KEY POINTS
Mastercard has started the second season of its artist accelerator program, debuting exclusive Music Pass non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as part of the initiative.
Introduced last year to support artists in navigating Web3 and discovering new revenue avenues, this year’s program sees Mastercard teaming up with OnesToWatch — a music blog dedicated to spotlighting emerging talent. Together, they aim to mentor a new cohort of artists and facilitate their adoption of Web3 technologies.
Starting today, users can claim their Music Pass. Before minting, they are prompted to respond to five questions about their music preferences — guiding the creation of a personalized NFT. Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), each NFT will feature a unique soundtrack and artwork tailored to the user’s tastes.
Holders of these NFTs gain entry to an advanced AI music studio, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, and the opportunity to secure concert tickets for upcoming live events later in the year.
This marks the second official NFT drop under the program, following the inaugural launch. While the first NFT wasn’t customizable, it provided similar perks to holders.
In addition, during the first season of the program, five participants released new singles as NFTs through the OneOf marketplace.
Mastercard has been actively engaged in the Web3 and NFT realm since 2021. In January 2022, it collaborated with Coinbase to enable users to buy NFTs using Mastercards. In June of the same year, Mastercard expanded its partnerships with various NFT marketplaces and Web3 providers, facilitating Mastercard card usage for NFT purchases.
In October 2023, Mastercard embarked on a collaboration with MoonPay to explore Web3 marketing avenues, focusing on elevating experiential marketing and redefining customer engagement.
