Jack Harlow concertgoers scanned QR codes on their phones before entering the multi-platinum rapper show in Lexington, Kentucky, on Monday.
What they may not have known was how their participation was facilitated by blockchain technology.
MITH is a Polygon-based fan engagement startup that partnered with Harlow to offer VIP tickets to the rapper’s recent mini-tour in Kentucky. The company created on-chain registrations of participation in the shows, but the founders told Blockworks that they are taking a “mullet” approach to onboarding users – Web2 in the front, Web3 in the back.
In the future, MITH will launch platforms for creatives to monetize fan interactions and for fans to collect rewards and collectibles – with the on-chain pieces happening behind the scenes.
Incubated by Range Media Partners in 2022, MITH came out of stealth in late November after Jack Harlow debuted his MITH-powered website where fans could purchase premium experience tickets for his upcoming slate of shows.
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MITH validated the tickets with Tokenproof, an on-chain ticketing protocol, so fans had the option to add their ticket to a crypto wallet but only had to scan a QR code to enter.
Private Garden members check-in for the final stop of the No Place Like Home Tour – big thanks to our friends at @tokenproof pic.twitter.com/YPuByo4eqh
— MITH (@OnlywithMITH) December 3, 2023
MITH did not pay Harlow for his use of the platform, the company’s co-founders told Blockworks, saying he “wanted to advise on the future” of the product and “benefit.”
Shortly after Harlow’s website went down, Axios reported that MITH had raised $3.5 million in seed funding with participation from Warner Music Group, Winklevoss Capital and the NEAR Foundation, among others.
MITH initially built a more complex platform for Harlow before the rapper asked the company to scale back the “Private Garden” website and focus only on tickets, Sanchez said.
A demo of the scrapped site, which is more in line with MITH’s broader vision for the platform, shows Harlow and other creators where they can create membership tiers. For example, creators can open live streams or chat rooms depending on how much fans pay. Purchasing behavior and fan engagement all take place on-chain, but otherwise the platform has a Web2 look.
“Jack is creating smart contracts here without even knowing it,” Sanchez said of the tiered membership site.
MITH has a post-FTX sensibility, said co-founder Matty Ayers, focusing on the technological possibilities that blockchain unlocks without letting lay perceptions about crypto turn off users.
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“We’ll create a wallet for you, and we won’t even tell you,” Ayers said. “When you focus on ‘wallet’ it gives you a certain feeling. When you focus on ‘account’, like this is my profile, it’s a completely different feeling.”
Emilia Clarke and Halle Berry are currently advisors on the project along with Harlow, and Sanchez said MITH plans to open up “self-service” to more makers in the first half of 2024. Ayers said MITH is also working on “co-creation” where fans can create derivative works started by popular creatives, and monetization and intellectual property rights are handled via blockchain.
MITH’s founders believe that the best applications of blockchain technology for fan engagement will eventually make it to market.
“We are meeting some major players in the digital identity space that we are connected to [layer-1s] and we say: ‘Are you going to jump into the future with us?’ These are not speculative assets. It’s about participation and playing in a playground and testing tools and assumptions,” Ayers said.