London & Sydney, 7th September 2021 Music tech company Serenade, which launched its groundbreaking new artist/fan-centric NFT platform earlier this month has announced its first senior executive hire in the UK.
Mike Walsh, who started his music industry career in the mid-1990’s as a radio promotions executive at Parlophone Records and later became Head of Music at XFM (now Radio X), will assume the position of UK Head of Strategic Partnerships.
A music & media consultant and artist manager, with decades of experience in broadcast, digital, and the wider music industry Mike Walsh is also a long serving Mercury Prize judge, a member of the War Child UK music committee, sits on the Liverpool City Region Music board and is on the Founding Committee of Brian Eno’s music-meets-climate-change charity EarthPercent.
Reporting to Serenade Founder and CEO Max Shand and Head of Strategic Partnerships, Clare Smith, Walsh will be based in the UK and will focus on managing existing UK industry relationships alongside new artist acquisition by further developing key stakeholder relationships with artists/managers, labels, publishers, merch companies, ticketing companies and other key industry players. He will also establish partnerships with like-minded brands across all relevant industries and will oversee brands activations, collaborations, events and festivals, and will be the company’s spokesperson in the UK.
Serenade is an eco-friendly NFT platform producing 1/44,000th of the carbon emitted by a standard NFT (or 1/10th of the energy usage of a tweet,) using a ‘Proof of Stake’ authentication method that is far more efficient than a direct-to-Ethereum ‘Proof of Work’ approach, and eliminates expensive ‘gas’ fees, the prohibitive costs that can be a major barrier to entry for anyone wanting to create affordable NFTs.
Purchases are made with a credit or debit card via Serenade’s innovative check out facility that has been designed to function like a standard e-commerce cart, where the creation of a digital wallet and the transfer of traditional payments into cryptocurrency is handled directly by the platform.
Fans join a community of like-minded music lovers where they can build a profile, showcase and chat about their collectibles, be confident they are not harming the environment, access affordable digital collectibles, and do all of this without knowing the first thing about NFT technology.
Founded by Australian tech entrepreneur and music fan Max Shand, Serenade’s mission is to enable artists to build closer relationships with fans while creating dynamic new revenue streams. This is accomplished via music-related digital collectibles including specially recorded tracks, limited edition artworks, intimate live performances, rare or unreleased gems, and unique documentary footage and material. Digital collectibles are purchased by fans as NFTs and can be collected and resold, with artists receiving an ongoing share of the revenues every time they change hands.
Serenade, which works collaboratively with record companies, music publishers, artist management companies and trade associations to ensure its platform respects rights and benefits all parties involved, will launch with an eclectic range of acclaimed artists who are offering exclusive and limited digital collectibles to their fans. These include, among others: Jungle, ArrDee, Kaiser Chiefs, Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip, The Game, Strawberries & Creem festival, Young MA, Ride, Scouting For Girls, Ladyhawke, State Champs, Super Furry Animals, Ash, S1mba, Muki and more.
Mike Walsh said, “From doing some work with Max late last year, I knew he was an exceptional entrepreneur who would use his deep passion for music to create something truly meaningful, future focused, and of very high value, for artists and fans. This is exactly what he is doing now with the eco-friendly platform that is Serenade. NFT’s will not be an overnight revolution but it is increasingly clear that blockchain technology will have an enormous positive impact on artists, and everyone in the music eco system, over the coming years. Making this nascent space as user friendly for artists and fans, as it is exciting, is what Serenade is all about. I am thrilled to be working with Max, and his incredible team in Sydney, to help move forward this whole new and growing sector of opportunity in digital collectables.”
Max Shand, Founder and CEO of Serenade, said, “It was absolutely crucial that we made the right appointment for our first senior UK hire and in Mike Walsh, who is universally respected throughout the music industry, we definitely have the right man to lead us forward in this important market. His passion for music and enthusiasm for innovative technology, alongside his deep knowledge of the NFT sector gives us enormous confidence that Serenade is in safe hands in the UK.”
Please visit www.serenade.co for more information
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notes to editors:
About Serenade
Serenade is a ground-breaking new artist/fan-centric music platform, which aims to break down the barriers to entry surrounding Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and make them easily accessible and affordable for artists and their fans.
Launched by Australian tech entrepreneur Max Shand, the eco-friendly music-based platform produces 1/44,000th of the carbon emitted by a standard NFT (or 1/10th of the energy usage of a Tweet) through an energy efficient NFT authentication method called ‘Proof of Stake,’ a counterpoint to the standard Ethereum ‘Proof of Work’ method.
Purchases are made using a Debit/Credit card via Serenade’s check out facility, designed to function as a standard ecommerce site, with the platform handling the creation of a digital wallet and transfer of traditional payments into crypto currency.
Serenade launched in August 2021 with music-related digital collectibles that included unreleased tracks, limited edition artwork and VIP ticketing and experiences.
Serenade’s Environmental Credentials Explained
Serenade NFT emits just 1/10th of the carbon of a tweet, which comes to 1/44,000th of the footprint of a normal NFT. We do this through an energy efficient NFT authentication method called ‘Proof of Stake,’ a counterpoint to the standard Ethereum ‘Proof of Work’ method.
This marked improvement is a result of the Serenade platform being built on top of a layer 2 blockchain called Polygon. Polygon has a trusted relationship with Ethereum, which means it doesn’t have to go through the exhaustive process of proving every single NFT transaction to the blockchain, but rather achieves this via collective proofs.
Not only does this lead to far better ecological outcomes, but it lowers the cost of creating NFTs so artists can be free to produce more work for their fanbases without bearing any gas fees.
J & T of Jungle said, “We made sure to work with a company caring about the environment. Our NFTs are 1/10 of the carbon footprint of a tweet.”
