Per Mastercard, the payments giant has launched a non-fungible token (NFT) program to provide access to its Artist Accelerator program, intended to help emerging musicians. Developed together with Polygon, this NFT project shows the company’s eagerness to embrace Web3 technologies.
Mastercard Unveils Second NFT Offering
In January, Mastercard announced a partnership with Polygon to back up-and-coming artists through the Mastercard Artist Accelerator program. During the NFT.NYC conference, the firm revealed NFTs that give access to this program. “Until the end of the month, music and Web3 enthusiasts can redeem Mastercard Music Pass NFT,” the company declared on Wednesday.
When launching the music artist program, Mastercard did not mention the participating musicians, as they hadn’t been chosen yet. The chosen artists are R&B soul singer Young Athena, Venezuelan vocalist Manu Manzu, Nigerian-based artist LeriQ, pop sensation Emily Vu, and West Indian hip-hop/pop-soul artist Cocoa Sarai. Mastercard notes that these artists will get guidance from five experts and access to an AI-powered music studio by Warpsound.
“[The artists can] jumpstart their content production, acquire mentorship, and gain tips for using blockchain to monetize their work and establish a fan community within the Web3 environment,” explained Mastercard’s announcement. Fans can redeem the Mastercard Music Pass NFT until the end of this month. This represents the company’s second NFT offering since June 2022 when it collaborated with Moonpay, Nifty Gateway, Candy Digital, The Sandbox, Immutable X, Spring, and Mintable to give NFTs for cardholders.
Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard’s chief marketing and communications officer and president, said that the firm’s goal is to help people and partners all over the world to understand blockchain and digital assets better while also demonstrating how Mastercard technology can support this ecosystem. “We also believe that Web3 has the potential to powerfully join people and build communities around shared passions,” added the Mastercard executive.
What are your thoughts on using NFTs to assist emerging musicians and artists? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
