The Associated Press (AP) has established a partnership with Xooa to launch a marketplace for the sale of NFTs of its photojournalists’ work. For the first time, the Associated Press is introducing NFTs, which it claims will allow collectors to “purchase the news agency’s award-winning contemporary and historic photojournalism” at “broad and inclusive price points” (though it’s hard to tell what types of prices resellers will demand on the AP marketplace).
the Polygon blockchain is said to be “environmentally friendly,” and that the NFTs will “feature a comprehensive set of original metadata” to tell customers where the photographs were taken and how they were taken. NFTs showcasing photographs of “space, climate, conflict and other images to showcase the work of certain AP photographers” will debut on January 31st, the company claims.
News organisations have tried NFTS
Many other news organisations have expressed an interest in NFTs. NFTs have been sold by Quartz and The New York Times, while Getty Images CEO Craig Peters remarked in December that the company saw “a significant possibility” in NFTs. For now, the debate about whether to purchase a Getty or an AP NFT is unlikely to take place, since Peters has stated that he doesn’t see the need to get into the market just yet. It does appear that a big news organisation has taken a major step forward in covering NFT.
As far as I can tell, AP does not appear to be interested in selling its NFTs as a metaverse tie-in (either as part of a virtual museum or as decorations in an online accounting office), like other media executives in the music industry may be interested in doing. Except for a mention in the “About Xooa” section that the company also works with brands on “metaverse strategies,” the project’s announcement and FAQ make no mention of the metaverse, and the project appears to be exclusively aimed at collectors who want to “seamlessly buy, sell and trade official AP digital collectibles through the marketplace.”
“PULITZER DROPS” will “increased scarcity”
AP reports that the MetaMask will be the first wallet supported, but that support for other wallets is planned. Buyers will be able to pay for NFTs on the market with credit cards or Ethereum. Every two weeks, AP will distribute new, limited-edition NFTs via “Pulitzer Drops.” According to the FAQ, these specific photos will “have heightened scarcity to preserve their significance.” The site’s secondary market will allow buyers to resale those NFTs.
NFTs’ sale earnings will be utilised by AP to support journalistic activities, according to the news agency. The FAQ states that reselling is subject to a 10% fee, which Xooa representative Lauren Easton confirmed in an email to The Verge that the two firms will split equally. (Ethereum’s notorious “gas” costs should have little effect on the price of sales on Polygon, where they are substantially smaller.) Easton also told us that “photographers will share in all revenue gathered,” but he didn’t explain what cut they would get from the money they generated.
Market participants have implemented an early access wait listing system
As of January 31, AP’s marketplace is scheduled to open, but it appears to be giving some form of early access system; the marketplace’s main page states you can go on a waitlist and that you can gain “priority access” and an improved waiting list rank by referring people to sign up. You should thoroughly read through Xooa’s FAQ to get a better understanding of how this marketplace will work, as well as how the drops will work, how the marketplace, account system, and seller verification processes will work. AP is targeting collectors with these offerings (or anyone interested in the mechanics of this type of marketplace).