As the NFT space continues to see amazing growth in 2021, more and more businesses and brands are looking to dip their toes in. Creative Artists Agency (CAA) recognized the wealth of opportunities, and in early October, made news with its announcement that the talent agency had signed the pseudonymous 0xb1, one of the top NFT collectors, in a deal that would see monetization of the collection via brand partnerships and licensing.

“I’m very lucky to be at a company that looks at where the puck is going, and not where it currently is,” CAA talent agent Tom Capone says in the latest episode of the nft now podcast. “Fortunately, a lot of that tech disruption falls to the center of media and entertainment. NFTs are the perfect expression of that.

In this episode of the nft now podcast, 0xb1 and Capone discuss the collector’s impressive collection, how their partnership came to be, and potential use cases for NFTs.

According to Capone, CAA began discussing NFTs about 10 months ago. “We came together and said, ‘This is probably going to be as serious business, a serious industry. We should start strategizing how we interact with this,'” he shares with nft now. “I personally believe that this first expression — where art is the NFT — that might just be the first expression of this whole industry. But there will be many applications, hopefully, that the masses can adopt, and not just a certain portion of well capitalized collectors.”

As for the talent agent and 0xb1’s meeting while waiting in line at an event? For Capone, it felt serendipitous, regardless of whether it was a set up via a mutual friend or fate that brought them together. “The opportunity and excitement was pretty immediate for both of us,” Capone says, noting that he and the collector were excited by initial ideas. “It was a great chance meeting.”

0xb1 — whose impressive collection includes Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Cool Cats, and much more — recalls a conversation he had with friends regarding IPs and how that can change the value of NFTs, and how it triggered some ideas he shared with the talent agent: “I was in a very creative mood that week, and I looked to Tom and I was like, ‘We need to get the NFT images that we can everywhere!'” Among the ideas he threw out? Seeing Cool Cats “all over bags,” and a Mutant Apes cartoon “like Family Guy.”

“Just to start to build something around this IP that’s been building up, that is by the creators’ own wand of fate — they wanted people to utilize in some way shape or form,” adds 0xb1. “I view that as general progress in showing the world how crypto can infiltrate every part of their lives, and also just the next evolution. If there’s any reason, we’ll find a way.”

Capone also shared his predictions on potential uses for NFTs. “I can imagine a world in which media rights are bought and sold on the blockchain,” he says. “If we’re able to onboard with less friction than there currently is, then we’re gonna see some really exciting crazy things we can’t even predict. … When that code is cracked, it’s going to unleash a whole world of creativity, interactivity, [and] community building.”

Notes 0xb1: “This is the future. Even if it’s not NFTs we know today, NFTs are the future.”

Hit subscribe and stream our full conversation with 0xb1 and Capone, and find out how the collector came to buy Mutant Ape #4849 for 350 ETH, the backstory of CAA signing 0xb1, and more.

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