Coachella to Auction 10 Lifetime Passes as NFTs

Coachella is offering a new way into the festival via non-fungible tokens. On Tuesday, festival organizers announced the first set of collectible NFTs, which includes 10 lifetime passes to the festival in the form of a digital “Coachella Key.”

Working with FTX to auction them off, those who win will be allowed into the festival (and “Coachella-produced virtual experiences”) every April “forever,” according to a press release. Along with the lifetime passes, buyers will receive a VIP experience at this year’s event, including the chance to watch performances from on the stage and eat dinner cooked by a celebrity chef at the festival’s Rose Garden.

Own the Sights & Sounds of the desert. Mint a random selection of one of ten combinations of fan-favorite Coachella photos and soundscapes. Redeem the NFT for a physical art print to match.https://t.co/D8v4cD04wc pic.twitter.com/I7Y4JXVRIp

— Coachella (@coachella) February 1, 2022

“We’ve all seen how NFTs enable true ownership of art and media on the internet,” Sam Schoonover, Innovation Lead for Coachella, said in a statement. “We wanted to take it one step further and use NFTs to enable ownership of experiences in the real world, too.”

Among the other NFTs set to be sold by the festival are 10 “fan-favorite Coachella photos and soundscapes” accompanied by a physical art print, and 10 vintage digital posters alongside a Coachella photo book. The NFT auction begins Friday at 1 pm ET.  A portion of the proceeds will go to several non-profits, including Give Directly, Lideres Campesinas, and FIND Food Bank.

Coachella 2022 is set to be headlined by Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, and Kanye West, who recently spoke out against NFTs. The rapper said he wanted no part in them. “My focus is on building real products in the real world. Real food. Real clothes. Real shelter,” he said on Monday. “Do not ask me to do a fucking NFT.”