The Metaverse and NFTs Are ‘Here to Stay,’ Says CAA’s Head of Business Development (Audio)

Michael Yanover, CAA’s head of business development, insisted that the Metaverse and NFTs are not fads or the latest technology trend, but are in fact “here to stay.”

“It’s a big space and I don’t think it’s going away at all,” Yanover said of NFTs and the Metaverse on TheWrap’s “Tech vs Media” podcast with host Richard Wolpert, adding that CAA recently hired a chief metaverse officer. “I think it needs to find its footing for sure. Was there maybe a little bit more excitement than there ought to have been at the beginning? Maybe. But man, this is this a powerful thing. This is not going away.”

The trading value for NFTs recently dropped 97% since Jan. 2022, sliding down $17 billion to $466 million in September. While Yanover admits many aren’t consumed with NFTs at the moment — a fact backed by the collapse — he predicts that they will play a larger and larger role in daily life in the coming decades.

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“I think you and I would probably say in 10 or 20 years… it’ll just be part of our lives, everything will be registered as an NFT, you’ll probably buy a car or a house that will have some NFT component to it,” he said. “Everything that’s IP-based will probably have an NFT component to it.”

Yanover also specifically noted that NFTs will serve the art industry as “the biggest registry system in the world,” noting that there is no current registry system for valuable art.

While Yanover insists that NFTs are “here to stay,” he notes that “it’s going to morph [and] it’s going to have 1,000 more changes.”

“It’s going to be incredibly impactful to the world of entertainment, to the world of anything that’s IP-based,” he said.

Listen to the full episode below.

Episode highlights:

  • Michael Yanover recalls Zoom taste testings with Katy Perry and Morgan McLachlan for the non-alcoholic beverage De Soi

  • Michael Yanover walks through the evolution Lady Gaga’s cosmetic brand Haus Labs beginning with CAA investing in Charlotte Tilbury in 2014

  • Michael Yanover discusses Hanks 101, Tom Hanks’ trivia game, and the star’s knack for trivia and typewriters

  • Michael Yanover dives deep into the launch of Caravan, and how it fulfills an essential step in the success of startups to connect promising ideas with capital and personnel quickly

  • Michael Yanover explains why he’s changed his mind about Amazon and now thinks they are interested in collaboration over “pure dominance”

About “Tech vs Media”

On each episode of “Tech vs Media,” host Richard Wolpert — who has decades of technology and media experience as an executive, founder of tech companies, venture capitalist and philanthropist — and one his esteemed guests will divulge enlightening lessons and give their insightful perspective on the movers, creators, disruptors and innovations that are shaping the future of media and technology and how these industries will intertwine with one another.

New episodes of “Tech vs Media” drop weekly. Click here for all the episodes.

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