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Julian Lennon to sell NFTs of Beatles memorabilia

John Lennon’s son, Julian, will be auctioning off various Beatles memorabilia items as non-fungible tokens, including lyric notes, guitars, and outfits.

Consider yourself a Beatles super fan? Are you a crypto connoisseur with a hunger for John Lennon’s old possessions?

His son Julian may just have the deal of a lifetime for you. He has today announced the launch of a Beatles memorabilia auction, where digital NFT versions of items currently in his possession will be sold to the public.

It’s another headline to add to a growing list that demonstrate the true explosion of NFTs in the digital currency space. The market as a whole is estimated to be worth £16.5 billion and the most expensive NFT sale was in March 2021, when a digital collage piece was purchased for $69.4 million USD. Hell, even Eminem bought one, to the dismay of many.

We’re seeing an increase in quirky crypto schemes and questionable projects that sometimes wind up being scams and, while the market may look like its booming for now, it’s impossible to tell just how sustainable the growth of NFTs will be in the long-term.

For now, though, you’re probably wondering how digital blockchain versions of old Beatles items even work, right? Bear with me. I’ve been trying to fully grasp the idea of NFTs for about six months with little success.

Even though Julian is technically auctioning off specific memorabilia items – a guitar, cape, lyrics notes – winning bidders won’t technically own the real thing, or even be able to see their purchase in person. Instead they’ll be given an ‘audio-visual collectible’ that will include Julian reciting specific memories attached to the objects.

The NFTs themselves will be images of the items, presumably photographs, and are technically one-of-one blockchain tokens. Think of it as an authentic digital representation of the actual objects within a larger NFT, cryptocurrency marketplace. It’s enough to make your head spin.

These tokens won’t be cheap, either. Biddings start at $30,000 USD for the lyric notes, with clothing items starting at $8,000 USD and a promise that buyers will be part of ‘carrying on the legacy’ of Julian’s father in a ‘new way’.

I’m not sure that’s quite what Lennon had in mind when he wrote the lyrics ‘imagine there are no possessions’, but still.

Here’s one example of the various NFTs on offer, the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Guitar. Before you ask – no, this isn’t the real thing and doesn’t count, even though you can view the video free of charge.

Sound like something you could dip your crypto wallet into? You can visit the official Julien’s Auction website for more information on each item as well as bidding options, calendar dates, and full descriptions of each NFT.

Keep in mind though that Bitcoin and the blockchain have been found to cause environmental harm and put vulnerable nations at risk – so use your money as wisely and ethically as you can.

At least there’s no bored apes in this auction. We should count our stars lucky for that one.

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