Left to right: Tom Bohne (President Music Domestic, Universal Music), Ali Neipp (Vice President Marketing Virgin Records, Universal Music), Philipp Köhn (Founder & CXO, twelve x twelve), Holger Christoph (Senior Vice President Digital Business Central Europe, Universal Music), Florian Fischer (Management Nico Santos), Frank Briegmann (Chairman & CEO Central Europe Universal Music and Deutsche Grammophon), Nico Santos, Benjamin Budde (CEO Budde Music)

Berlin, 23 February 2023 – Universal Music Germany, in cooperation with the German Music Industry Association (BVMI) and the Web3 music platform twelve x twelve, will now present official Gold, Platinum and Diamond Awards as digital tokens, in addition to the celebrated physical awards which will continue to be part of recognition ceremonies.

The first recipients of the digital awards are Universal Music Germany artists Lena, Nico Santos and DJ Robin & Schürze. Lena and Nico Santos receive a platinum award for their single “Better”, Nico Santos also receives triple gold as a solo artist for “Rooftop” and four gold awards for “Safe”, “Play With Fire”, “Unforgettable” and “Like I Love You”, and DJ Robin & Schürze receive triple gold and platinum for their smash hit “Layla”.

The digital awards are effectively certificates of authenticity linked to the video and image versions of the awards. Unlike conventional digital files, the tokens on the blockchain are limited and in this case, non-transferable.

Universal Music Germany will also honour future and selected previous award winners in a virtual “Hall of Fame” in the Metaverse from mid-2023.

Verification of the sales figures for the awards will be carried out by the German Music Industry Association (BVMI), just as with the physical awards.

The design of the digital awards, which in the case of the three award-winning Universal Music artists, was developed by the Berlin agency Reinsberg, includes a digital version of the familiar BVMI hologram. Recipients of a digital award also get a set of digital assets with corresponding image and video versions of the awards in various formats that can be displayed on different devices or shared on social media.

Web3 music platform twelve x twelve is responsible for the technical realisation and administration of the awards. The company uses the eco-friendly Polygon Blockchain, that it says has significantly lower energy consumption than other blockchains. The creation of a digital award uses less energy than uploading a video to a social media platform, according to twelve x twelve.

Frank Briegmann, Chairman & CEO Universal Music Central Europe and Deutsche Grammophon, commented: “As market leader, we are breaking new ground and driving innovation in the industry. Physical awards will become even more exclusive in the future. At the same time, we want to use digital awards to express our appreciation to a larger circle of recipients for their contribution to the success of our artists.”

Holger Christoph, SVP Digital Business Universal Music Central Europe, added: “Normally, gold and platinum awards are kept behind closed doors and there has been no place, museum or website where awards from Universal Music artists could be viewed collectively, until now. In our “Hall of Fame”, music fans will be able to view and experience awards virtually for the first time.”

Florian Drücke, Chairman & CEO of the German Music Industry Association: “The German Music Industry Association is the first music industry association worldwide to regularly verify official digital awards on the blockchain. The solution developed by twelve x twelve can also be available to other BVMI members and indie labels in the future.”

Philipp Köhn, Co-Founder & CXO twelve x twelve: “We are delighted to be working with Universal Music on this project. ‘Twelve by Twelve’ makes Web3 easy by reducing complexity and providing an intuitive user experience. In the music industry awards play an important role – not just for artists, but for everyone involved. With this project, awards can now be given digitally to all contributors. Environmentally friendly, cost-effective and without the need for prior technological knowledge. The future of music lies in Web3, and we look forward to further joint projects.”

ABOUT TWELVEBYTWELVE

twelve x twelve (pronounced “twelve by twelve”, referring to the 12×12 inch size of a vinyl cover) aims to revive the appreciation of music in the digital world. twelve x twelve is a blockchain-driven community platform for WEB3 campaigns and metaverse, where music is transformed into digital collectibles creating digital assets that can be purchased by music fans, collectors and crypto enthusiasts. Artists can explore new sources of income and get closer to their community than before. twelvebytwelve GmbH was founded in 2021 by Jan Denecke, Michael Eisele and Philipp Köhn – a team experienced in the fields of music rights, blockchain, music management and marketing. twelve x twelve has received venture capital from the platform operator 360X, which is backed by Deutsche Börse and Commerzbank. Further information can be found at: www.twlvxtwlv.com

 ABOUT OFFICIAL INDUSTRY AWARDS OF THE FEDERAL ASSOCIATION OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY (BVMI)

In Germany, particularly strong-selling and artistically successful music productions are decorated with GOLD/PLATINUM awards (and since January 2013 also DIAMOND in the category for MUSIC PRODUCTS). The awards apply to artists, composers, songwriters and musicians. To receive them, their music productions must have sold a certain number of units – all formats count (CD, LP, DVD-Audio, SACD, downloads, DVD-Video etc.). In the case of albums and singles, streams are also taken into account.

Official awards are marked with a hologram, which can only be obtained from the German Music Industry Association (BVMI) after verification of sales figures. More information on the official industry awards can be found here: https://www.musikindustrie.de/markt-bestseller/gold-platin-und-diamond-auszeichnung

Date: