” he said. “The best explanation they gave me, even though I didn’t ever play the game, was that it’s like Pokemon Go for adults. And I was just in, that sounds super fun.”

Musicians were always on the lookout for ways to earn new revenue, and merchandise had been an area where there was still lots of demand.

“We just went to America for the first time and we sold more merchandise there than we’ve ever sold before. We sold out of everything we had,” he said.

“In the new game there’s loads of little trinkets and loads of little surprises.”

Ramson said musicians typically wrote 1000s of songs that never ended up being released, so the concept of being able to use them to connect with fans would be well received.

Winston Surfshirt was open to playing live on metaverse platforms and via holographic displays, Ramson said.

“Hell yeah. If I don’t have to travel, sign me up!” he said.

Ramson performed several times via lifestream during the pandemic, which he said received a lot of kind feedback from fans. “My mum and dad love it,” he said.

“If you can holograph me onto a festival stage, and I don’t have to travel … that’s cool.”