Nucast: Music Video Festival 2026

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

Nucast: Music Video Festival 2026

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

60000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

9

[Proposal Summary] Translation Information

Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated

No

Original Language

en

[Proposal Summary] Problem Statement

What is the problem you want to solve?

Cardano needs more digital and IRL events that feel less like traditional blockchain or DeFi gatherings and more like engaging, memorable experiences.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://app.nucast.io/fest/vote/848a2d4d-5874-48df-9cf2-2f66228a163b
,
• https://app.nucast.io/fest/overview/c0e53c3d-18a1-4cd2-817f-df022c406f86
,
• https://app.nucast.io/fest/overview/3f29d503-e1b5-4b95-8548-8ad9f9349022

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

No Dependencies

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

Yes

License and Additional Information

The toolings used by us for this project will be fully open-source, but the Submissions by the artists are their intellectual property and will only be visible under permissible circumstances.

[Theme Selection] Theme

Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal

Events

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Who you’re targeting, how you’ll reach them, and why this matters for Cardano.

Artists and Audiences: Specifically, the festival targets artists who create music videos and audiences who consume and enjoy them.

Crypto and Non-Crypto Users: The festival aims to attract a broad audience, including both individuals already familiar with cryptocurrency and blockchain, as well as those who are not.

Dedicated Landing Page, Promotional Marketing Materials, Social Media Accounts and Maintenance, Paid Campaigning, Partnership with Newm, Cardano Community and CF14 Support, Targeted Ads.

Provide a list of key activities of your project?

The Annual Music Video Fest consists of the following:

Dedicated landing page

Teasing and announcement schedule

NFT collectible tickets – retrospective utility can be added

Promotional marketing materials

Social media accounts and maintenance

Paid campaigning

What are your success metrics?

We will conduct the Event that will collect Music Video from artists and then interaction from audience in form of voting and deciding a winner.

The submission rate of Music video and participation from the audience are the key matrix.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

Music Video Festival is a collaborative, recurring digital Cardano event put on by nucast and Newm. The event, which has been running for 3 years now, is a powerful platform for showcasing Cardano’s tech and demonstrating the potential for blockchain-based experiences to engage a wider audience than traditional convention-style events.

MVF combines music, video artistry and smart-contract utility to deliver a dynamic, interactive experience that transforms the way artists and attendees interact. The model has a baked-in robust marketing component for Cardano as artists benefit directly from promoting the event to their audiences.

Artists submit their music videos for consideration and after a QA compliance filtering process, the finalist videos are available for streaming on nucast. Participants vote via the blockchain and winners are selected based on the results of the vote.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

Music Video Fest broadens the Cardano ecosystem by introducing engaging, entertaining touchpoints for users that transcend traditional blockchain and DeFi events. With a focus on accessibility, we successfully bring new audiences into the Cardano ecosystem without overwhelming or intimidating technical complexities. Leveraging NMKR and NMKR Pay, their fiat on-ramp for NFT Ticketing creates a frictionless experience that allows us to capture a diverse audience that doesn’t require prior knowledge of blockchain.

[Your Project and Solution] Capabilities & Feasibility

What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

The Nucast team has a proven track record of successfully delivering on catalyst proposals/projects and demonstrating our capability to execute with high levels of trust and accountability to the Cardano Community.

Our commitment to transparency has strengthened our standing as an accountable team. We maintain and nurture open lines of communication through all of our community channels, and support a culture of mindful listening where community members feel heard.

We also consistently share our code and development progress with the wider ecosystem, underscoring our dedication to open-source principles and community engagement. This level of openness encourages community feedback and critique, enabling continuous improvement and bolstering the reliability of our software.

We have also organized the team responsible for the delivery of this initiative and prioritized the work on our product roadmap such that required resourcing and all necessary skill sets would be available to implement immediately upon receiving project approval.

Our past successful Catalyst fund proposals, our continued achievement with adapting and bridging industry gaps and our commitment to transparent communication and code delivery provide a robust basis that ensures our ability to deliver this with trust and reliability.

The Nucast team has a proven history hosting the Music Video Festival three times in partnership with NEWM and NMKR previously demonstrated our ability to engage audiences, manage NFT ticketing and voting, and coordinate multiple stakeholders.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Music Video Festival Concept & Report

Milestone Outputs

Concept report which will show overall objectives, complete festival structure planning, marketing strategies, marketing asset needs, timeline planning, prizes, partnerships, best practices (learnings)

Social media channels, comprehensive festival details, and establishing guidelines and criteria for artist submissions and participation.

Acceptance Criteria

The intended outcome is a report that shows the concept of a music video festival concept and how we might be able to achieve it on an annual basis. and will include items including Overall objectives, Complete festival structure planning, Marketing strategies, Marketing asset needs, Timeline planning, Prizes, Partnerships, Best practices (learnings), Social media channels, Comprehensive festival details, Competition guidelines, Ticketing workflow.

Evidence of Completion

Report submitted documentation detailing:

• Overall objectives,
• Complete festival structure planning
• Marketing strategies
• Marketing asset needs
• Timeline planning
• Prizes
• Partnerships
• Best practices (learnings)
• Social media channels
• Comprehensive festival details
• Competition guidelines
• Ticketing workflow

Delivery Month

2

Cost

18000

Progress

20 %

Milestone Title

Creative Assets and Marketing Material Creation

Milestone Outputs

Landing Figma page for the Music Video Festival 2026, marketing assets might include copywriting claims, logo, messaging, branding, videos, banners, posters, and all other necessary text and visual content depending on the strategies developed in an earlier phase. Starting the marketing campaign designed to maximise reach and engagement, which will utilise various channels such as social media, influencers, and targeted ads to promote the festival and attract diverse participants, updates, and behind-the-scenes content.

Acceptance Criteria

The reviewers will have access to all the marketing content used for populating the websites, the marketing campaign, and the design Figma containing Copywriting claims, Messaging, Branding, Videos, Banners, Posters and all other necessary text and visual content depending on the strategy.

Evidence of Completion

1. Figma
2. Link to the Marketing material (Present the assets that will be used for the marketing campaign in this and the next Milestone)

• Copywriting claims
• Messaging
• Branding
• Videos
• Banners
• Posters and all other necessary text and visual content depending on the strategy

Delivery Month

5

Cost

18000

Progress

50 %

Milestone Title

Festival Launch

Milestone Outputs

Organisation of the event and Official launching of the Yearly music video festival where the artist's submission goes live on the website, the public can purchase the Tickets and later cast the votes, and the winners are decided, featuring:

• Full utilisation of the tickets for access and voting within the festival.
• Real-time support and engagement during the launch, including:
• Live updates and support are available for any technical issues.
• Engagement activities to keep the audience involved throughout the event.

Acceptance Criteria

Success starts with participation from artists and audience members.

An web3 wallet based mechanism ready for public interaction, ensuring a smooth user experience.

Prizes paid out - blockchain proof of payment.

Evidence of Completion

Link to the live website (filmfreeway + MVF)

Announcement links

Marketing links

Voting proof

Participation proof of the artists

Prize payout or reserve

Delivery Month

8

Cost

15000

Progress

80 %

Milestone Title

Close-out

Milestone Outputs

Though the main component of the Music Video Festival will be finished by the previous milestone, this is compulsory milestone that we conclude as the last milestoneinal by submitting

• close-out report
• Final closeout video

Acceptance Criteria

The acceptance criteria will be the availability of the compulsory report and video in the form of a

• close-out report. (available in Google Doc)
• Final closeout video. (available as Youtube Video)

Evidence of Completion

• Link to final closeout report
• Link to final closeout video

The link for these will be available on Google Docs and Youtube

Delivery Month

9

Cost

9000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Project Lead: 2000 ADA x 9 Months = 18,000 ADA

UI/UX Designer: 2,000 ADA × 7 months = 14000 ADA

Developer Frontend & Backend: 5,000 ADA × 3 months = 15,000 ADA

Cardano Devloper : 4,000 ADA x 3 months = 12,000 ADA

Contingencies: 1000 ADA

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?

Given the nature of our target audience, each participant will have a multiplier effect, leading to increased user acquisition within the Cardano ecosystem. This event engages both current and future Cardano participants by providing a platform to connect, interact, and utilize Cardano's native asset standards.

We follow a lean development approach, prioritizing features and improvements based on community, partner, and user feedback, ensuring a cost-effective use of funds. By leveraging a geographically diverse team across the US, canada, and India, we optimize development costs while maintaining high-quality output and efficiency.

Our commitment to transparency and strategic budgeting ensures that the Music Video Festival delivers exceptional value to the Cardano ecosystem. By attracting a broad range of artists and fans, the festival will drive significant on-chain activity through voting and engagement with Cardano-native assets, boosting transaction volume and showcasing the blockchain’s utility in the creative sector.

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

Terms and Conditions:

Yes