Sony submits trademark application for NFT-verified music

By: Mark Jessy

September 8, 2022 7:56 AM

Live music authenticated by NFTs can now be featured in video, text, art, and audio recordings thanks to a new trademark application.

Sony Music Entertainment, a behemoth in the American music industry, has filed a trademark application for the Columbia Records logo, indicating its intent to use non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Mark attorney Mike Kondoudis announced on September 6 that on August 30 he had filed a trademark application with the USPTO that would cover "audio and video recordings featuring live musical performances authenticated by NFTs."

The application scope extends to online entertainment like podcasts and audiovisual recordings, as well as marketing services, distribution, promotion, marketing, and advertising.

The new trademark application follows on the heels of Sony Music's involvement in a number of other NFT endeavors.

A number of well-known businesses, including Pantera Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Coinbase Ventures, and Sony Music Entertainment, invested $30 million in MakersPlace's Series A round of funding in August, making it the largest NFT market dedicated to digital art to date.

The music label announced in March that it would release Bob Dylan and Miles Davis NFT collections in 2022 in collaboration with Solana, California-based NFT marketplace Snowcrash and fellow music behemoth Universal Music Group.

The use of NFTs and the prevalence of the Metaverse in the entertainment industry are both on the rise.

Eminem and Snoop Dogg performed their new single in a Metaverse created by Yuga Labs, the same company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club, for the MTV Video Music Awards on August 29.

In June, Eminem and Snoop Dogg released a song called "From the D to the LBC," which features two avatars from the game Bored Ape Yacht Club.

Six artists were nominated for the inaugural year of the Best Metaverse Performance award at the MTV Video Music Awards, including Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Charli XCX, Twenty One Pilots, BTS, and Blackpink.