The Associated Press (AP) is getting in on the NFT (non-fungible token) action, announcing that a marketplace for some its award winning photojournalism will be launching on 31st January 2022.

Those interested in the platform can already sign up for it here, with the marketplace aimed at not only celebrating some of the most iconic images captured by AP photojournalists, but also as a means of generating funds to put back into the non-profit news organisation.

“The initial collection will be released over a period of weeks beginning Jan. 31. NFTs will range from space, climate, war and other images to spotlights on the work of specific AP photographers,” the Associated Press explained in an official statement.

“NFT price points will vary. As a not-for-profit news cooperative, proceeds go back into funding factual, unbiased AP journalism,” it adds.

Assisting AP with the marketplace is NFT and blockchain specialists Xooa, with each NFT said to include a set of original metadata, offering collectors information on the time, date, location, equipment and technical settings used for capturing the image.

“With Xooa’s technology, we are proud to offer these tokenized pieces to a fast-growing global audience of photography NFT collectors,” noted Dwayne Desaulniers, AP director of blockchain and data licensing, regarding the marketplace launch.

“Xooa is proud to work with The Associated Press to launch AP’s NFT marketplace. Xooa’s work with brands around NFTs and metaverse marketplaces provides inherent scarcity and utility for collectors as well as a powerful connection between the virtual world and the real world,” added Zach Danker-Feldman, Xooa’s head of marketplaces.

While we still remain on the fence regarding NFTs, with auction houses, fashion brands, football clubs and now respected journalism organisations dipping their toes in the space, perhaps its level of legitimacy is growing.

[Image – Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash]