Big Boy by Michael Jackson is Getting a “Digital Vinyl” Release

14 years have passed since the world lost the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Nevertheless, the legacy remains. His first-ever studio demo of Big Boy, a song by the Jackson family band dubbed The Jackson 5. Anotherblock, a blockchain music platform is releasing it as a “digital vinyl” after five decades.

Bringing Back Nostalgia

The release will include never-before-heard stems, visuals, and recordings. The official announcement presents digital vinyls as similar to cassettes and CDs. It reads, “Remember the nostalgia of owning physical formats like cassettes, vinyl records, and CDs? Those were times when you truly possessed your music, free from disruptions by streaming platforms. with Anotherblock’s DIGITAL VINYLS, we bring back true ownership.”

Arweave, a decentralized storage protocol, will ensure that the asset remains permanent and immutable. It allows more security in contrast to owning physical assets like cassettes. Once, on the blockchain, they will be difficult to remove. One needs to control over 50 percent of the blocks to manipulate the asset.

Big Boy will be released in a limited edition alongside one unlimited supply edition. The former will cost $100 and include 12 items while the latter will cost $25 and consists of four items. Users can purchase the items using Ethereum (ETH) which will go live today.

Anotherblock collaborated with Recordpool, the recording’s owner, to bring this idea to life. Big Boy was originally recorded by One-derful Studios in Chicago in 1967. Interestingly it was Michael Jackson and his brothers’ first-ever recording session. According to Billboard, an American entertainment magazine, journalist Jake Austen discovered Big Boy (One-derful Version) in 2009.

Michel D Traore, Anotherblock CEO, said “As a passionate MJ fan myself, I was instantly thrilled about introducing this significant piece of music history to the world and expanding the narrative of Jackson 5’s early days.” He adds, “For certain songs, and this one in particular, it’s evident that they deserve a special home where they won’t get lost in the mass of hundreds of thousands of songs released on the same day.”

MJ is deemed among the most significant entertainers of the 20th century. His famous moonwalk or backslide has become a popular move among choreographers. Furthermore, he is also a leading best-selling music artist. Guinness World Record honored him with the “Most Successful Entertainer of All Time,” in 2006.

Royalties for artists in the music industry have remained among the leading debates even today. Several artists are left deprived of what they deserve for their work. Moreover, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are also becoming the crux of the matter owing to music piracy concerns.

Music streaming platforms like Spotify pay nearly $0.003 to $0.005 per stream. Nonetheless, this amount is further split between right holders and the platforms which may leave an average artist with nothing but peanuts.

Anurag is working as a fundamental writer for The Coin Republic since 2021. He likes to exercise his curious muscles and research deep into a topic. Though he covers various aspects of the crypto industry, he is quite passionate about the Web3, NFTs, Gaming, and Metaverse, and envisions them as the future of the (digital) economy. A reader & writer at heart, he calls himself an “average guitar player” and a fun footballer.