It’s time for one website selling nonfungible tokens without the creators’ permission to face the music, artists say.
Musicians discovered that HitPiece, an NFT marketplace that claims to sell “one of one NFTs of all your favorite songs,” was selling their songs as NFTs without their permission. The website previously listed songs by well-known artists, including Disney music, K-pop sensation BTS, and Britney Spears, as NFTs.
“This site ‘hitpiece’ is selling nft’s of our band and MANY others without permission,” tweeted 1990s rock band Eve 6. “if you’re in a band, click the link you may be on here. cease and desist motherf***ers. nft’s are fraud.”
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Hip-hop group Clipping tweeted Tuesday it was “looking into what [it] can do to get it taken down.”
The Mary Wallopers, an Irish folk band, tweeted out a link to an auction for one of its songs, asking, “How do you stop this?”
Several other artists have expressed their annoyance, vowing to take action against the organization.
HitPiece acknowledged it “struck a nerve” Tuesday evening.
“Clearly, we struck a nerve and are very eager to create the ideal experience for fans,” HitPiece tweeted. “To be clear, artists get paid when digital goods are sold on HitPiece. Like all beta products, we are continuing to listen to all user feedback and are committed to evolving the product to fit the needs of the artists, labels, and fans alike.”
The account did not provide any additional details about what changes it might implement.
HitPiece’s social media has also responded to many of the artists by requesting that they send the company a direct message over Twitter. The account went as far as to clarify, “We are definitely not a scam.”
The website has also been heavily modified since it got the media’s attention. The home page is blank and reads, “We Started the Conversation, and We’re Listening.” All auctions for music NFTs appear to have been pulled down.
Nonfungible tokens, also known as NFTs, are similar to cryptocurrency in that they allow buyers to purchase images or digital objects that also provide proof through a blockchain that the purchaser does in fact own the item. The practice has become notably popular in 2021 due to a surge of interest in cryptocurrency and has made hundreds of millions of dollars in the last year.
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NFTs have even gotten the attention of the Trumps, who released their own series of NFTs to fundraise for Melania Trump’s anti-bullying campaign.
A representative from HitPiece did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.
