TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Media Central Corporation, Inc. (CSE: FLYY; FSE: 3AT) (“Media Central” or the “company” or “we” or “us”) announced today it is selling NFTs of nine iconic magazine covers published by NOW Magazine and the Georgia Straight as collectibles featuring Grimes, Drake, Seth Rogan and more Canadian artists that have defined Vancouver and Toronto’s vibrant arts and entertainment history.
The sale of NFTs is aligned with Media Central’s strategy to develop new digital revenue models to diversify its revenue streams and to showcase the quality of its news products. Media Central previously announced it had introduced similar strategic innovations by entering into an agreement with arts and entertainment news aggregator www.creatornews.com and the soon to be launched CreatorStack paid blog platform.
According to cnet.com, the exuberant interest in NFT’s has created a digital marketplace that generated over $250 million in 2020 sales. NFT is an acronym for “Non-Fungible Tokens.” NFTs are a new type of investment supported by blockchain-created authenticity for digital assets such as a piece of art. NFTs are an extension of investments consumers have historically made in collectibles such as baseball trading cards, Beanie Babies and Pokemon cards. Buyers who purchase NOW Magazine or Georgia Straight NFTs will own a record and a hash-tag code showing a unique token associated with their purchase. Buyers can re-sell the token based on its market-based appreciation. Media Central maintains ownership of the magazine covers through its copyright license of all content published in both of its signature publications.
“The investment value and appreciation of NFTs has become better understood over time. As we track the rapid evolution of media, it is evident that crypto as a currency and the blockchain as a secure place to record and store transactions will play a role in the future of media and the purchasing habits of consumers,” said Emmanuel Manos Pavlakis, Chairman of the Media Central Board of Directors. “The generational popularity of the Georgia Straight and NOW Magazine spanning nearly 100 years that are displayed on rarible.com/georgiastraight and rarible.com/now is our first attempt to take advantage of the opportunity that NFTs provide for diversified revenue growth.”
Media Central NFTs are sold using Ethereum cryptocurrency stored in a “digital wallet” that can be found at metamask.io. Purchases are made in an auction environment. There is no opening bid and Media Central determines whether or not to accept bids as they are placed.
Blockchain innovation eliminates “auction house” practices, human appraisal and creator bias along with the related costs of paying a “middleman” when valuing paintings, sculptures, photographs, animations, audio.
Ironically, it was Christie’s that auctioned off Beeple’s EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS for $69.3 million as the first recorded NFT sale in early 2020. Mike Winkelmann, aka Beeple, tells the story of how NFTs came to be as the latest digital innovation.
“We have no illusions that future NFT sales for us will be akin to winning the lottery,” said Kirk MacDonald, President of Media Central Corporation Holdings. “That said, we do have the confidence that we have novel digital assets that will appeal to NFT buyers and allow them to own a slice of history in our communities.”
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/09/27/2304008/0/en/Media-Central-Corp-Announces-It-Is-Selling-NFTs-of-Nine-Historic-Magazine-Covers-as-Collectibles-Featuring-Grimes-Drake-Seth-Rogan-and-More.html