Photo Credit: Mastercard
Mastercard announces its new web3-based “Artist Accelerator” music program in an effort to support emerging musical artists.
Financial services company Mastercard announced the debut of its Mastercard Artist Accelerator program at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The program will connect five up-and-coming musicians with mentors, fans, and technical resources to assist in navigating the frontier of blockchain-based experiences and technologies. The program is being developed in partnership with blockchain platform Polygon Studios.
Set to launch in the spring, the Mastercard Artist Accelerator will include a “first-of-its-kind curriculum” to teach artists “how to build and own their brand through web3 experiences like minting NFTs, representing themselves in virtual worlds, and establishing an engaged community.” Fans can also receive access to “unique resources through our collaborations and priceless experiences — in real life and the metaverse” through the limited-edition Mastercard Music Pass NFT.
“Music is a global passion, and connecting people to their passions has been our mission for years, so choosing to invest in this program was a natural way for us to advance this objective,” says Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer at Mastercard.
“We also see that web3 holds tremendous promise for artists and creators to create, own, and monetize their content, but only if they know how to leverage it. Take NFTs, for instance — a key to unlocked monetary potential. If emerging artists have the skills and knowledge on how to create NFTs, they are able to then support their career(s). We feel that AR, NFTs, and blockchain are technologies that will continue to gain ground — when effectively executed.”
Mastercard has long been helping its customers get into the world of web3. In October, the company announced Crypto Source, a program to assist banks in getting started providing crypto services to customers. Additionally, Mastercard launched a partnership with crypto-exchange platform Coinbase early last year, which enabled customers to use Mastercard cards to purchase NFTs through Coinbase’s NFT marketplace.