Steve Aoki — the in-demand touring DJ and record producer — has in recent years launched business ventures involving the metaverse and NFTs. Now, his latest entrepreneurial effort is all about tangible goods.
Sound X Vision, an upstart pop-culture auction house specializing in “entertainment artifacts,” joins the ranks of sector stalwarts like Heritage and Julien’s. The company held its inaugural online sale of more than 300 lots on Sept. 9. Its own bid for disruption: enforced transparency in a realm where phantom bidding often creates the appearance of demand.
For Aoki, himself a longtime memorabilia collector, the curation process was about “finding and showcasing really unique pieces, things that have a direct connection to what you grew up watching and listening to, that can blow you away.” He adds of pop-culture objects: “They have a different resonance than fine art. It’s a teleportation feeling.”
Key hammered pieces included a Golden Snitch from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone ($21,760), Wolverine’s claws from X2 ($19,200), Jason Voorhees’ machete from Jason Goes to Hell ($9,600) and Sylvester Stallone’s light-up pistol from Judge Dredd ($8,320). Some of the unsold merchandise included Michael Jackson’s stage-worn glove from his 1984 tour, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman lasso, Eddie Van Halen’s stage-played “Frankenstrat” guitar and Christian Bale’s Batman cowl from The Dark Knight.
Aoki’s SXV partner, Oz Cift, a seasoned industry veteran of the collecting space, describes the first auction as “both a litmus test and a stress test” for the company, adding, “we’re ready to scale up and take the platform into its next chapter” with regular sales over the next year.
Cift explains that SXV is also pursuing a strategy of direct-from-studio deals on upcoming films. The company sees particular untapped value within the sci-fi, horror and superhero fandoms. “Big blockbuster movies are exciting, but sometimes it’s smaller films with dedicated followings that would work best,” he says. The idea is to make the merchandise available in tandem with its theatrical debut, or else later, as an additional marketing vector when the project streams or releases on physical media.
Cift notes the pop-culture memorabilia market remains in its formative era. (“Authentication is a big topic.”) But increasing numbers of deep-pocketed, avid collectors are creating more opportunities for sellers and brokers. Those like Cift, who’ve witnessed the sector explode from nothing in the ’90s, believe there’s still far more room to grow. “I was one of the early buyers of Jeff Bridges’ Big Lebowski bathrobe — you could have it for $500,” he explains by way of explanation. “The last time it sold at an auction house was for $169,000.”
