Mastercard Launches Free NFTs with Access to Artist Accelerator

The Mastercard Music Pass NFT, which is free to mint and developed in coordination with Polygon, is a digital collectible that allows artists to access the Mastercard Artist Accelerator program launched in January. The company announced the drop during the annual NFT NYC conference. NFTs can be minted for free through the end of April.

Collectors who own the Mastercard Pass will have a chance to win access to an AI-powered music generator app as well as educational content and live concerts featuring artists in the company’s Accelerator program in June. For the artists, the program is designed to aid them in their quest to better utilise Web3 and blockchain tech to enhance their earnings and widen their fan base.

Artists participating in the accelerator include Grammy Award-winning artist Coco Sarai, R&B singer Young Athena, Latin Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Manu Manju, Nigerian recording artist LeriQ and musician Emily Vu. Mentors of the program are Polygon’s Head of Business Development Brian Trunzo, and rapper/Zora’s Head of Programming Latashá among others.

Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer and president of health-care business at Mastercard, said in a press release that providing Web3 education is a key motivator for the company’s new NFTs and accelerator program.

“As a company, we hope to help people and partners around the world better understand and trust how blockchain and digital assets are used, and how our technology can support the ecosystem. We also believe that Web3 can be a powerful tool in connecting people and building communities around shared universal passions.”

This isn’t the first time Mastercard has ventured into the world of blockchains. In September 2021, Mastercard released a sports-focused NFT collection in partnership with football super coach Jose Mourinho. Moreover, the payments company has also created crypto-accessible debit cards alongside Polygon and Web3 startup Hi.

Overall, Mastercard’s most recent move into Web3 shows a high level of conviction towards the industry from one of the world’s largest payment processing firms. We continue to observe.