Sony’s blockchain Soneium has attached with one of many key firms in Japan’s dynamic Idol trend, music and cultural sector.
The collaboration will see the blockchain built-in into IRC APP, which is the official app for Idol Runway Assortment. That is the nation’s largest competition with round 12,000 folks attending the 2025 occasion, which featured over 100 idols.
The 2026 version, which is held in March, will function teams akin to Nogizaka46, =Love, Fruits Zipper, Cutie Road and Takane No Nadeshiko.
As for IRC APP, it doesn’t require any blockchain data, working like a web2 app with social login assist for the likes of Line, Google and Apple.
Customers join their X account, which permits them to entry the AI SNS Tendencies analytic system, which makes their fandom contributions verifiable onchain. This implies each account will get an IRC Rating, which is routinely claimed to customers’ onchain pockets.
This rating determines a consumer’s membership rank, from common to bronze, silver and gold, every of which provides enhanced advantages akin to early ticket entry, precedence entry, and premium venue invitations.
Membership rank additionally will increase the variety of voting tickets granted, enabling followers to train larger affect by way of the app’s onchain Fan Vote features.
This was validated throughout its beta launch in January, the place the marketing campaign introduced over 60,000 customers onchain and demonstrated {that a} mainstream viewers can seamlessly interact with onchain voting by way of an accessible, UX-first design.
You could find out extra on the IRC APP web site.
