#MusicNFT NEWS: Opulous fights Lil Yachty • HitPiece gets hit • Coachella NFTs • YMU

Opulous, the web3 NFT platform founded by Ditto Music CEO Lee Parsons is fighting back against the lawsuit filed by rapper Lil Yachty claiming it had used his name and likeness without permission.

A statement released by Opulous this morning reads:

“Contrary to the assertions in the complaint filed by Lil Yachty, Opulous’s uses of Lil Yachty’s name and likeness were all authorized by Lil Yachty and his representatives. We intend to vigorously defend ourselves against these meritless claims.”

• A similar storm is brewing over the site HitPiece which promises fans “NFTs of all your favourite songs – own a song, build your unique playlist and join an artist’s community”.

But a growing number of artists including Eve 6 are taking to social media to declare that HitPiece has no claim to their music: “Cease and desist motherfuckers”.

HitPiece responded with: “To be clear, artists get paid when digital goods are sold on HitPiece. Like all beta products, we are continuing to listen to all user feedback and are committed to evolving the product to fit the needs of the artists, labels, and fans alike”.

We’ll be tracking this as it develops.

• Mega-festival Coachella is selling 10 lifetime festival passes as NFTs.

The festival has launched an NFT marketplace built by FTX US, with three collections on sale on February 4th.

Coachella will also sell 1,000 NFTs at $180 redeemable for a physical Coachella photo book and 10,000 NFTs of “fan-favorite festival photos and never before heard soundscapes” at $60 apiece.

Minted on Solana, Coachella will donate a portion of sales to GiveDirectly, Lideres Campesinas, and Find Food Bank.

• International artist management company YMU has named former CAA agent Brad Pophal as Head of Web3 and NFT responsible for developing Web3 strategies and initiatives for the company’s clients through NFT, the Metaverse and a range of other partnerships. 

Clients include 3LAU, Steve Aoki, RAC , The Glitch Mob and Travis Barker.

Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.