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BY Langston Thomas
November 30, 2022
Until recently, the Web3 media landscape had been vast and desolate. While the NFT ecosystem continues to expand, few entities have taken up the cause to inform and educate the public about the future of digital ownership and blockchain-based prosperity that exists just over the horizon. But among those few, Rug Radio has quickly gained a foothold in the industry as a prominent voice of Web3 culture.
A digitally-native outlet, Rug Radio — founded by NFT collector and prominent Web3 builder Farokh Sarmad — prides itself on being the first fully decentralized media platform. Through shared ownership, creators and consumers of Rug Radio content get to decide the type of IP the company creates and how it’s delivered, all powered by blockchain technology and NFTs.
On November 30, during his panel at nft now x Mana Common’s The Gateway Web3 metropolis amid Art Basel Miami, Farokh announced that Rug Radio would soon receive a major ecosystem expansion by way of PFPs. Titled “Faces of Web3,” the forthcoming generative avatar project will be created in Van Lew’s distinctive brightly colored style and feature a variety of unique trait combinations.
As the Web3 media landscape continues to grow, brands and companies have been in friendly competition with each other to raise their standings within Web3. And now, Rug Radio is poised to usher in a new chapter with the recent announcement of a forthcoming large-scale PFP project in collaboration with prominent multidisciplinary artist Cory Van Lew.
“The Cory Van Lew and Rug Radio collaboration is a PFP project meant to represent the faces of Web3. With Rug Radio being one of the voices of Web3, we wanted to create the Faces of Web3 for people to be able to represent Rug Radio,” Farokh said in an interview with nft now. “In this market, people still want a PFP that represents something as part of their digital identity.”
Considering Rug Radio first launched by way of the Membership Pass NFT collection, which paved the way for the equally ambitious Rug Radio Genesis collection, this next evolution of the Farokh-helmed brand feels perfectly aligned with its Web3-centric sensibilities. While launch details, including dates and total supply, have yet to be announced, the news of the collaboration will surely give the Rug Radio ecosystem — which encompasses more than one-quarter million followers across socials — cause for celebration.
Rug Radio X @CoryVanLew COMING SOON pic.twitter.com/ndRJuCfol5
While “Faces of Web3” will likely prove to be a major event within the NFT space, it’s important to note that the venture comes as only a singular part of the Rug Radio narrative. And though releasing a PFP project aligns with the current culture of the NFT ecosystem, Farokh notes that the endeavor is mostly for the community, and that he and his team are still continuously working on defining what it means to be a fully decentralized media platform.
“We’re constantly doing collaborations and working hard to come up with new shows. The NFT space demands that, in a way. It’s very topical… every day is like a week,” said Farokh. “One thing that a lot of people have wrong, in my opinion, is [the idea] that decentralization is anarchy. It’s not. In order to properly get to where we want, it’ll take a few years. The way [Rug Radio] intends to do that is by involving the community in important decision-making.”
To learn more about Rug Radio and to stay up to date on details surrounding the forthcoming collaborative PFP project with Cory Van Lew, visit the official Rug Radio website and Twitter account.
