Quick take:
- Mastercard has collaborated with polygon to launch an incubator program focused on web3.
- The program will equip music artists with the tools and skills they need to build their careers on the web3 economy.
- Participants will be taught how to mint NFTs and present their work in virtual worlds.
Mastercard has announced a partnership with Polygon for a web3-focused incubator program. The financial services company wants to support music artists looking to pursue opportunities in the digital economy with the tools they need to succeed.
According to Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer at Mastercard, participants will be taught how to mint non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and present themselves in virtual worlds as they build their communities.
An NFT is a blockchain-based file that represents proof of ownership of a JPEG, an artwork, or a virtual avatar. Artists can issue NFTs to their fans giving them proof of ownership of music tracks or video clips.
NFTs can also be used to gain access to gated communities in web3, or unlock various perks like attending a virtual live event hosted by artists in the metaverse. The metaverse is a 3D virtual space where people can interact immersively through gaming, trading virtual assets or attending live virtual events like concerts.
Mastercard is not the first mainstream brand to target the music industry with a web3 project. Global record production and distribution company Warner Music Group has already made inroads in the space with multiple deals dating back to early 2021.
More recently, the company partnered with digital fashion design company DRESSX to enable select WMG artists to design various fashion items and sell them to their fans as NFTs.
Mastercard’s incubator project seeks to equip artists with skills that will help them build their careers on web3 during and well beyond the program. “The core of this program is providing emerging artists with the web3 tools and skills they need to excel and advance their music careers in this digital economy,” Rajamannar told TechCrunch.
By the end of the program, artists will be able to create music NFTs among other items and store them on web3. “We 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,” added Rajamannar.
This is not Mastercard’s first foray into web3. The company has already teamed up with several crypto companies including Coinbase as it seeks to spearhead the campaign to onboard masses into the world of NFTs.
“This past year was big for us, with experimental web3 activations around the world,” Rajamannar said.
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