Polygon Labs and Warner Music Group Accelerate Web3 Evolution in Music
In collaboration with Warner Music Group (WMG), Polygon Labs has unveiled the two grant recipients for the inaugural Web3 Music Accelerator program. The initiative, announced in June 2023, aims to foster innovation at the intersection of Web3 and the music industry.
The Web3 Music Accelerator program offers endorsements from WMG and Polygon Labs, strategic advice, networking opportunities, and marketing and promotion support, and it is backed by blockchain infrastructure developers like CertiK, Coinflow, and Tatum.
Over 120 applications were submitted for the program, and the selected projects were chosen based on various criteria, including nurturing artist-fan communities, decentralized music production and distribution systems, ticketing solutions, collectibles and merchandise, and integrating music with interactive technology and gaming.
According to WMG, the first recipient is MITH, a fan engagement platform that enables artists to unlock AI-driven insights and analytics while maintaining ownership of their first-party data on audiences. It aims to provide a comprehensive view of each fan, enhancing the connection between artists and their audiences.
The second recipient is the Muus Collective, which develops fashion-centric experiences, including mobile games, entertainment, and digital collectibles. This project explores the music industry’s convergence of fashion and digital experiences.
Jilian Rothman, Vice President of New Business and Ventures at WMG, emphasized the importance of providing meaningful ways for artists and fans to connect and enabling fans to express their fandom. He said,
“MITH and Muus Collective are the perfect platforms to launch with WMG and Polygon Labs’ Web3 Music Accelerator because of their fan-first approaches to building communities across music and fashion. Providing meaningful ways for artists and fans to connect, and fans to express their fandom are at the core of WMG’s mission. We’re looking forward to seeing these companies grow, and exploring mutually beneficial innovation.”
Brian Trunzo, head of business development for North America at Polygon Labs, expressed excitement about witnessing decentralized innovation moving toward mainstream adoption. He said,
“We’re excited to see how quickly decentralized innovation is moving toward becoming fully mainstream, with forward-thinking projects uniting artists and creators with their numerous fans in never-before-seen ways. Both MITH and Muus Collective are best-in-class platforms redefining what’s possible in fan community engagement, and we are thrilled to welcome them as part of the Web3 Music Accelerator program.”
Polygon Accelerates Web3 Music Platform Development with Warner Music Group Partnership
Last June, Warner Music Group (WMG) and Polygon Labs launched a pioneering music accelerator program, setting the stage to propel and co-support promising developers who are building the future of the music industry on Polygon protocols.
The Polygon ecosystem introduced a Developer Support Cohort to bolster this initiative, strategically designed to enhance accessibility to critical blockchain infrastructure, products, and services for select accelerator projects. This exclusive cohort consists of infrastructure and service providers committed to supporting the endeavor by offering special benefits such as discounts, vouchers, and premium services.
Polygon looks primed to become a hub for music-related Web3 projects. On December 6, the global entertainment giant Warner Music Group partnered with Polygon Studios and e-commerce and interactive platform builder LGN.io to build a Web3 music platform called LGND Music.
LGND Music, launched in January 2023, was designed to be a music and collectibles platform that supports “digital collectibles from any blockchain in a proprietary player,” enabling users to play their digital collectibles on the go. Around the same time, Polygon collaborated with Mastercard to initiate a Web3 accelerator program for musicians seeking to enter the space.
Web3 music platforms could disrupt the music industry and unlock new opportunities for creators and artists to innovate and monetize their content. Goldman Sachs forecast that the global music industry could be worth $131 billion by 2030, and a significant portion of that could be integrated into Web3 environments.