The Weeknd has announced his first NFT drop will launch on Saturday (03.04.21).

The 31-year-old star - whose real name is Abel Tesfaye - took to Twitter at the weekend to explain that his latest release will be a little different and that his next song will be up for grabs in "NFT space" only.

He wrote: "new song living in NFT space. coming soon..."He added: "p.s. this chapter isn’t quite done yet ...still tying some loose ends (sic)."

The Weeknd has since updated his fans to let them his limited edition art and the track is available via Nifty Gateway, "the premier marketplace for Nifties", which are "digital items you can truly own", according to their website.

The 'Save Your Tears' hitmaker tweeted: "Excited to announce that my first NFT drop is taking place on Saturday at 2:00 pm EST on @niftygateway. "

The collection will feature new music and limited edition art. I developed the artwork with Strange Loop Studios."

The Weeknd has a 24-hour auction for “an exclusive 1-of-1 piece of art” with his new song.

And whoever ends up winning will become the only owner of the track in the world.

The 'Blinding Lights' hitmaker said in a statement: “Blockchain is democratising an industry that has historically been kept shut by the gatekeepers.

“I’ve always been looking for ways to innovate for fans and shift this archaic music biz and seeing NFTs allowing creators to be seen and heard more than ever before on their terms is profoundly exciting.

“I intend to contribute to this movement and can see that very soon it will be weaved into the music industry’s mechanics.”

NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are an emerging market within blockchain where single-impression unique digital art and goods known as the 'token' can be sold.