NEW YORK, March 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Creatd, Inc. (Nasdaq CM: CRTD) ("Creatd" or the "Company"), a creator-first holding company, today announced that it intends to spin off the OG Collection, the Company's wholly-owned media library, and OG Gallery, its associated Web 3.0 platform business, into a new publicly-traded entity. Following the spin-off, Creatd intends to retain a minority interest in the new entity, with the remaining shares expected to be distributed to current and future shareholders.
Said Jeremy Frommer, Creatd's Founder and Executive Chairman, "With the recent beta launch of our proprietary technology platform, the OG Gallery, the new company will be one of the few 'pure play' Web 3.0 companies in the public markets. We are currently consulting with advisors and potential banking partners about a number of opportunities for structuring this potential transaction."
For the Company, the separation of the OG Collection and OG Gallery enables it to benefit from the potential upside of the collection's intangible value while reducing Creatd's costs, thereby allowing management to prioritize growth across Creatd's core revenue lines. Following the spinoff, Creatd will continue to be able to leverage OG Gallery's technology for use across all of its four pillars, and in particular, its agency-oriented pillar, Creatd Partners. Equally important, the spin-off should immediately improve the Company's balance sheet. The Collection is not currently valued on the Company's balance sheet based on purchase price accounting guidance, despite its physical assets having been independently appraised at $6 to $8 million.
As part of this effort, the Company is collaborating with Starchive, an innovative platform for content storage, curation, and commerce both on and off the blockchain. The OG Collection engaged Starchive to aid its ongoing curation effort and maximize value from the collection in future production, licensing, and branding opportunities.
For over a decade, Starchive has built its reputation as one of the world's leading providers of digital asset management services, having worked with numerous culturally significant archival media collections, including that of Bob Dylan and Essence Magazine. Starchive relaunched in 2021, as a powerful bridge between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 for all creators, and is now serving over 60,000 creators worldwide.
Richard Averitt, CEO of Starchive, said: "We are excited to be partnering on a collection that captures a significant body of 20th-century cultural history and a brand that shares our vision of creator tools that create a direct gateway for NFT creators and collectors alike."
Frommer continued, "As I discussed in my most recent article on Vocal, The OG Gallery will set the standard for the synthesis of e-commerce for physical art and the inherent benefits of an NFT linked directly to it. It is a new era in our Web 3.0 strategy, where we look to find further connectivity between the physical world and the digital one through the use of smart contracts, unlockable content in the experiential space and membership/loyalty programs. We recently made our first purchase of a well-positioned plot that will house the OG Gallery in the Metaverse. The Decentraland location will be constructed this fiscal year and will offer creators exclusive experiences in the metaverse."
The NFT e-commerce marketplace will initially be focused on leveraging assets from our media library, the OG Collection, and working with a handful of entrepreneurial creators to launch their individual brands. In the future, Creatd expects to evolve the OG Gallery into a much broader ecosystem that empowers creators using blockchain, provides value-enhanced features, and removes intermediaries and roadblocks to the success of a new generation of digital creators.
To advance the OG Collection curation effort, the Company has assembled an Advisory Board. This board includes Jeremy Frommer, author Erica Wagner, assistant institute archivist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Jenifer Monger and a number of key individuals from the Starchive team on both the technology and curation sides of the business. Beyond the OG Gallery, the OG Collection and its content will continue to generate licensing opportunities for the new company. Currently, the Company is in discussions concerning other transmedia opportunities including a book and screenplay, as well as a podcast inspired by the collection's vast files.
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