The archive · Business Models · Strategic decision · 2021-2022
Bacardi's NFT mixtape lets fans own a share of streaming royalties
Bacardi and Boi-1da launched an NFT mixtape where buying a track makes fans investors who share streaming royalties via smart contract.
Bacardi
What it had to solve
Bacardi's Music Liberates Music platform teamed up with rising beatmakers Bambii, Denise De'ion and Perfxn, amplified by Grammy-winning producer Boi-1da, to launch a mixtape that bypasses the traditional record label model.
How it works
Bacardi's Music Liberates Music platform set out to back rising beatmakers Bambii, Denise De'ion and Perfxn, amplified by Grammy-winning artist Boi-1da, and to do it without the traditional record label model.
The answer was a first-to-market NFT mixtape. Each buyer invests in the next generation of producers by purchasing an animated NFT and its track, then shares in the artist's success: a smart contract on the blockchain increases their streaming payouts as the music gains popularity.
Thousands of passionate fans took the place a label would occupy, owning a piece of the songs rather than just listening to them. The work is archived by D&AD as the first NFT mixtape of its kind.
Why it lands
- Buying an NFT makes support concrete: fans hold a stake in the artist, not just a stream.
- A smart contract automates royalty splits, so payouts keep flowing without a label as middleman.
- Pairing rising beatmakers with Boi-1da's amplification gave the tracks an audience before the NFT sale began.
What it did
The mixtape made fandom a financial stake in new music: owners automatically receive a share of streaming royalties as tracks gain popularity. The work is archived by D&AD as the first NFT mixtape of its kind.
What you can take
Instead of selling fans a product, let them own a slice of the product's future: smart-contract royalties turned listeners into investors and funded artists without a label.
Since then
The mixtape launched in October 2021 as the latest iteration of Bacardi's Music Liberates Music program, which champions underrepresented voices in music. It is archived by D&AD as an early example of a brand using blockchain royalties to fund new artists.
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