Rather, it is a sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a type of digital asset. Each winning bidder will be able to claim ownership of a digital file described as an “audio/visual collectible” in which Julian Lennon recounts an “accurate and heartfelt recollection”.
“I feel incredibly lucky to live in a time where innovation allows me to share such personal pieces of my Lennon family history,” said Julian Lennon, who is a singer-songwriter, writer and artist.
“Through this NFT collection, I am able to grant exclusive access to the special items I cherish and carry on my father’s legacy in a new way.”
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) use the blockchain to record who owns a digital file, such as an image, video, or text.
Although NFTs are sometimes sold alongside physical objects, as a kind of digital certificate of authenticity, owning an NFT does not confer ownership of the underlying object – rather, it can be considered a kind of digital bragging rights.
These sales have nonetheless exploded in popularity, with NFT artworks selling for millions of dollars.
In this case, purchasers of Beatles NFTs will not receive a physical guitar or piece of paper. What they will get is a blockchain data unit recording that their crypto wallets have an NFT linked to a digital file showing the item.
So for “Hey Jude” bonds, which feature Paul McCartney’s doodles and drawings, the buyer will receive an NFT of an image of the item “brought to life in an even more personal way through exclusive audio narration. by Julian Lennon,” the auction’s website says.
Bidding for this NFT was $50,000 on Tuesday afternoon.
“It really allowed me to learn to love dad again because I saw him as I remembered him when I was a kid and when I was with him in those years,” said Julian in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday.
“So it was very special for me.”
The sale also includes an NFT depicting an image of an Afghan coat that John Lennon wore on the set of the movie “Magical Mystery Tour” in 1967 and an NFT depicting an image of a black cape that he wore in the movie “Help !” in 1965. The last bids for these items were $8,000 and $6,000, respectively.
The growing interest in crypto-assets has led traditional auction houses, such as Christie’s, to engage in NFT sales. Lennon’s sale is organized by Julien’s Auctions and YellowHeart NFT and ends on February 7.
Bids can be placed online or at a physical Beverly Hills sale. Payments are allowed in various cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin.
An unspecified portion of the proceeds will go to the White Feather Foundation, which Julian Lennon said in a tweet will “offset” carbon emissions from auctioning through a carbon disposal marketplace called Nori.
The blockchain technology used for NFTs and cryptocurrencies has been criticized for their large carbon footprint.