Selfie.Live, a mobile app that allows fans to upload selfies with celebrities and receive a digitally signed photo as an NFT, has partnered with country music star Lee Brice to create special fan memories while on tour.
The app, available on iOS and Google Play features fans uploading Lee Brice or concert selfies and Brice uses the entertainer version where he can digitally autograph photos from anywhere. Most recently, the app helped connect Lee to his Santa Claus Uber Driver who is the inspiration behind the music star’s Christmas hit, “Santa Claus Was My Uber Driver.”
Lee Brice was asked by his label to write a Christmas song; however, he had writer’s block and flew his two song writers in to help. Upon their arrival in Virginia, they called for an Uber, which would turn out to be an unforgettable ride.
The Uber driver arrived dressed as Santa Claus in a red Hyundai with a vanity license plate that read “1SANTA1.” On the spot, while still in the car, Brice and his writers were instantly inspired to write the song “Santa Claus Was My Uber Driver”.
Months later, during the initial launch of Selfie.Live in Kearney Nebraska, Brice noticed a familiar fan photo uploaded to the app –– it was a picture of the same red Hyundai with the 1SANTA1 license plate. The Santa Uber driver heard about the app's launch on social media and submitted the photo despite not being present. The photo was then signed by Brice and listed as an NFT on Opensea.
Selfie.Live founder Matthew Dickson later met with Lee’s manager Enzo DeVincenzo in Nashville and overheard a conversation about searching for the Santa Uber driver. They then used the app’s signup process, which calls for a cell phone number and first name, to get in touch with the Uber Santa. The team worked with Lee’s graphic designer to create a song cover based on the Uber driver’s now famous Selfie.Live photo.
Lee Brice is among the growing list of celebrities to use the app to catalog and autograph fan photos while on tour. Future collaborations will include athletes, artists, musicians, actors and more, allowing each creative to engage directly with fans at their convenience, while also maintaining some control of their image and likeness.
Brands and advertisers can also leverage the app to create personalized experiences and activations that boost engagement. The app also provides a soft entry point into NFTs and blockchain for both celebrities and their fans.
Users simply take a photo at a live event or encounter with their favorite celebrity via the fan app. The celebrity then receives the photo through the celebrity app while the fan receives an autographed NFT directly to their NFT wallet.
The app’s underlying technology is provided by Butterfly Protocol, a cross-chain decentralized domain naming system for NFTs. The protocol makes it possible for each celebrity to have their own web3 address, similar to a web domain, phone number or email, that identifies and organizes their fan photos. The NFTs are minted by Butterfly Protocol smart contracts that run on Polygon.
Early adopters include musicians, country artists and other lifestyle influencers such as Lee Brice, Zach Bryan, Secondhand Serenade, Flatland Cavalry, 49 Winchester, Jon Langston, Charles Wesley Godwin, Ernest, Larry Fleet, The Marshall Tucker Band, and Tom and Lisa Bilyue from the Impact Theory.
