As NFTs (non-fungible tokens) continue to take the world by storm, Playboy is getting in on the business of digital collectibles. In a partnership with Nifty Gateway, the brand is set to launch an NFT art gallery that could house some of its magazine's most notable interviews, photoshoots, and articles.
Ben Kohn, Playboy CEO, said that though the NFT market is young, the space shows promise for artists in the long run.
"What's so interesting about the NFT market and really blockchain technology is the long tail that it provides," Kohn told Cheddar. "So, not only are you monetizing the upfront sale but downstream you're getting 10 percent of that revenue every time this trades."
Kohn described some of Playboy's archives as a collection of priceless works and likely not many people would be able to afford to purchase, but "through NFT and tokenization," the magazine would have the ability to sell off shares of submitted pieces.
"I can actually fractionalize that piece of artwork and expand my addressable investor base by multiples. So, I can sell a thousand different interests in that Warhol, either as a pure digital or couple with a physical product attached to it, and I can expand that addressable base or that addressable universe and create a community that's interested in Warhol and wants to trade in it. And for us, that builds a long-term revenue stream," he explained.
The first Playboy NFT pieces will be commissioned by digital artist Slimesunday.
Kohn noted that the decision to link with Nifty Gateway to launch the art gallery is ideal as they both look to elevate emerging artists.
"When we think about Nifty, long term we're thinking about 'how do we integrate this into our owned and operated offerings,'" he said.
"We grew our direct-to-consumer business in the United States last year from zero basically in [2019] to $64 million last year and so when we think about this amazing archive that we have that is so valuable, how do we integrate that into our own offerings on our own website long term because we believe, long term, in the collectible market."
As Playboy ventures into the NFT space, Kohn said the company also has aspirations to get into the cannabis industry. The company already has CBD products geared toward sexual wellness, but when it comes to THC, the federal government remains an obstacle.
"We need the federal government to legalize it, especially as a publicly-traded company. I would urge Schumer and the rest of Congress to legalize cannabis. There's so many states now, with New York, that have legalized it, that they should on a federal basis change the banking law around it," Kohn said.
