Global payments giant Mastercard is adding blockchain technology yet again, after announcing a Polygon-based accelerator program to help musicians build their careers through Web3.
The company announced the “Mastercard Artist Accelerator” program through a blog post on January 7, explaining that starting this spring, it will connect five emerging musicians from around the world with mentors who will help them set up their brands in the Web3 music space.
“Artists will get exclusive access to special events, music releases and more. The first curriculum will teach artists how to build (and own) a brand through Web3 experiences like printing NFTs, representing themselves in the virtual world. and creating a community that join,” the post read.
The program will culminate with a live-streamed artist performance at the end of the year.
We like to expand our musical footprint with releases #Web3-based Mastercard Artist Accelerator, announced today #CES! The new platform will help new artists pursue their passion and accelerate their music careers. https://t.co/ckwiqCV3Ob
– Mastercard News (@MastercardNews) January 6, 2023
Mastercard also launched a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFT) called “Mastercard Music Pass” for those not selected for the program. The goal is to provide hodlers with educational materials and “unique resources” through brand collaborations to help would-be musicians learn about Web3 integration with the music sector.
Commenting as part of the announcement, Polygon Studios CEO Ryan Watt noted that “Web3 has the potential to empower a new type of artist who can develop a fan base, make a living, and introduce novel media for self-expression and connection on their own terms. .”
Polygon looks poised to become a hub for music-related Web3 projects. On December 6, Cointelegraph reported that global entertainment giant Warner Music Group has partnered with Polygon Studios and e-commerce and interactive platform builder LGN.io, to build a Web3 music platform called LGND Music.
The platform is slated to launch this month and will allow users to stream music and collect and trade music NFTs.
Related: Mastercard adds 7 blockchain startups to crypto accelerator
Mastercard has actively continued its involvement in the blockchain and crypto sectors. In January 2022, Mastercard merged with Coinbase to enable the use of Mastercard cards to purchase NFTs on the Coinbase marketplace.
By mid-October 2022, Mastercard is partnering with Paxos to allow banks to offer cryptocurrency trading and related services to their customers.
While in the same month, Cointelegraph also reported that Mastercard has launched a crypto fraud protection tool that allows banks to detect and prevent fraud on crypto merchant platforms on the network.