Algorand in ATX Event Explored the Power of NFTs, the Future of Gaming, and More — Plus Hip-Hop Legend DMC Launched a STOI and Premiered a New Song

Coinciding with SXSW, which made its in-person return after a two-year gap, The AlgoRanch popped up in Austin, Texas, on March 14, 2022, as a destination to explore the intersection of next generation technology with culture. AlgoRanch visitors had the chance to experience the future of music, gaming, art, and finance — all built on the carbon-negative, secure, and scalable Algorand blockchain. Some special guests also made an appearance at the event, including hip-hop legend DMC, a pioneering political candidate, and an iconic magazine.

Here are just some of the big announcements made at AlgoRanch in Austin:

DMC Launches a Song That Owns Itself

DMC — one-third of the legendary hip-hop group RUN-DMC — visited the AlgoRanch to premiere his new song “Million Scars,” and launch the track as a Song That Owns Itself (stoi.org).

Legendary hip-hop artist DMC teamed up with Song That Owns Itself (stoi.org) to launch a new track called “Million Scars” that will be co-owned with fans to drive deeper engagement with listeners. DMC performed the song for the first time ever at the AlgoRanch.

“Releasing a STOI today is the first step in launching my DMC (Decentralized Media Company) with the larger goal of creating the next iteration of the music industry that values creators and fans and supports them all in the most transparent and fair way possible,” DMC said.

stoi.org leverages the Algorand blockchain to drive deeper engagement with fans using smart contract technology, in a break from the recording industry’s old systems that served as gatekeepers to audiences.

Check out this CoinTelegraph article to learn more.

Congressional Candidate Launches Climate-Focused NFT

Entrepreneur, engineer, and congressional candidate Shrina Kurani visited the AlgoRanch to announce her new NFT fundraiser, released on Algorand-based Abris and designed to build community and bring awareness to climate issues.

How can blockchain enrich politics? Shrina Kurani, a Democrat running for Congress in California’s 41st District, is finding out. She teamed up with Abris, a carbon-negative NFT marketplace built on Algorand, to launch a collection of 230 NFTs designed to raise awareness for Kurani’s campaign and to highlight the potential for innovative, climate-friendly solutions in the fast-growing Web3 space.

“Tech- and crypto-literate legislators like myself are essential to paving a path toward this reality, and we hope this NFT drop gets people excited about everything the future of the internet can enable,” Kurani said.

Explore the collection of 230 NFTs, meant to represent the 230 billion tons of carbon remaining in the world’s “carbon budget,” here. Kurani also spoke about the launch with Blockworks.

SPIN Launches NFT marketplace

SPIN launched its inaugural NFT auction from the AlgoRanch, with the cover of Machine Gun Kelly. This is the first of several iconic covers from the SPIN archives that will be made available as NFTs at auction.

Ever want to own a piece of music history? Iconic music publication SPIN launched its NFT marketplace at the AlgoRanch, with an inaugural auction featuring covers with Machine Gun Kelly and Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction and Porno for Pyros (the auction closes Thursday, March 17).

“We’re excited to bring these famous pieces to the NFT space. It’s an easy entry point for fans to begin collecting scarce and coveted digital photography and memorabilia, while providing artists we’ve partnered with a simple onramp into the space with existing work,” said Jimmy Hutcheson, CEO of SPIN.

Only three NFTs of each cover were issued. One goes to the winning bidder, another to the featured artist, and the last to a nonprofit of the artist’s choosing. Two will be held in SPIN and NAX’s treasury. Additional covers, as well as art pieces, will be placed up for auction over the course of 2022.

Find out more here.

There’s more! See the entire list of speakers at the AlgoRanch, and stay tuned for full session videos which will be available soon.

In addition to the content, here were some of the cool activations available to AlgoRanch attendees:

• A “mint your beat” NFT station saw people partner with Austin-local DJ Cassandra to create their own original beat and then mint the audio file as an NFT that was transferred to guests’ Pera wallets.
• No tech festival is complete without some VR. Attendees explored “ECHOES,” an immersive virtual exhibition curated by EPOCH gallery in collaboration with LACMA’s Art + Technology Lab. VR headsets were given to the first 100 guests. Check out the exhibition here, which is available as a single NFT via https://epoch.gallery/echoes-nft/
• Alexandra Lier has been documenting the “mutant vehicles” of Burning Man since 2014 in mediums ranging from photography and film to 3D, AR, and AI. Her work was put on display by Kollektor, which recently launched a suite of social media NFT tools on Algorand. Together with Kollektor, Lier adapted her piece “Rocket Car” into a 10-piece NFT collection. It was on display at the event as a hologram, and guests could visit her “Klinktree” to explore the NFT for sale.

Save the Dates! Join Algorand at upcoming events:

Momentum keeps building and 2022 is turning into an action-packed year of events and activities. While many are still shaping up — here’s a shortlist of opportunities to connect with the Algorand team and ecosystem over the next few months:

• Crypto Cabana Miami (April — stay tuned for dates & details by following Algorand on Twitter)
• Catch Silvio’s keynote at Paris Blockchain Week
• Join us in Boston at the MIT Bitcoin Expo
• Connect with us at Consensus
• Geek out with us on NFTs at NFT.NYC