New independent and NFT (non-fungible token) label Alibatta Records has been launched in the Philippines with Ali Young as its first artist.
Alibatta, a brainchild of musicians turned tech executives Geoff Mabasa, Adrienne Cajayon and Charles Gener, is an “entertainment technology” company operating as a music label providing traditional label services like artist management, music production and marketing, and modernizing the way music reaches fans with blockchain technology and immersive experience.
“Alibatta is a word play on Alibata, a traditional writing system in the Philippines. We hope through Alibatta, we are able to ‘re-spell’ traditional concepts, that our introduction of fresh ideas, talents, and innovation in the scene allow us to bring local Filipino talent to a global audience. Alibatta is a first of its kind in Southeast Asia being the only music label pushing NFT-releases for its talents.” said Mabasa, president and CEO of the label, who has marketing experience in Grab and TikTok, and cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance.
The new label focuses on delivering fresh, danceable, and uplifting Filipino music influenced by western pop music and leveraging on innovative tools to distribute music; empowering more musicians to embrace tech and have more ownership and means to monetize the content they produce.
“Our vision is to make sure music is adaptive to both the needs of the artist and their fans who are the foundation of the industry,” added Mabasa. The three co-founders have backgrounds in music production.
“As musicians ourselves, we know how cutthroat the industry is, so we need to be utilizing new forms of tech to somehow level the playing field.” mentioned Adrienne Cajayon, chief operating officer and compliance head.
According to chief innovation officer Gener, “I think our backgrounds and interests provided the perfect opportunity for us to collaborate and pioneer this space and make history as the label that produced the first NFT-minted record in the Philippines.” He used to play with local acts Jensen Gomez, Arthur Nery, and Klarisse De Guzman.
Alibatta Records will release the first NFT-minted single in the country through Young. NFT is currently a trend amongst creatives, collectors, superfans as it gives the artists the ability to mark a virtual form of art proof-of-ownership.
“Ali Young is poised to make history as the first Filipino singer with an NFT out and we’re happy to set that trend both locally and internationally. This effort provides an empowering message to our fellow musicians: that music and art can be lucrative not just for the labels, but for the entire creator ecosystem,” said Mabasa.
Young said, “I’m still overwhelmed and super proud that I signed with Alibatta, I trust in the direction the label is taking and I think that NFT is the future not just for music, but for other forms of art, too.”
She started doing song covers of artists like Taylor Swift, and even local musicians like Yeng Constantino that amassed millions of views on YouTube and SoundCloud.
Young’s debut single “Craving” will be released through major streaming platforms on June 25 and a Record Store Day limited NFT version will be released through the Binance NFT Marketplace this month.