MUUS COLLECTIVE ANNOUNCES PARTICIPATION IN THE INAUGURAL WEB3 MUSIC ACCELERATOR PROGRAM WITH WARNER MUSIC GROUP AND POLYGON LABS TO POWER THE NEXT GREAT EVOLUTION OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY THROUGH BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Muus Collective, Inc. ("Muus"), an entertainment studio creating experiences that span mobile games and digital collectibles, announced today that they are the recipient of the groundbreaking Web3 Music Accelerator program led by Warner Music Group (Nasdaq: WMG), the global music and entertainment company, and Polygon Labs, a growth and development team in support of the Polygon network. The program, announced this summer, aims to power the next generation of innovation at the intersection of Web3 and music. Polygon Labs and WMG have selected Muus Collective and MITH for the Accelerator, two projects building the future of the music x Web3 ecosystem on the Polygon network.

Muus Collective, founded by Sarah Fuchs and Amber Bezahler, brings together like-minded communities over a love of style. They have created a playable platform for engagement, inspiration, and connection. Muus Collective experiences are enhanced with digital collectibles that unlock new possibilities for self-expression and reward communities for their engagement. Their inaugural fashion game, built in partnership with next-generation retailer REVOLVE, is set to launch in Q2 2024. Muus' Board of Advisors includes pop culture personality and Web3 innovator Paris Hilton and actor, writer, and well-known gamer Felicia Day. 

"We are honored to have been selected as part of the inaugural class of this accelerator program," said Amber Bezahler, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Muus Collective. "Music and fashion have long been inextricably linked, and we see a wealth of opportunity to explore this relationship in a gamified virtual environment where players interact and express themselves with both music and fashion. We are thrilled to collaborate with Warner Music Group and Polygon Labs as we build the next era of music creation and expression through our gamified lifestyle experiences." 

MITH is a first-of-its-kind fan engagement platform built in partnership with leading creatives including Jack Harlow, Emilia Clarke, and Halle Berry. The company's proprietary technology stack includes commerce, streams, threads and rewards and incentive perks based on membership tier, purchases, POAPs, or community engagement. As a central feature, MITH's platform will offer artists the ability to unlock AI-driven insights and analytics from artist-owned first-party data on their audiences, providing a 360° view of each fan. MITH was co-founded by a team of industry veterans from entertainment, including Michelle Sanchez, Natalie Bruss, Lillian Marsh, Matty Ayers, and Peter Micelli. In December 2023, they unveiled their inaugural pilot with multiple GRAMMY-nominated artist Jack Harlow called Private Garden.

"We are deeply appreciative to have a shared vision with WMG and Polygon Labs on the transformative potential of on-chain fandom. This represents a paradigm shift in the way we perceive and cultivate artist-fan relationships," said MITH CEO and Co-Founder, Michelle Sanchez.  "MITH is dedicated to empowering artists with dynamic community tools under a unified platform. This approach effectively addresses the fragmentation of fan experiences by enabling artists to capture first-party data, such as fan attendance, interactions, purchases, and overall engagement. This data can ultimately enhance hyper-personalized experiences for their superfans, offering an unprecedented level of recognition and rewards for their loyalty."

Each recipient will receive support through the Accelerator program, including an industry-leading endorsement from two entities driving the future of music and blockchain, respectively. In addition, selected projects will be eligible for a range of support from the best in the music and blockchain businesses, including mentorship and check-ins, strategic advising, networking and connection creation, and marketing and promotion.

Additionally, Accelerator recipients will have access to the Polygon x WMG Developer Support Cohort, a community of blockchain infrastructure developers partnering with projects building the future of the Web3 music industry. These developers will offer service / product discounts, vouchers, and premium benefits to recipients. Members of the Developer Support Cohort include Opolis, CertiK, 4Everland, Blocto, Coinflow, Crossmint, Decent, Tatum, thirdweb, Wonderverse, and Zeeve. You can learn more about the cohort and their support offerings on the Polygon Blog.

"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," said Jillian Rothman, Vice President, New Business & Ventures, WMG. "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."

"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," said Brian Trunzo, Head of Business Development, North America, at Polygon Labs. "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."

More than 120 applications were received from companies and entrepreneurs operating at the intersection of music, technology, and Web3. Evaluation criteria focused on various areas such as fostering artist-fan communities, establishing decentralized music production and distribution systems, innovating ticketing solutions, exploring music-related merchandise and digital/physical collectibles, and integrating music with interactive technology and gaming.

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About Muus Collective
Muus Collective is an entertainment studio creating community-driven, fashion-centric experiences that span mobile games and digital collectibles. Muus Collective is developing its inaugural Web3-enabled mobile game that empowers players to find inspiration, create and grow a following, with an anticipated launch in Q2 2024. For more information, visit https://www.muuscollective.com.

About Warner Music Group
With a legacy extending back over 200 years, Warner Music Group (WMG) today brings together artists, songwriters, and entrepreneurs that are moving entertainment culture across the globe. Operating in more than 70 countries through a network of affiliates and licensees, WMG's Recorded Music division includes renowned labels such as 10K Projects, 300 Entertainment, Asylum, Atlantic, Big Beat, Canvasback, Elektra, Erato, First Night, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Rhino, Roadrunner, Sire, Spinnin', Warner Records, Warner Classics, and Warner Music Nashville. WMG's music publishing arm, Warner Chappell Music, has a catalog of over one million copyrights spanning every musical genre, from the standards of the Great American Songbook to the biggest hits of the 21st century. Warner Music Group is also home to ADA, the independent artist and label services company – as well as next gen artist services division WMX, which includes consumer brands such as Songkick, the live music app; EMP, the merchandise e-tailer; UPROXX, the youth culture destination; and HipHopDX, the hip-hop music news site. In addition, WMG counts storytelling powerhouse Warner Music Entertainment and social media content creator IMGN among its many brands. Follow WMG on Instagram, X, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

About Polygon Labs
Polygon Labs develops Ethereum scaling solutions for Polygon protocols. Polygon Labs engages with other ecosystem developers to help make available scalable, affordable, secure, and sustainable blockchain infrastructure for Web3. Polygon Labs has initially developed a growing suite of protocols for developers to gain easy access to major scaling solutions, including Layer 2s (zero-knowledge rollups), sidechains, app-specific chains and data availability protocols. Scaling solutions that Polygon Labs initially developed have seen widespread adoption with tens of thousands of decentralized apps, unique addresses exceeding 391 million, 1.9 million smart contracts created, and 3.3 billion total transactions processed since inception. The existing Polygon network is home for some of the biggest Web3 projects, such as Aave, Uniswap, and OpenSea, and well-known enterprises, including Adidas, Stripe, and Adobe. Polygon Labs is carbon neutral with the goal of leading Web3 in becoming carbon negative.

If you're an Ethereum Developer, you're already a Polygon developer! Leverage Polygon's fast and secure txns for dApps you develop, get started here.

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SOURCE Muus Collective