'Willing to break the mold': Bored Apes forms Gorillaz-style band for Universal

A virtual band of four pricey cartoon apes from Bored Apes Yacht Club NFT collectibles hopes to become the next big thing in music.

A band called KINGSHIP will release music, perform in the metaverse and launch a large number of NFT collectibles. It was inspired by Damon Albarn's cartoon band Gorillaz.

Major music label Universal is backing this unique show, and KINGSHIP will join its stable of artists alongside Billie Eilish, Queen, Taylor Swift and Nirvana.

This year, the Bored Apes Yacht Club's highly collectible 10,000 NFTs are getting more and more expensive. Bored Ape NFTs worth more than $95 million sold for an average price of $170,000 last month.

KINGSHIP’s band manager, Nicholas Adler, told Cointelegraph that his team wants to “be a leader in the way musicians and artists engage with Web3.” Adler also manages Snoop Dogg.

“There are a lot of musicians in the NFT space, they’re attractive, they’re buying NFTs, or they’re doing basic art props, but nobody’s creatively releasing music yet.”

The four apes in KINGSHIP belonged to early collector Jimmy McNelis, who recently sold another for a whopping $3.4 million at a Sotheby's auction.

Adler told Cointelegraph that he had known McNelis privately for about a year before approaching Celine Joshua, the founder of Universal’s “New Generation” label 10:22PM. He said Joshua had a knack for signing "very creative entertainers", and he called the 10:22pm "web three label".

"They're really willing to break out of the box and do something unconventional," Adler said.

After getting in touch with Joshua, Adler suggested they work with McNelis, who owns nearly 80 Bored Ape NFTs.

"When she and I connected, it was really perfect timing," he said, "because instead of having to go and buy any apes that were available, we could pick from a very interesting and amazing vault."

As for the future of KINGSHIP, Adler said, “The story is really developing. It’s happening in real time, just like I think the NFT space is happening in real time.”

"The most important thing for us is to develop a really strong story around these apes. The goal is to flesh it out. Who are these characters? What's their backstory? What motivates them? What instruments do they play? Who has feature?"