This year started on a musical note for Mastercard with the launch of the Mastercard Artist Accelerator in April, a Web3-based program supporting emerging artists. So far, the results are music to Mastercard\u2019s ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The financial payment processor\u2019s bullish Web3 investments have positioned Mastercard as a technologically advanced company that has led to a positive revenue impact, Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard\u2019s chief marketing and communications officer, told Adweek. This was especially the case among Gen Z audiences, who showed a proclivity for selecting Mastercard for its products or services when making purchasing decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Web3, driven by technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality, blockchain, cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has lost some of its charm within the ad industry. According to data from NFT aggregator CryptoSlam, NFT sales in July amounted to $495.6 million, a 23% decline from the previous month\u2019s total of $646.1 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Mastercard, NFTs still present a multitude of possibilities for marketers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA couple of years ago the NFT market experienced explosive growth, generating headlines and selling for tens of thousands, even millions of dollars,\u201d he told Adweek. \u201cAs this market has matured, we\u2019ve seen the cooling of vanity NFTs in favor of utility NFTs. An example would be tokens that unlock gated content or rewards [in the Artist Accelerator program].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mastercard\u2019s Artist Accelerator program, built on the Polygon blockchain, featured global five artists who livestreamed shows presented by Billboard, marking their debut of the AI-driven singles produced through the program<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To that, the community-focused Web3 program opened up new revenue streams for nearly 100,000 music artists who used the platform to access free educational materials, create generative AI music and mint NFTs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of the 100,000 platform sign-ups, 5,000 participants used the platform resources to learn how to mint their own NFT music tracks, according to Rajamannar. The platform also taught musicians how to use NFTs to forge stronger fan connections, such as rewarding those who claim their token with discounts on future album releases or exclusive private concerts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we continue to experiment with Web3 and NFTs. Our focus right now is ensuring our NFTs have a compelling utility,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five artists selected by Mastercard to chronicle their journey using the platform\u2019s Web3 capabilities, who otherwise struggled with discoverability, collectively grew their fan following on platforms like Spotify by 73,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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