Individual creators will ultimately shape the metaverse: Sandbox founders

November 3, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Adidas

As the firm moves to open up The Sandbox Map, co-founder Sebastian Borget said he believes individual creators and brands will ultimately drive what the metaverse of the future will offer.

Individual creators and brands will ultimately determine the future of the metaverse as opposed to any centralized entity, according to the co-founders of The Sandbox.

On Nov. 3, the team behind the Ethereum-based metaverse announced on X it had made The Sandbox Map accessible to everyone, where “LAND” owners can publish their own experiences without needing to partake in an application process (which was previously required).

THE METAVERSE IS NOW OPEN

Starting today, LAND owners in The Sandbox can instantly publish experiences on the map!

We're accelerating user-generated content to unleash the creative potential of creators like you. Let's build the metaverse together. #UGC #CreatorsDayHK pic.twitter.com/A2E8gNI2it
— The Sandbox (@TheSandboxGame) November 3, 2023

“Now [anyone] can open their experience to the public [and] make it accessible, which will increase the amount of experience and content that people can play and discover on the platform,” Sandbox co-founder Sebastien Borget told Cointelegraph in an earlier Nov. 2 interview during Hong Kong FinTech Week.

#CreatorsDayHK is LIVE!

Livestream all the key events on X or our YouTube channel: https://t.co/83NqKyOTDr

We've got some exciting news that you won't want to miss. Stay tuned to see what's in store for the metaverse! pic.twitter.com/ReUQahbckP
— The Sandbox (@TheSandboxGame) November 3, 2023

The notion that users can create and own content and property in Web3 is at the forefront of Sandbox’s strategy, Borget iterated.

“They discover blockchain not because of the value of the asset, but because they can create content.”

Updates to Game Maker and a new fund

Sandbox said it will also update its Game Maker tool before 2024, its experience-building and testing tool that is set to introduce new gameplay mechanics, templates and social interactions to make content production even easier.

The firm will also “reignite” its new 100 million SAND Game Maker Fund (currently worth $36 million) next year to build on those updates.

Borget said this will drive engagement across a range of industries:

“[It will] drive more engagement, more replayability, more fun and new social interaction as we define the future of music, the future of fashion, sport, entertainment, art and culture on the platform.”

Borget said Game Maker’s tools have simplified the process for new creators to get started:

“Game Maker has been a gateway to bring a new breed of creators that then design new experiences and then over time monetize it by selling on marketplace and introducing their own.”

Meanwhile, Sandbox co-founder and CEO, Arthur Madrid, said the firm has helped connect brands to fans of late by running contests to rebuild New York’s Times Square and architectures in The Walking Dead, among other things.

The firm is working to incorporate multiplayer capabilities which will drive this audience engagement. But Madrid acknowledged the difficulty with integrating multiplayer capabilities in metaverses at scale, particularly on blockchains.

ROYAL FLUSHED Hold your breath and dive in the Sunken District. Find your way through this Bomkus-designed underwater maze and back to the surface.

Dive in TODAY! https://t.co/bK636FFLLW #DrBomkusTrials pic.twitter.com/8Nui4b1UKU
— The Sandbox (@TheSandboxGame) November 1, 2023

Over 400 partners have signed up to The Sandbox, including Warner Music Group, Ubisoft, Gucci Vault, Snoop Dogg, Invincible and Adidas.

Looking ahead however, Borget acknowledged that metaverse adoption won’t take off until more defined use cases are established in virtual worlds, as incoming users are ultimately looking for memorable experiences to gravitate towards.

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Snoop Dogg NFT passport lets fans tour with the rapper in digital form

June 14, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The NFT will give holders access to behind-the-scenes content uploaded by Snoop Dogg while on tour.

Rap icon and entrepreneur Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., more commonly known as Snoop Dogg, dives into Web3 once again with a nonfungible token (NFT) project that will allow his fans to follow his life on tour.

In an announcement, the rapper unveiled the Snoop Dogg Passport Series, an NFT collection that provides access to various content, such as behind-the-scenes videos and photos uploaded by Snoop Dogg while on tour. Holders of the NFT passport will also be eligible for future releases like artwork and merchandise.

According to the rapper, he’s long been “pushing things forward” and believes digital merch is a part of the future. He also encouraged other artists to follow his steps: “I’m hoping other artists can see what I’m doing and continue to innovate on their own,” Snoop Dogg said in a statement.

The project was developed in collaboration with the Web3 platform Transient Labs. Chris Ostoich, the company’s chief operating officer, said that it is always looking for ways to leverage blockchain to “offer unique experiences,” and the partnership with Snoop Dogg enables it to do this.

*Snoop Dogg’s NFT passport project. Source: Snooppassport*

Snoop Dogg has been actively participating in various Web3 endeavors for some time. In 2021, the rapper proclaimed himself the anonymous NFT collector “Cozomo de’ Medici,” whose wallet was worth around $17.6 million at the time.

Apart from collecting NFTs, the rapper also showcased the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection through a collaboration with fellow rapper Eminem. The duo released a song and performed it at the MTV Music Awards.

On March 6, Snoop Dogg was revealed as the co-founder of a Web3-powered live-streaming platform called Shiller alongside tech entrepreneur Sam Jones. The app aims to combine Web3 technology with real-time streaming content.

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Audio Stream

Snoop Dogg has had a considerable presence in the Web3 creator movement since NFTs first gained popularity in 2021.

American rapper and actor Snoop Dogg has been revealed as one of the co-founders of a Web3-powered live streaming app called “Shiller" — adding to yet another Web3 partnership for the well-known hip-hop artist.

The app is described as a “live broadcast platform” that aims to combine Web3 technology with real-time live-streaming content. The rap star has been named as a co-founder of the app along with technology entrepreneur Sam Jones.

Get ready for the Web3 live stream revolution!

Say goodbye to the middlemen and hello to true creator empowerment with Shiller!

Apply now https://t.co/w43RvAGN3t pic.twitter.com/YV9H2Wa5LF
— Shiller (@shiller) February 11, 2023

It follows a wave of Web3 partnerships by Snoop Dogg in the last year.

In April last year, Snoop Dogg partnered with Sandbox metaverse to launch an NFT collection called “Snoop Avatars” and released a hip-hop single titled “A Hard Working Man,” which was later accompanied by a 50,000-piece NFT drop.

The rap star also partnered with Yuga Labs — the team behind Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and CryptoPunks — to perform on a metaverse-transformed stage at MTV’s Video Music Awards on Aug. 29.

Snoop Dogg also recently partnered with crypto casino Roobet, where he will serve as the firm’s “Chief Ganjaroo Officer,” according to a March 1 statement from Roobet.

As for Shiller, blockchain will feature heavily in the platform, allowing content creators to “token-gate” their streams and promote nonfungible tokens or other products from e-commerce websites.

These content creators can be paid out in cryptocurrencies such as Ether (ETH) or NFTs, which can be cashed out as fiat.

*A preview of the Shiller application. Source:* *Shiller*

It was slated for a January release but has been delayed until April, according to Shiller’s latest update on March 2.

Creator economy movement

The launch of Shiller appears to be part of a broader creator economy movement where Web3 will likely play a role.

While “Web1” enabled users to write HTML and read content, “Web2” enabled user-to-user interactions — which was brought to the masses by a few social media monopolies, such as Facebook, Google and YouTube.

The “Web3” movement aims to eliminate these intermediaries by providing creators with complete ownership over their content and the monetization that flows from it.

Decentralized messaging platforms are beginning to emerge too, with one named “Damus” attempting to become a “Twitter killer.”

Backed by Jack Dorsey, Damus went live on the Apple App Store on Feb. 1. It is built on a decentralized network that enables encrypted end-to-end private messaging, called “Nostr.”

The platform comes with built-in Bitcoin (BTC) payments on the Lightning network.

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Eminem and Snoop Dogg to perform Bored Apes track at MTV music awards

August 26, 2022 Coin Telegraph

BAYC

BAYC members Eminem and Snoop Dogg will perform ‘From the D 2 the LBC’ on a Otherside metaverse transformed stage.

NFT friendly rap icons Eminem and Snoop Dogg will be performing at MTV’s Video Music Awards (VMAs) together on Sunday, in a performance inspired by the Otherside metaverse and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs.

The Otherside is a collaboration project between Yuga Labs’ BAYC and NFT investment and gaming giant Animoca Brands.

Partnering with Otherside creator Yuga Labs, the global rap icons will be giving some major mainstream exposure to Otherside by transforming the VMAs stage into its style for their latest collaborative single ‘From the D 2 the LBC’. Specific details of the performance are sparse at this stage however.

In what appears to be a signal to the music industry that Metaverse performances deserve more recognition, the VMAs have also added a ‘Best Metaverse Performance’ category to its annual awards. Nominees for the award include Justin Bieber, Rift Tour (featuring Ariana Grande), and Twenty One Pilots.

From the D to the LBC… to Jersey @vmas here we come @Eminem @MTV @OthersideMeta pic.twitter.com/XLwcdOeIJN
— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) August 25, 2022

The VMAs may be hoping that in embracing the Metaverse they will be able to reinflate their flagging viewership numbers. After peaking at 12.4 million viewers in 2011, the awards have seen a steady decline in viewers, with the 900,000 that tuned in live to watch the awards on MTV representing the 8th year in a row that viewership has decreased.

The single marks the first collaboration between the two artists in 20 years, with the duo up for the “Best Hip Hop” award. Both Eminen and Snoop dogg are hodlers of BAYC NFTs, and the song’s music video heavily features content from the NFT collection. Snoop Dogg has also recently featured in an EDM single called BAYC by Esther Anaya, in an animated video of Bored Apes and other NFTs.

Eminem had purchased a hip hop clothed Bored Ape on Dec. 31 for 123.45 ETH, and also has a collection of 28 other NFTs under the name Shady_Holdings. Snoop Dog is a much more avid participant within the NFT space, with a partnership between him and The Sandbox leading to ‘The Doggies’ collection of NFTs and buying a Bored Ape on Dec. 22.

The Otherside and its Voyagers

The Otherside is a gamified interoperable Metaverse currently in beta development. The platform offers Otherdeed NFTs to represent digital ownership of land plots in the BAYC affiliated virtual world, with Otherdeed owners being referred to as ‘Voyagers’.

According to the litepaper, “Otherside will support interoperability in the future, giving Voyagers a chance to bring their own outside collections and NFTs to life within our metaverse.”

According to data from CryptoSlam, sales of Otherdeed NFTs have topped $1 billion to date, with $23.5 million of volume coming over the past 30 days. Demand is also quite high for the top tier NFTs in the collection, with one plot having sold for as much as 333.33 ETH (currently valued at $565,289) four months ago.

The Otherside allowed users into its metaverse for the first time on Jul. 16, with 4500 users able to jump in and experience the virtual world. Only Voyagers and selected third-party developers were able to participate, and the trip seems to have been a great success based on tweets from its supporters.

Reminiscing over the incredible @OthersideMeta First Trip experience #Otherside pic.twitter.com/yJA17vqgkH
— chicken-nugget.eth (@CHICCEN_NUGGET) July 17, 2022

Snoop Dogg