By releasing each of the rising artist songs as an NFT, rather than through a larger and more traditional record deal, each artist can immediately benefit from the sale of their NFT and begin earning a steady income from the streaming royalties. And, as the songs become more successful, consumers who purchased the NFT will see the value of their digital asset increase and share in the artist’s success via personalized streaming royalties. Consumers also receive monthly emails detailing their personalized streaming numbers, repeatedly incentivizing them to promote the rising artists and increase their own profits.

A recent Recording Academy study found that only 2% of all music producers are women, with only a third of record labels featuring any female talent on their rosters at all. As a staple of Caribbean culture and the music born from it, BACARDI decided to take a stand. Without the support of a label, how do rising women break through?

By investing in this next generation of beatmakers through the purchase of an NFT track, buyers become incentivized and share in the success as the music gains popularity. Because included with every NFT track purchase, fans receive a monthly percentage of the song’s streaming royalty payments. So the more the tracks get played, the more the rising producers and their fans make, thanks to the NFT “smart contract” (a self-executing transaction protocol built into the code on the blockchain).

Working with STEM (a distribution & payments solution for artists), we’re able to track the streaming performance of each track – where it’s played in the world and on which platforms. Using this data, our NFT smart contract then divides up those royalty payouts between the artist and all the consumers who purchased one.

Using the song streaming data (via STEM), our NFT “smart contract” (a self-executing transaction protocol built into the code on the blockchain) then divides up the song’s royalty payouts between the producers and all the consumers who purchased their NFTs. Based on the number of token (NFT) holders and song plays each month, “fanvestors” receive an email detailing the song’s popularity and reach, as well as their personalized earnings.

As a result of the data-driven program, $115k was raised in just ten days, brand and artist mentions increased by 237%, and 560 personalized NFTs were sold in 124 different countries.

The campaign has increased artist mentions by 237% and established connection with 100% positive sentiment with a new generation of fans within the web3 community.

The effort has also garnered the brand and artists over 672M media impressions to date with placements in Forbes, The Verge, and Variety, touting it as a promising new revenue model being adopted by other independent artists every day. Even spawning a handful of new startups using the same model (sound.xyz, royal.io).

Altogether, the campaign earned the category’s largest share of voice, making BACARDI the most talked about spirits brand in the world, while most importantly, putting more talented women in the spotlight and music studio.