PIXELYNX is the latest creation from legendary electronic music artists deadmau5 and Richie Hawtin. Their aim with the new venture is to bring three of the most profitable and enthusiastic sectors of entertainment today together: digital collectibles, gaming, and virtual worlds.
The company has been in the making over the past six months, and deadmau5, Hawtin, Ben Turner, Dean Wilson, and Inder Phull have used their extensive network of music professionals to digitize their brands into a collectible range of items in games and virtual worlds. PIXELYNX’s founders describe its function as the “portal into the metaverse.” Additionally, this is used to decentralize and automate the entertainment industry.
“We are on the edge of an exciting transition in entertainment where the lines between gaming, music, fashion, art, and technology are being blurred,” stated Phull in a press release. “The physical/digital crossover is here to stay and if you look beyond the hype it’s easy to identify the types of companies that will define the next generation of culture.”
“As we step over the threshold into extended reality, the future is truly upon us,” Hawtin added. “PIXELYNX is here to support a positive and creative acceleration into this new space, collaborating with artists to empower their creativity in this new medium and with brands to develop unique digital assets that have meaning and value.”
Richie Hawtin (left), deadmau5 (right)
What is direct-to-avatar?
Crucible’s founder Ryan Gill expounded on the concept in a 2020 Forbes article. “Direct-to-avatar (D2A) refers to an emerging business model selling products directly to avatars (D2A) – or digital identities – bypassing any supply chain management like dropshipping, logistics of how to get a physical product to a consumer’s door,” Gill explained. “D2A brands are being sold in social or competitive virtual environments like games or open worlds where consumers project themselves as an avatar. Crucible is about making this an easy shift for both consumers & brands to make.”
NFTs and digital collectibles have very quickly risen to the forefront of the electronic music and tech industries. Artists like 3LAU, Don Diablo, and even Lindsay Lohan have made a fortune on digital collectibles. NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital collectibles that are unable to replicated due to the decentralized nature of blockchain technology.
But as the industry swiftly embraces the technology, we’ll continue to shift away from physical goods. Sure, vinyl and CDs may make a more concerted comeback at some point, but they most likely won’t even compare to what digital collectibles and virtual worlds will offer to society. Virtual worlds will allow us to be anybody we want while seamlessly (and financially) supporting our favorite artists from around the globe.
“The virtual world is continuously expanding and changing which is really exciting and we are growing with it, especially into new sectors like music and fashion,” deadmau5 said. “Gaming, virtual worlds, and interactive experiences offer limitless possibilities which we are able to carve new pathways forward in.”
