Coachella to auction off lifetime passes as NFTs

Coachella is auctioning lifetime passes as part of a new collection of NFTs.

The Californian festival, which will take place between April 15-17 and 22-24 this year, has collaborated with the cryptocurrency exchange FTX for the new initiative.

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This will operate in an "environmentally friendly marketplace," according to the festival's website. The new NFT range has been named 'Coachella Collectibles'.

As well as lifetime passes, fans will be able to purchase art prints, photo books, digital collectibles, and more.

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What is an NFT? As described by Coachella on Instagram, an NFT is a "one of a kind digital token that you can buy or sell. They use blockchain technology to prove ownership."

"Coachella Collectible NFTs represent access to IRL experiences, digital collectibles, physical items, virtual adventures and more."

The 10 lifetime-pass NFT owners will also be treated to "special experiences" for Coachella 2022, such as "front and centre views at the Coachella Stage, lifelong Safari camping, or a banquet made by a professional chef in the Rose Garden."

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On its website, the festival said: "We have partnered with FTX US to build an environmentally friendly marketplace on Solana. A portion of the proceeds from each item will be donated to Give Directly, Lideres Campesinas, & Find Food Bank. More novel NFT experiences to come."

Sam Schoonover, Innovation Lead for Coachella, said in a statement: “We’ve all seen how NFTs enable true ownership of art and media on the internet. We wanted to take it one step further and use NFTs to enable ownership of experiences in the real world, too.

“Only blockchain technology can give us the unique ability to offer tradable lifetime passes to Coachella for the first time ever. We’re excited about building new utility and community for our fans with NFTs, and in FTX we found the partner that we trust to provide us with infrastructure and support to help us usher in this new frontier.”

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The full Coachella 2022 line-up has finally been announced with the top acts being Kanye West, Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and Swedish House Mafia.

Other acts billed higher up this year’s festival line-up include Flume, Megan Thee Stallion, Disclosure, 21 Savage, Doja Cat, Jamie xx, and Daniel Caesar.

For more information about Coachella's new NFT collection, visit their website here.

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Aneesa Ahmed is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter