Quick take:
- The website took down its NFT listings following backlash.
- Several musicians have slammed HitPiece for stealing their music to sell as NFTs.
- American rock band Eve 6 thinks that the controversy is manufactured.
Music NFT website HitPiece has taken down its NFT listings following a huge backlash from several musicians and the NFT community.
It was discovered that the site listed NFTs of songs and albums for live auction from famous artists such as John Lennon, Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan, as well as other independent artists, all without consent.
Musicians took to social media to voice their displeasure last night. American record producer and lead singer of indie pop band Bleachers, Jack Antonoff, tweeted: “Any bleachers NFTs are fake. At the moment I do not believe in NFTs so anything you see associated with me isn’t real. And thanks to M for sending me this bullshit 🙂 i’m on one today!”
One of the countless musicians who’ve chimed in includes Nat Puff/Left at London, who tweeted: “My art is currently being sold on the blockchain by people who are not affiliated with me at all. I do not know who uploaded them to @joinhitpiece. They profit. NFT’s are shit & if you support them you’re indirectly supporting the downfall of independent artistry. FOH.”
Indie musician Alex Riggs threatened HitPiece with legal action. HitPiece replied, saying that it “doesn’t sell or stream music” and that “the music is on the site via Spotify’s API”. It also said that “only artists it has deals with can launch an auction”.
American rock band Eve 6 theorised that the controversy could be a “twisted marketing scheme” as HitPiece co-founder Rory Felton is a long-time music business veteran who founded indie record label The Militia Group in the early 2000s.
there is something very weird about this hitpiece nft thing beyond the obvious. rory felton who’s the creator of it has been in the music business for a long time and had to have known he’d get torched for this. it feels like some kinda twisted marketing scheme i dunno
— nigh eve6 (@Eve6) February 2, 2022
He also founded record label, Feltone. According to Rory Felton’s bio on Feltone’s website, The Militia Group has sold millions of records, scored at least one RIAA Certified Gold Record, partnered with various major labels, and its major assets were acquired by Sony Music.
During his career, Felton has led digital marketing programs for major labels and artists such as Green Day, Warner Music, Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg, Keith Richards, Adidas, and some of the largest music festivals in the U.S.
Eve 6 went on to say: “this controversy is starting to feel manufactured to me.” After musicians asked for their music to be taken down from HitPiece, the site’s landing page now simply displays a one-liner that says: “We Started The Conversation and We’re Listening.”
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