Serenade completes pivot from NFTs to physical ‘smart formats’

Australian startup Serenade was one of the most prominent firms in the brief music-NFTs boom, but after the hype cooled it was acquired by Vinyl Group in September 2024. Like many of its peers, the company has also pivoted away from NFTs – a process completed today with the launch of Serenade’s new ‘smart formats’ platform.

The focus is now on helping artists and labels sell “physical-digital” products, where fans buy something physical to unlock digital music and content, with the sales often being chart-eligible. Burna Boy mini-cassettes, Craig David lanyards, Mariah Carey clothing tags and a Babymetal magazine cover are among the examples so far.

What’s new today is a white-label platform for all this, making it easier for clients to “sell music, drive chart performance, and build fan loyalty”. Serenade has also appointed new staff – sales lead Matt Drayton and operations and product lead Jamie Parmenter – to fuel its growth.