Stephanie Douse 
After the profile photo NFT project lands a major Hollywood partnership, we might see Cool Cats cartoons, apparel, and events.
In summary
- Cool Cats, a popular Ethereum NFT initiative, has penned down a licensing and merchandise deal with CAA.
- To date, Cool Cats has produced over $300 million in trading volume.
The developers of Cool Cats have just signed a huge record deal as they investigate ways to expand the brand into other industries.
This latest record deal sees Cool Cats follow the footsteps of ventures like the Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, and World of Women.
The creators of Cool Cats have struck an agreement with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to look into possible licensing and merchandising opportunities, such as animation material, brand deals, publishing, and events.
The Hollywood Reporter quoted the project’s artist Colin “Clon” Egan as saying, “The universe we’re constructing is full with creativity and just things to explore.” “Rather than just a JPEG, it’ll be more of an experience.”
Cool Cats debuted in July 2021 and received a surge of interest last fall, with a single NFT sale of almost $1.1 million in ETH and a partnership with Time magazine.
According to CryptoSlam, the Cool Cats collection of 9,999 NFT photos has produced around $318 million in secondary transactions so far.
Actress Reese Witherspoon, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and DJ Steve Aoki are among the notable owners of Cool Cats.
With 20,000 total NFT photos embracing a wider diversity of critters, The NFT project recently started a parallel Cool Pets project.
To date, that secondary NFT project’s sales have totaled more over $81 million.
Owners’ rights and privileges
Cool Cats owners receive a non-exclusive right to use their photographs for a variety of commercial uses, including product marketing and merchandise creation.
As co-founder Evan Luza told The Hollywood Reporter, the creators of Cool Cats still retain the entire intellectual property and can utilize the photos.
An NFT works like a receipt for a digital goods, and profile picture ventures like Cool Cats have sparked a lot of interest in the market in the recent year.
The market generated a total of $25 billion in trade volume in 2021, with enthusiasm continuing into January but slowing into February and, more visibly, so far in March.
Larva Labs, the creators of CryptoPunks and Meebits, announced a deal with United Talent Agency (UTA) in August to bring those NFT properties to other entertainment verticals.
Given Larva’s recent sale of both IPs to Yuga Labs (creators of the Bored Ape Yacht Club), it’s uncertain whether the partnership will bear fruit.
Yuga Labs hired veteran music industry executive Guy Oseary in October to head the Bored Ape Yacht Club‘s entertainment and licensing efforts.
In January, Oseary was also signed by the World of Women NFT project to launch its own Hollywood push.
World of Women will be adapted into film and television by Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine production studio.
Other NFT-related clients signed with CAA include 0xb1, a pseudonymous collector who wants to use his collection (which includes valuable Bored Apes) for marketing partnerships, and “Jenkins the Valet,” a fictional character based on a Bored Ape NFT.