Vinylkey, a vinyl record manufacturing company, is linking the physical world of music with digital identity and NFT in the form of old-fashioned records. Founded in 2021 in Asheville, N.C., Vinylkey makes standard albums, as well as dedicated vinyl records with digital connectivity, and its portal is called "Citizen Vinyl Records.

These professional records are being offered as limited edition products for musicians, using Fiylkey's cloud-based software to manage the data and link to the blockchain as well as digital wallets. The central point connecting the physical and digital worlds is a passive 13.56MHz Near Field Communication (NFC) tag built into the record's packaging. Users can contact their smartphone with the tag, use it with a unique identifier and verify the consumption history in the blockchain. Once users purchase a record, they can interact with the music and the artist by creating proof of ownership and accessing more content by clicking on the tag.

Vinylkey traffics records with a unique feature designed specifically for music collectors. Each album comes with a built-in NXP NTag 424 NFC tag in the center. A unique ID number encoded on the tag can link record-specific details. Users can touch an NFC-enabled phone to the tag, which opens a Web page where they can view the record's details and confirm its authenticity. The system also enables users to pay for purchases directly using their phone's payment account, which they can then register their ownership.

Connecting buyers to content via NFC tags

Vinylkey's cloud-based software manages the data associated with each album purchased by the user.

A unique ink splatter pattern is printed on the surface of the album, and a registration key inside the package. According to the report, the company produces it by sprinkling transparent green and black material on the surface of the record before printing, and then presses the ink pattern directly into the vinyl record in the final session.
                            

However, with NFC tags, the connection to the digital presence of the vinyl record is real-time. Once a user touches the tag with an NFC-enabled phone and has access to the album data, they can register as an owner. Buyers do this by linking to blockchain NFTs of content such as digital artwork, photos and videos. Individuals can also add other album recordings to the MetaMask-based wallet, enabling them to sell or trade related products.

The facility expects to subsequently exceed its current capacity of 40,000 records per month and will consider expanding capacity and selling its patent-pending Vinylkey technology to other facilities. The company does not work directly with artists, but rather with their assistants or record labels.