Morgan Chittum

<div id="highlights-block_618a88cd3f5a2" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>McFarlane will be auctioning off some of his original work for the first time this century, starting with Spawn NFTs</li>
 <li>The marketplace, dubbed “OddKey,” will run off Metaplex, an on-chain protocol for buying and auctioning digital collectibles on Solana’s blockchain</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Grammy-nominated DJ Steve Aoki and comic book creator Todd McFarlane announced the launch of a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace on Tuesday. Dubbed “<a href="http://oddkey.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OddKey</a>,” the marketplace is “designed to empower creators to showcase and sell authenticated digital art,” Aoki told Blockworks in an interview.



“Something a lot of people ask [me] is, ‘Hey, what advice can you give to a young musician or artist to get their music to stand out? There&#8217;s so much music out here, like how do I get to stand out?’” Aoki said. “[And] that&#8217;s the whole point of building this marketplace. [That] artist can now fit in Todd McFarlane and Steve Aoki’s world. Here&#8217;s a place for you to actually communicate with other artists and creators [on the same playing field].”



McFarlane, who created one of the highest-selling comic books in history, will be auctioning off original art from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spawn_(character)">Spawn</a> as NFTs on the marketplace in the near future.&nbsp;



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="500" height="500" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/STEVE_TODD.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10806" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/STEVE_TODD.jpg?w=500 500w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/STEVE_TODD.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/STEVE_TODD.jpg?w=150 150w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/STEVE_TODD.jpg?w=257 257w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/STEVE_TODD.jpg?w=261 261w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/STEVE_TODD.jpg?w=219 219w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/STEVE_TODD.jpg?w=80 80w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /><figcaption>Steve Aoki and Todd McFarlane</figcaption></figure></div>



“This isn’t about Steve and Todd [though],” McFarlane said to Blockworks. “The big victory here is us opening up that opportunity to other creators and giving them the exact same opportunity that we are giving ourselves.”&nbsp;



“Steve and I are in total agreement that we know we will have succeeded when we become irrelevant to our [marketplace.] There&#8217;s going to be so much talent [in OddKey.] There will be so many other [great] artists they&#8217;ll go ‘Yeah, Steve had a nice run. Todd had a nice run, but they&#8217;re the old guys, right?’” McFarlane said. “That&#8217;s a victory.”



The Amazing Spider-Man artist added that if fans “ever have any hope of owning any Spawn artwork or any [of his] artwork [after] 1992, you&#8217;re going to have to go here.”&nbsp;



Aside from OddKey, Aoki has been a heavy <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/22/steve-aoki-makes-a-bold-prediction-on-digital-art-as-he-debuts-new-nft.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">investor</a> in NFTs for over a year, first selling his debut NFT collection “Dream Catcher” for $4.25 million on Nifty Gateway.&nbsp;



Aoki predicts that “there’s no doubt that we are moving towards a digital economy. We are going from cash to cashless. Less and less people want [the] physical.”&nbsp;



“When you look at future generations, kids from [ages] 10 to 20, are living in their own metaverse [now]. They&#8217;re playing Fortnite and Call of Duty. It&#8217;s already normal for them to spend money in those places,” he said. “That&#8217;s essentially [what happens] when they buy a skin for a game. They&#8217;d rather spend that 20 bucks buying something like an outfit they&#8217;re wearing in Fortnight, than spend 20 bucks for a t-shirt that they&#8217;re going to wear to school.”



OddKey will be powered by Metaplex, an on-chain protocol for buying and auctioning digital collectibles on the Solana blockchain.&nbsp;



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