7 June 2022

by Glenn Kaonang

Mariah Carey Launches NFT with a Real-life Experience Tie-in

Holder of Mariah Carey’s one-of-a-kind NFT is entitled to spend some time with the singer herself

NFTs continue to be a very popular medium to drive fan engagement among musicians. Mariah Carey is the latest world-class musician to jump on the NFT bandwagon. The Grammy Award-winning singer recently announced through social media the launch of her very first NFT: a 1/1 invitation to accompany Carey to the Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

The NFT functions sort of like a flight boarding pass. It's even visually designed as one of a fictional "Butterfly Airways", with Carey's signature "pink-yet-lavender" colorway, and some glittery accents on top of it. The animated image is accompanied by a custom audio recording of Carey herself, saying "Prepare to fly".

Owning this one-of-a-kind NFT will grant the holder (and an extra guest) a private jet ride with Carey from Atlanta to New York on June 15. There the holder will enjoy a two-night hotel stay, and is expected to accompany Carey to a ceremony on June 15, where the legendary diva will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. What's more, according to RollingStone, the holder will also get to sit with Carey at her table during the actual induction ceremony.

In launching the NFT, Carey is teaming up with Web3 social engagement platform Geojam, to which she is an investor and executive advisor. The NFT is being offered via an auction through Geojam's platform, which will end on June 9. The bidding will be done with Geojam's crypto token $JAM, with a minimum bid starting at $5,000. At the time of writing, there's already one bid at 658,000 JAM, or around $5,003.

A portion of the sale proceeds will be donated to two charities: Make-A-Wish and The Fresh Air Fund. In a statement to RollingStone, Carey said that the charitable component and the Songwriters Hall of Fame tie-in are what made her eager to launch this NFT project.

NFTs as special free passes to some events are nothing new, especially given that NFTs are very good at representing ownership over something. In Indonesia, annual music festival Synchronize Fest recently handed out special NFT tickets that grant holders lifetime free access to all of its future events.