UMG’s 10:22PM Buys Bored Ape #5537, Debuts KINGSHIP Website

Universal Music Group’s (UMG) next-generation label 10:22PM, a Web3 brand that discovers and develops artists, has purchased Bored Ape #5537, the Santa Monica-based company announced Thursday (March 17).

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Web3 movement intends to overhaul the internet and would move online services to decentralized technologies, such as the blockchain.

The purchase makes 10:22PM the first label at a major music company to own one of the popular Bored Ape non-fungible token (NFT) characters and become a member of the Bored Ape Yacht Club Community, a collection of 10,000 unique Bored Ape NFTs, UMG said.

The female character, dubbed Manager Noët All, will serve as the manager for KINGSHIP, a metaverse group that includes a Mutant Ape and three Bored Ape NFTs, including a rare Solid Gold and Blue Beams apes.

UMG said 10:22PM will launch KINGSHIP’s website and Discord to provide fans and collectors with information about the group’s activities and new developments.

KINGSHIP was created by 10:22PM founder Celine Joshua. She is leading a team to craft the group’s NFTs and experiences in the metaverse.

“As the manager of the group, Manager Noët All will help drive the storyline and allow us to communicate with the community,” Joshua said in a statement. “We hope to make the KINGSHIP universe as entertaining and immersive as possible, while simultaneously building value for holders.”

Last month, PYMNTS reported Universal announced a partnership with an NFT production company to create what it called a fan-first one-stop-shop for creating, minting, marketing and the sale and re-sale of premium NFTs, to license artwork, audio recordings and audio-visual content for the company” and its artists.

Read more: As More Industries Jump in, a Future for NFTs Begins to Take Shape

That’s atop Snoop Dogg’s announcement that Death Row Records will be an NFT label on the heels of his NFT collection that has grossed more than $50 million, according to CoinDesk.