This week’s Web 3.0 woundup sees Ticketmaster testing out NFT presales, Yuga Labs netting a Gucci deal, and Disney canceling season one of ‘metaverse’.
Well, no one was watching were they?
Disney Cancels Metaverse Department
It was revealed this week that Disney has closed its metaverse department in a restructuring move meant to reduce the company’s overall workforce by 7,000 employees before June this year. The department had 50 staff and who have since been sent home according to people familiar with the matter, with the move adding to a growing list of companies slashing their headcount to survive the prolonged bear market in a dwindling economy.
Ticketmaster Dives Deeper into Web 3.0
The world’s most hated ticketing service, Ticketmaster, this week announced further integration of the Web 3.0 world after rolling out crypto wallet integration for Avenged Sevenfold’s upcoming tour. The move allows NFT holders from the heavy metal band’s fan club — Death Bats Club — to get priority access to tickets and reserved seating with no queues.
Ticketmaster joined the web-olution in November 2021 when it tested integrating NFTs with Polygon, but switched the Flow last September. The company has been handing out NFTs as part of its deals with certain artists ever since, but this is the biggest move it has yet made into making them more mainstream.
Life is Gucci for Yuga Labs
Luxury brand Gucci this week strengthened its ties with the Web 3.0 space by signing a deal with Bored Apes creator Yuga Labs. The fashion house, which in 2022 began accepting cryptocurrencies in stores and is deep into the exploration of the metaverse, will use the partnership to extend engagement between each company’s communities by “exploring the intersection between fashion and entertainment in the Metaverse”, although it’s not clear yet what tangible forms this will take.
Gucci’s interest in Web 3.0 started last year when it collaborated with 10KTF for a project called “Gucci Grail,” which involved the creation of personalized NFTs using designs from the then-creative director Alessandro Michele. The project utilized Wagmi-san, 10KTF’s “digital artisan,” to craft clothing and accessories for the NFTs. Additionally, in the previous year, Gucci released another NFT collection named “SuperGucci.”
