TheFatRat Discusses His Debut NFT Drop on RCRDSHP

TheFatRat just released his first NFT drop on RCRDSHP, a digital goods platform created specifically for electronic music.

When it comes to the crossover of EDM and gaming music, TheFatRat is easily the first artist that comes to mind. With around 6 million subscribers on YouTube, he’s known across the world for his unique sound and partnerships with games like Rocket League and DOTA 2. He’s also popular within the EDM world for tracks like “Unity” and “Monody” with Laura Brehm.

TheFatRat has always been a creative and forward-thinking artist. He releases all of his music for free and allows content creators to utilize his art without the fear of copyright restrictions. In September, he released his debut album PARALLAX. Now, he’s taking his career to the next level with NFTs on RCRDSHP, a digital goods platform created specifically for EDM.

TheFatRat’s first NFT packs dropped on December 3rd, 2021, and new drops are coming every Friday for the next 12 weeks. We interviewed TheFatRat from his home in Cyprus to discuss these new digital goods, his partnership with RCRDSHP, and how NFTs can impact the music industry.

Today is the official launch of your digital card collection on RCRDSHP. What was your thought process behind this project?

For me, everything I put out is always free. I put my artwork out for free, and I put my songs out for free download. So if you ever wanted something of mine that you actually own that isn’t free, my drops on RCRDSHP are for you!

These new digital goods follow the release of your album PARALLAX in September. Did you envision the artwork and story when writing the album?

I definitely had a good idea of this artwork and the story pretty early. That’s how it has to be for me – the story is reflected in both the music and the lyrics. The artwork for PARALLAX is all pixel art because I really wanted to have a unique aesthetic for this project.

Let’s talk about the cards themselves. They have several elements such as audio, video, and other digital content. Some will have sample packs or exclusive track commentary. What can fans expect when they purchase one of these card packs?

There will always be one “universe” card in each pack, which represents the world and setting. There’s also “moment” cards that reflect important moments in my career. For example, there’s one for when my YouTube account got deleted out of nowhere!

There’s also cards that represent each of my individual songs like “Unity”, which has a few hundred million plays across all platforms.

When someone has the card for “Unity”, would they own part of the song? Would you be interested in selling ownership in your songs via NFTs and distributing royalties?

Probably not. I wouldn’t really want to sell NFTs with the idea of distributing revenue from the song. I think that gives it a completely different vibe. Then, it’d be more of a business investment, rather than just liking the art and wanting to own it for your collection.

Let’s talk about the pricing of these digital goods. I saw you mentioned that you wanted to get everyone involved, not just a few wealthy buyers. The packs start at $12 each – much cheaper than the average NFT.

I had a few different platforms that I was talking to before. They reached out to me and asked if I wanted to do an NFT since they were becoming so popular. I looked into it, but I always felt it wouldn’t be the right thing for my fan base since they’re so expensive. I’m known for making stuff that everyone can participate in. So I turned it down.

I felt like the NFT thing wasn’t really right for me until RCRDSHP came into the picture. Working with them just feels right.

RCRDSHP is an NFT platform focused on electronic music. Tell us more about your partnership with RCRDSHP and how you think it will revolutionize the music industry.

I feel like these NFTs are an additional style of merchandise that artists can give to their fans. It’s a new way for fans to interact and participate with the artwork. You can also add perks to the NFTs, like exclusive Discord channels or unique ways to connect with the artist.

There are just so many options at this point that it’s hard to tell where it’s gonna go. But I think it’ll change the game quite a bit.

You even compared RCRDSHP to Coinbase or Binance – that’s a pretty bold claim.

Yes! I had contact with them before they even started. And once they did start, everything happened so much faster than expected. A lot of people took notice. I helped design the platform, and what’s going on there right now is pretty crazy. There’s a lot of people that are interested in what they’re doing.

One of your initial concerns for NFTs was the environmental impact involved. RCRDSHP is an application on the Flow blockchain, which is particularly eco-friendly. How did RCRDSHP address your environmental concerns?

Bitcoin and Ethereum use proof of work, which means that mining takes a lot of CPU power. New blockchains like Flow use proof of stake, which reduces the transaction cost significantly.

Roughly, the energy required for one Ethereum transaction equals the energy required for 10,000 Flow blockchain transactions.

After today’s launch, you’ll have an NFT drop every Friday for the next 12 weeks. What is each drop like?

Every week is a new pack. We have over 100 cards designed already, which will be spread across the different drops. There’s rare cards too – they’re not actually part of the drop, but you can craft them. I didn’t want to put them in the packs because I felt like that was too much like gambling. Instead, there’s certain recipes you can craft that create rare cards. The value will mostly stay the same though.

Also, I’ll have one legendary card, which I think will be the first one of its kind on RCRDSHP.

I read that you lifted all copyright restrictions on your music, which has resulted in your music being shared freely across millions of videos. This definitely goes hand-in-hand with decentralization and digital goods. As an artist, what does it mean for you to be living through a potentially revolutionary time like this?

It’s amazing. I mean, I’m 42 years old and I started in 2000. I saw different times – everything was controlled by the record companies. When I started, you either had a record company putting out your song, or you didn’t put out your song.

It’s just so different these days. When you’re an artist and you wanna put a song out, you can upload it to so many platforms, and everyone can hear it! You don’t need anybody else to get to that point. Of course, that means there’s a lot of music to go through, but I think it’s a much better situation than having gatekeepers you have to cozy up with just to release your music.

What are some other favorite cryptocurrency or NFT projects besides RCRDSHP?

I’m a huge fan of Audius. It’s kinda like SoundCloud on crypto. I’ll find someone on Audius with 300 plays and 200 followers on Twitter, and it’s some totally next-level stuff. It’s a lot of fun to explore the music on Audius.

Looking towards 2021, what else does TheFatRat have planned? Any new music or tour dates?

No tour dates at the moment. I just moved from Germany to Cyprus, and we’re getting settled in here now. I actually rented a new studio space here a few hours ago, so pretty soon I’ll really get back to DJing and producing. I’ve been missing that a lot recently.

Thanks for following me, and I’ll keep doing my very best to deserve your following in the future. The new studio will be finished soon, and I can’t wait to make more music for you to enjoy.