NFT Company Draws Flak for Selling BTS, BLACKPINK Songs Without Permission

One NFT company is being accused of selling songs from artists in South Korea and around the world without their consent.

According to reports, Hit Piece is an online store that sells all genres of music as an NFT or non-fungible token. NFTs are a type of cryptocurrency that can be stored on a blockchain or a form of digital ledger that can be sold and traded online.

Personalities Who Use NFTs, Artists Express Concerns

Some South Korean personalities have already tried their hand in NFTs. For instance, Jessica previously sold an NFT of herself as a bull with a tiara and sunglasses.

In the United States, former First Lady Melania Trump has also had her hand in NFT. She previously sold paintings of herself in exchange for cryptocurrency.

But while NFTs are slowly gaining traction in South Korea and other parts of the world, some artists have expressed their concerns after learning that their songs are also being sold on the platform.

Now, the majority of them are asking Hit Piece to either take down their songs or pay them in cash. However, a spokesperson for the NFT company claimed that what they are doing isn't illegal.

After all, they are doing a one on one NFT that is based on a recording of a unique song. Members create a Hitlist of their platforms and they are the ones that bring these songs to the leaderboards.

Basically, Hit Piece is trying to help recording artists get their songs out there even if they haven't been distributed commercially. The problem is, the cryptocurrency that's generated from putting the songs on Hit Piece goes to the NFT company and not the artists themselves.

ALSO READ: HYBE Reveals Reasons for NFT Collaboration

Some of the artists that are gravely affected by what Hit Piece is doing includes "LALISA" and "SG" by BLACKPINK Lisa and "Stay Gold" by BTS.

Other Western artists that are also affected by what Hit Piece is doing include Drake, Megan Thee Stallion, Ozuna, DJ Snake, The Beatles, and more.

Reports also revealed that the creators of Hit Piece used data from Spotify to create their so-called original NFTs.

Hit Piece Says They'll Pay Artists for NFTs Sold

On Wednesday, Feb. 2, Hit Piece posted a lengthy explanation on Twitter as they attempted to appease the artists affected by the scandal. They said that once an NFT is sold, the artist will receive compensation.

However, they are not pleased with Hit Piece's explanation. So, they are urging the NFT company to give them a breakdown of how the artists can get the money and how much they would be getting once an NFT is sold.

In December 2021, The Altantic dubbed NFT as the new nemesis of K-pop fans. After all, the loyal fans of their favorite idols such as SEVENTEEN, ENHYPHEN, Red Velvet, BTS, BLACKPINK, Mamamoo, Super Junior, and more want to be able to collect albums, postcards, and photos of the groups by hand.

NFTs will provide K-pop fans with a digital version of their collectibles, but they are insisting that this would be an entirely different experience.

READ MORE HERE: How K-pop's New-found Global Relevance Derives from NFTs

Camille Heimbrod wrote this.

KpopStarz owns this article.