NIVA, Club Venues Launch “Golden Ticket” NFT Digital Art Auction With Young & Sick

Golden Ticket
Young & Sick – Golden Ticket

NIVA and 10 of the country’s best-known independent venues are mounting a “Golden Ticket” NFT art fundraiser in collaboration with Young & Sick and Goldflyer.

Starting April 7 at 6 p.m. EDT, fans and collectors can place bids to win a series of limited Young & Sick-designed crypto art that comes with a special “Golden Ticket” component that grants VIP access and perks to future concerts and events. Ten non-fungible tokens, depicting each participating venue, are up for grabs as well as a series of open edition collectible NFT pieces available for a limited time.
Participating clubs are 9:30 Club, Bowery Ballroom, EXIT/IN, First Avenue, The Independent, Mohawk, The Metro, Neumos, Tipitina’s, and The Troubadour, and each will have a Young & Sick-designed individual component. 
The auction accepts both credit cards and cryptocurrency and takes place on MakersPlace, the digital art marketplace known for facilitating and co-presenting the record-breaking $69 million Beeple sale with Christie’s. MakersPlace is also home to NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes’ $3.7 million NFT drop, as well as successful music drops with 3LAU and RAC. 
All of the exclusive independent venue NFTs were created by renowned designer Young & Sick (Nick van Hofwegen), a touring musician and trailblazer in the NFT space whose debut collection recently grossed more than $1 million on Nifty Gateway in March. The NFT art collection can be previewed onMakersPlace. 
The Golden Ticket NFT art auction will be celebrated on the Clubhouse drop-in audio platform with a launch party on April 7th and a closing event on April 9th.

Goldflyer is a fundraising initiative put together by Neon Gold Records, Venue Group and All Things Go, in collaboration with NIVA and the participating venues. The collection has been brought to life by animator Joe Motion, and Goldflyer will be collaborating with Offsetra on this activation to ensure this is a carbon-neutral drop. 
The fundraiser directly benefits the 10 historic institutions as well as the National Independent Venue Foundation, which raises money to assist independent live music venues still struggling due to the ongoing challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Independent Venue Foundation supports a transparent, competitive marketplace serving a diverse and inclusive community of artists, fans, and industry workers.
“The outpouring of support for NIVA and these independent venues has helped us through this devastating time,” said Stephen Sternschein, founding board member and treasurer of NIVA and managing partner of Heard Presents in Austin. “We’re all really excited to meld this new marketplace of NFTs and our fundraising together to help the National Independent Venue Foundation foster this vital aspect of the live music ecosystem.” 
In a statement, Young & Sick adds, “Having been inside most of these venues both as a performer and a fan, I jumped at the chance to get involved with NIVA and these iconic venues as fast as I could. I, like most people, can’t wait to go back to seeing live music, and these legendary venues hold a special place in my heart. I hand-drew these venue interpretations with classic show posters in mind. I hope you love ’em as much as I loved making them.” 
To see the individual posters, click on the video below: