Serenade Launches Smart Events and Wallet Pass, Expands UK Team

Serenade has this week announced the expansion of its Smart Formats suite with the launch of two new products — Smart Events and Wallet Pass — alongside some new appointments 

The UK-based music tech platform is using the new tools to extend its NFC-enabled engagement model beyond chart campaigns to live events and touring. According to the group, Smart Events deploys smart stickers at conferences, festivals, and activations to create direct digital channels between organisers and attendees, while Wallet Pass integrates with Apple Wallet and Google Wallet to deliver artist notifications and behavioural data to artist teams.

Among its early Smart Events deployments, Serenade partnered with Liverpool Sound City for the 2026 conference, embedding smart stickers on delegate lanyards to push live updates, short-form video clips from talks as they happened, and sponsor offers directly to attendees throughout the event. The technology has also been applied to tour experiences for Diversity and Take That, with smart stickers on VIP tickets delivering behind-the-scenes content, personal messages, and real-time updates to fans after they leave the venue.

Meanwhile, Serenade has also this week announced Zoe Warshaw as Senior Partnerships & Marketing Manager and the promotion of Matt Drayton to Head of Strategic Partnerships.

Warshaw has previously worked at major and independent labels, and held roles at The Orchard, AWAL, and RCA, where she worked on campaigns for Jack White, Lewis Capaldi, and Sugababes. She will be responsible for artist, management, and label partnerships across the UK and Europe.

Drayton's expanded remit as Head of Strategic Partnerships extends his reach across Serenade, Vinyl.com, and Vampr — the three platform businesses within ASX-listed Vinyl Group.

"Continuing a successful period of evolution at Serenade, Zoe brings a rich wealth of industry experience to expertly meet increasing demand from UK and European artists, managers and labels seeking a more creative way to support chart campaigns, deepen fan engagement and enhance live moments through our choice of smart products for multiple music experiences," General Manager at Serenade and Vinyl.com, Germán Rodrigo, said.

“Central to building the partnerships function to this point, Matt's broadened global role gives us a stronger bridge across Serenade, Vinyl.com and Vampr as we look for more opportunities to support artists and their teams across the wider Vinyl Group.”

The announcements follow a strong first half of 2026 for Serenade, which recorded No.1 campaigns across the Official Albums, Downloads, Independent, Rock, and Indie Album Breakers charts. Recent campaigns include Maisie Peters with a smart pin badge, The Covasettes with a smart tour poster, and Billy Lockett and Blue with smart lanyards.