Unreleased version of David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’ will be launched as NFT

Gala Music, a subsidiary of Gala Games, best known for its Web3 gaming efforts, is set to release an unreleased version of David Bowie's hit song "Let's Dance" as a limited series of NFTs. The release will mark the 40th anniversary of the song's debut and will feature a "dreamy, electronic" version of the song that Bowie produced with Dvoskin in 2002.

On April 14th 2023, 40 years to the day after "Let's Dance" made its premiere, Gala Music will issue 3,003 NFTs, each with artwork created in Bowie's honour. Eventually, it will unlock the "Lets dance" NFT.

Dvoskin has long wanted to release the track and approached Bowie's estate to convince it to release the song via NFTs. The executor of Bowie's estate was initially hesitant but changed his mind after reading an email from 2002 in which Bowie expressed his enthusiasm for the recording. The NFTs will be sold via a pay-what-you-wish model, with all initial proceeds benefiting the charity MusiCares.

This release is not the Bowie Estate's first foray into the blockchain. In September, the estate launched a series of NFTs in partnership with marketplace OpenSea titled "Bowie on the Blockchain," which received backlash from some Bowie fans who felt it was inconsistent with the late artist's values. Warner Music Group, which owns Bowie's entire music catalog at $250 million, announced in November 2022 that it was partnering with Web3 entertainment incubator Defient to "unlock the power of Web3 for songwriters."