Mastercard Unleashes Web3 Program for Supporting Musicians

Payment giant Mastercard announced during the NFT.NYC 2023, the world’s biggest NFT conference that it released an NFT called Mastercard Music Pass NFT, which gives access to an immersive Web3 music program.

Mastercard’s NFT gives access to the Mastercard Artist Accelerator program, which is a Web3 platform that offers distinguished AI tools, free educational programs, and priceless experiences to enhance music artists’ creativity and innovation, the payment giant said in a statement.

Following unlocking the Mastercard Artist Accelerator program, Web3 and music fans will redeem the NFT that leverages Mastercard’s design principles, in addition to its sonic melody to compose a striking digital collectible.

Mastercard’s music initiative is being launched in collaboration with blockchain developer Polygon to benefit from the Web3 technologies in attracting and supporting emerging artists with the tools and capabilities they need in addition to educating them.

The company stressed that there is no limit to the number of Web3 and music fans to enjoy the program’s features. Mastercard said it has selected five promising artists from various genres and geographies, including Nigerian-based artist LeriQ, West Indian hip-hop/pop-soul artist Cocoa Sarai, R&B soul singer Young Athena, Venezuelan vocalist Manu Manzu, and pop sensation Emily Vu.

The artists will be guided by five expert mentors as they experience the AI music studio -powered by Warpsound- to jumpstart their content creation, receive mentorship and gain tips and tricks in using blockchain to monetize their work and build a community of fans, all in the Web3 environment.

Commenting on the announcement, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and President of Healthcare Business of Mastercard Raja Rajamannar asserted the importance of Web3 as a powerful tool in building communities with shared passions and connecting people

It’s not the first time Mastercard tapped into NFTs. In June 2022, it teamed up with different NFT marketplaces, including Immutable X, Candy Digital, The Sandbox, Mintable, Spring, Nifty Gateway, and MoonPay to make the NFTs trade easier.