Mastercard to Launch Web3 Artist Incubator on the Polygon Blockchain

At the Consumer Electronics Show on Friday in Las Vegas, Nevada, Mastercard said that the Mastercard Artist Accelerator will be made available using the Polygon blockchain.

The program's goal is to instruct musicians on how to grow their brands by creating a community, minting NFTs, and developing an online presence. The accelerator will end later this year with a live-streamed artist presentation, according to Mastercard, which has not yet disclosed who will take part in the program. 

By leveraging the accelerator to link musicians from across the world with mentors in Web3, Mastercard claims the objective is to establish a venue for music content creation, collaboration, and ownership.

“A first-of-its-kind curriculum will teach the artists how to build (and own) their brand through Web3 experiences like minting NFTs, representing themselves in virtual worlds and establishing an engaged community,” said Mastercard in the press release. 

With the help of the Mastercard Artist Accelerator, five up-and-coming artists—including musicians, DJs, and producers—will be given the resources, access, and tools necessary to build out successful careers in the digital music industry. The performers will have privileged access to events, new music releases, and more.

"Kicking off in spring 2023, the Mastercard Artist Accelerator will prepare five emerging artists—such as musicians, DJs, producers—with the tools, skills, and access to forge their own musical paths in the digital economy," said Mastercard.

The accelerator, according to Mastercard’s press release, will come with a limited edition NFT called "The Mastercard Music Pass," which the company claims would grant owners access to special resources, physical and digital experiences, and exclusive music instructional materials.

Despite the fact that it seems like we just rang in the new year, Polygon has been busy since then, building on its 2022 success.

Last month, NFTpay, a Miami-based Web3 platform, enabled NFT vendors to accept credit card payments for projects on the Polygon sidechain. 

Also in December, Warner Music Group and Web3 music company LGND announced a multi-year cooperation that would let artists registered to its labels to issue music NFTs through the future Polygon-based marketplace LGND Music. 

Last but not least, The Windows media player Winamp has added music NFTs to its platform in its most recent release. Users of Winamp's new functionality will be able to listen to audio files that have been encoded in their non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The partnership between Mastercard and Polygon to develop a Web3 music incubator is significant, because it demonstrates that Polygon is building on its momentum from 2022. We'll be watching for more developments in the story here at NFT Drops Calendar.

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