An internet site known as HitPiece that has been promoting music-related NFTs has quickly closed after artists accused it of appropriating their work with out permission, Rolling Stone has reported. Outraged social media posts have been issued lately from artists together with Jack Antonoff, Eve 6, and Sadie Dupuis. “Any [Bleachers] NFTs are fake,” Tweeted Jack Antonoff. “I do not believe in NFTs so anything you see associated with me isn’t real.”

The HitPiece web site is outwardly constructed on high of Spotify’s API. Before shutting down, it gave the impression to be providing NFTs of songs and albums from the likes of John Lennon and BTS, together with pictures and album art work, based on the Internet Archive. 

Like many different NFT enterprise fashions, nevertheless, it is not clear what HitPiece was promoting, precisely. “This particular grift doesn’t really affect artists in that HitPiece wasn’t even selling files of the songs — just the receipt of purchase to the general idea of them,” Infant Island guitarist and grad scholar Alex Rudenshiold advised Rolling Stone. “It’s still copyright infringement. It’s re-commodifying the metadata (art, song and album titles, etc.) to make money without permission.” 

HitPiece, based by former indie label proprietor Rory Felton, issued a press release. “Clearly we have struck a nerve and are very eager to created the ideal experience for music fans,” it stated on Twitter. “To be clear artists get paid when digital goods are sold on Hitpiece. “We are persevering with to hearken to all consumer suggestions and are dedicated to evolving the product to suit the wants of the artists, labels and followers alike.” 

However, artists are skeptical of HitPiece’s declare that they are going to be paid. “They steal your music, auction NFTs of it on their site, and when they get caught they say don’t worry you ‘get paid,'” the group Deerhoof tweeted. “I get that corporate types are simply greedy and cruel on principle but what kind of mind could even imagine that doubletalk like this could somehow make it OK?”