Launching with Super Furry Animals first NFT artwork collection to celebrate 20 year anniversary of ‘Rings Around The World’.

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Music technology company Serenade has announced the launch of a ground-breaking new artist/fan-centric platform, which aims to break down the barriers to entry surrounding Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and make them easily accessible and affordable for artists and their fans.

The eco-friendly platform, which produces 1/44,000th of the carbon emitted by a standard NFT (or 1/10th of the energy usage of a tweet,) uses a ‘Proof of Stake’ authentication method that is far more efficient than a direct-to-Ethereum ‘Proof of Work’ approach and eliminates expensive ‘gas’ fees, the prohibitive costs that can be a major barrier to entry for anyone wanting to create affordable NFTs.

Purchases are made with a credit or debit card via Serenade’s innovative check-out facility that has been designed to function like a standard e-commerce cart, where the creation of a digital wallet and the transfer of traditional payments into cryptocurrency is handled directly by the platform.

Fans join a community of like-minded music lovers where they can build a profile, showcase and chat about their collectibles, be confident they are not harming the environment, access affordable digital collectibles, and do all of this without knowing the first thing about NFT technology.

To mark the launch, Welsh rock superstars, Super Furry Animals will release their first NFT artwork collection, marking the 20th-anniversary re-issue of their album Rings Around The World.

Five, limited-edition, digital artworks, reimagining the album’s original sleeve design are available via Serenade – a new, fan-centric and eco-friendly music NFT platform. Remodeled by long-standing creative collaborator, Mark James, each piece is packaged with accompanying, exclusive audio courtesy of the band.

Created in partnership with Hipgnosis Songs and distributed by eco-friendly, artist and fan-centric NFT platform Serenade the Furries’ and James’ collaboration, based on Pete Fowler’s sleeve design, have been released in increasingly valuable editions of between just one, special, iridescent version, to 100 copies. Animations are also running in blink-and-you’ll-miss-it screenings on digital billboards in Tokyo, Berlin, Paris, New York to mark the launch.

Super Furry Animals noted, “Since ‘Rings Around The World’ was released in 2001 the world has changed ten times over, we’re in the technological fast lane, and going into reverse just isn’t an option. Working with our friends Mark James, Pete Fowler, our first NFT collection is produced on Serenade’s eco-friendly platform and like many of our creative turns, is an optimistic leap into the thrilling unknown.”

Super Furry Animals have partnered with Serenade due to their groundbreaking eco-friendly artist/fan-centric music platform, which aims to break down the barriers to entry surrounding Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and make them easily accessible and affordable for artists and their fans.

The Furries’ collection follows NFT launches on Serenade by production duo Jungle, singer-songwriter Ladyhawke, Australian newcomer Muki and Cambridge music festival Strawberries and Creem. All current and future drops – which will include NFTs by ArrDee, Kaiser Chiefs, Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip, The Game, Young MA, Ride, Scouting For Girls, State Champs, Ash, S1mba, and more – can be accessed at the website.

Founded by Australian tech entrepreneur and music fan Max Shand, Serenade’s mission is to enable artists to build closer relationships with fans while creating dynamic new revenue streams. This is accomplished via music-related digital collectibles including specially recorded tracks, limited edition artworks, intimate live performances, rare or unreleased gems, and unique documentary footage and material.

Digital collectibles are purchased by fans as NFTs and can be collected and resold, with artists receiving an ongoing share of the revenues every time they change hands.

“Serenade enables artists to do less for more and benefit creatively and financially by delivering collectibles right to fans,” explains Serenade Founder Max Shand. “For the first time in decades, artists own what matters – their name and identity. The direct association with an artist is what makes an NFT so special. It’s all about the artist and the fan, and everything else is meaningless.”

Each time an NFT is sold and re-sold, the artist earns their fair share of the revenue. “It’s punk rock ethics built into a product,” says Shand.

Fans join a community of like-minded music lovers where they can build a profile, showcase and chat about their collectibles, be confident they are not harming the environment, access affordable digital collectibles, and do all of this without knowing the first thing about NFT technology.

“Artists are constantly asked to do more – add more songs to streaming platforms, upload more content to social media – but with Serenade, artists can finally do less for more and be rewarded fairly for it,” says Shand. “Serenade allows artists to monetize their archive without having to sell it. It’s the opportunity to lead a healthy career on your terms by delivering unique work right to your fans.”

Serenade, which works collaboratively with record companies, music publishers, artist management companies, and trade associations to ensure its platform respects rights and benefits all parties involved, will launch with a range of acclaimed artists who are offering exclusive and limited digital collectibles to their fans.

Serenade’s environmental credentials explained

Serenade NFT emits just 1/10th of the carbon of a tweet, which comes to 1/44,000th of the footprint of a normal NFT. We do this through an energy-efficient NFT authentication method called ‘Proof of Stake,’ a counterpoint to the standard Ethereum ‘Proof of Work’ method.

This marked improvement is a result of the Serenade platform being built on top of a layer two blockchain called Matic. Matic has a trusted relationship with Ethereum, which means it doesn’t have to go through the exhaustive process of proving every NFT transaction to the blockchain, but rather achieves this via collective proofs.

Not only does this lead to far better ecological outcomes, but it lowers the cost of creating NFTs so artists can be free to produce more work for their fanbases without bearing any gas fees.

Not sure what an NFT is? An NFT is essentially the same as a physical limited-edition merch item, like vinyl or an artwork, only a digital file. The owner holds the copy of the digital file but not the copyright within it, as they would with a physical item, and they can sell their item at any time to another fan.

“To date, the NFT market has been living in the cryptocurrency world; Serenade is here to shift that, opening up affordable access to NFTs to true fans everywhere with a credit or debit card.”

Serenade is already providing unforgettable moments for music fans across the country. Head over to the website to see how.