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2025
WE CAN LITERALLY BULLY VENTURE BACKED STARTUPS INTO GIVING US THEIR MONEY. FULL STOP. THIS WEEK SHOWS EXACTLY HOW VALUABLE REAL EVM USERS ARE TO PLATFORMS. THEY POURED SO MUCH MONEY INTO THIS ECOSYSTEM. THE COOL USERS THEY DREAMT ABOUT DID NOT SHOW UP. THEY ARE LITERALLY FLYING AROUND THE WORLD LOOKING FOR THE USERS.
YOU CAN JUST GO PRINT MONEY ON SOLANA. MAKE EVM PLATFORMS OFFER YOU A BETTER VALUE PROPOSITION. IF THEY CAN’T, STOP ENGAGING WITH THE WHOLE ECOSYSTEM. I MADE LIKE 500 DOLLARS ON SOLANA WHILE I WAS TYPING THIS WITHOUT EVEN DOING ANYTHING.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO PRETEND TO LIKE THE VIBES ANYMORE. YOU DON’T HAVE TO PRETEND TO RESPECT THE BUILDORS ANYMORE. GIVE THEM THE USERS THEY ARE ASKING FOR. TROLL MORE. DEMAND MORE. CRITICIZE EVERYTHING IN THE LEAST PRODUCTIVE WAY POSSIBLE. GO 100X HARDER. BECOME UNMARKETABLE.
THIS WILL BE MY LAST POST ON ZORA FOR A WHILE. SEE YOU IN THE TRENCHES.
WE HAVE FUCKED AROUND AND ARE NOW MOVING ON TO FINDING OUT.
SECURE THE BAG.
GET GOOD PERSON POINTS IN REALITY WHERE THEY MATTER.
DON’T LET ANYONE FUCK WITH YOUR FEELINGS.
TAKE PROFITS.
BUILD BAGS AROUND COMMUNITY NEVER BUILD COMMUNITY AROUND A BAG.
THE FOREST IS INDEED DARK AF.
EVERY COIN NEEDS A TELEGRAM.
METAMASK IS A TRASH PRODUCT.
BASE IS A FED CHAIN.
THE PLATFORMS CAN’T KEEP UP.
BEING SHARP, SANE AND DISCIPLINED IS PROBABLY ALL YOU NEED TO WIN.
DON’T ONBOARD ANYONE WHO DOESN’T ALREADY HAVE CRYPTO.
DON’T TALK ABOUT CRYPTO WITH ANYONE WHO DOESN’T HAVE CRYPTO.
GET ENOUGH SLEEP.
SPEND TIME AWAY FROM THE SCREEN.
HOLD THE BASE CURRENCY OF THE NETWORK YOU LIKE.
BE WITH YOUR FAMILY.
CALL YOUR MOM.
THE SECOND CUP OF COFFEE CAN LEAD YOU ASTRAY.
GOOD LUCK OUT THERE. THE OPPORTUNITY IS REAL BUT THE HYPE IS NOT.
IN PUBLIC
THE TEN PUMP COMMANDMENTS.
HOPEFULLY, BY NOW, THERE IS A SMALL CADRE OF CRYPTO PEOPLE THAT YOU CAN TRUST. COINS RELY ON THE LOGIC OF CROWDS AND YOU WILL NEED TO BE PART OF A LARGER COMMUNITY TO PLAY THIS GAME EFFECTIVELY. THE HIGHER THE TRUST LEVEL IN YOUR COMMUNITY, THE EASIER IT IS TO COORDINATE QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY. YOU NEED PEOPLE TO HELP YOU CHECK REALITY. BE IN COMMUNITY.
YOU ARE PAYING TO LEARN.
WHEN STARTING OUT, MAKE SMALL BETS OR JUST TRACK POSITIONS. IT WILL BE TEMPTING TO BELIEVE YOU HAVE CRACKED THE CODE. REMEMBER THAT MANY PLATFORMS, BOTS AND USERS ARE CALIBRATED TO MAKE YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE A GENIUS TO SEPARATE YOU FROM YOUR CRYPTO. MOVE SLOWLY. PLAY WITH WHAT YOU CAN LOSE.
MAKE PEACE WITH YOUR HIGHER POWER.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THIS. IF YOU DO THIS, YOU ARE SUBMITTING TO A KIND OF BRUTALIST ARCHITECTURE OF THE MIND THAT CAN BE REALITY DISTORTING. BE IN THE SUNSHINE. REGULATE YOUR BLOOD SUGAR. FIND WAYS TO COUNTERBALANCE THE REALITY DISTORTION FIELD YOU ARE STEPPING INTO. DOING THIS WITH A CONFLICTED SPIRIT IS NOT WORTH IT. KNOW EVERY COST. YOU CAN JUST CLOSE THE COMPUTER AND WALK AWAY.
SIGNAL & NOISE.
QUALIFY THE INFORMATION. WINNING A GAME THIS CHAOTIC IS PROOF OF NOTHING. CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION. MANY PEOPLE ARE CHEATING. PRIOR BEHAVIOR IS THE BEST PREDICTOR OF FUTURE BEHAVIOR. THERE IS A LOT OF NOISE. THERE ARE A LOT OF SCAMS. IT DOESN’T MEAN THERE ISN’T ALSO OPPORTUNITY. DISTINGUISHING THE TWO IS THE REAL ALPHA. ABUSE OF POWER COMES AS NO SURPRISE.
THAT’S NOT YOUR TOKEN.
THESE TOKENS BELONG TO THE STREETS. THE AMOUNT OF CONTROL YOU HAVE OVER A TOKEN YOU DEPLOY IS MARGINAL. LET THIS REALITY BE A KIND OF FREEDOM; IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU IF YOU WIN, IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU IF YOU LOSE. ASK NOT WHAT THE DEV CAN DO FOR THE TOKEN BUT WHAT THE TOKEN CAN DO FOR THE DEV. YOU ARE NOT A GENIUS IF YOU WIN. YOU ARE NOT AN IDIOT IF YOU LOSE. YOU ARE JUST PLAYING THE WEIRDEST GAME.
PVP VS. PVE.
IDEALLY, WE ARE COMRADES IN OUR WAR AGAINST INSTITUTIONAL FINANCE. WE ARE TRENCH WARRIORS ALWAYS PUNCHING UP IN SOLIDARITY WITH OUR TELEGRAMS. I HOPE TO BE A PLAYER FIGHTING MY ENVIRONMENT INSTEAD OF A PLAYER FIGHTING OTHER PLAYERS. I BELIEVE IN THIS APPROACH. TIME WILL TELL WHAT KIND OF GAME WE ARE REALLY PLAYING.
WIPE THOSE DOLLAR SIGNS OUT OF YOUR EYES.
IF YOU FEEL LIKE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY IS IN FRONT OF YOU THIS VERY WELL MAY BE THE CASE. THE SECOND MOST LIKELY POSSIBILITY IS THAT YOU ARE IN A REALITY DISTORTION FIELD DESIGNED TO MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE LIKE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY IS IN FRONT OF YOU IN ORDER TO TAKE YOUR CRYPTO. RECOGNIZE WHEN PRESSURE IS BEING EXERTED ON YOU AND MOVE SLOWLY & CAUTIOUSLY IN THESE INSTANCES.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU CONJURE FROM THE TERMINAL.
YOU ARE STANDING ON THE THRESHOLD BETWEEN TWO REALITIES; AN EMERGING VIRTUAL FINANCE THUNDERDOME AND THE CORPOREAL WORLD OF BODILY LIVED EXPERIENCE. THESE THINGS ARE MOVING CLOSER TOGETHER - BE AWARE THAT THEY ARE BOTH REAL. THE SPIRITUAL COST OF BAD BEHAVIOR WILL CARRY OVER. IT’S NOT OK TO BE EVIL JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE ON THE INTERNET.
STAY ALIVE.
I SUSPECT THE WORLD IS GETTING INCREASINGLY BAD IN A VARIETY OF WAYS. WE ARE HEADING INTO THE BAD TIMES; MANY ARE ALREADY IN THE BAD TIMES. CRYPTO IS A TOOL YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO USE TO PROVIDE AGENCY IN YOUR LIFE. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. KNOW YOURSELF. TAKE RISK BUT DON’T DO CRIME. STAY ALIVE.
SLOW DOWN
HOLDING A BASE ASSET LIKE BTC, SOLANA OR ETH IS PROBABLY ENOUGH EXPOSURE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ANY INCOMING UPSIDE. YOU DON’T NEED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE RISKIEST KINDS OF TRENCH WARFARE IF YOU DON’T WANT TO. YOU ARE PAYING TO PLAY A CRAZY VIDEO GAME. ONCE YOU MAKE SOME MONEY, YOU WILL LIKELY GO ON A CRAZY TILT AND MAKE A BUNCH OF WEIRD CHOICES. HOPEFULLY SOME OF YOUR GAINS SURVIVE THIS. TRY TO GO SLOW AND HAVE FUN.
MEMES MAKE MEANING
SOMETIMES, YOU’RE THE ONLY HUMAN TOKEN HOLDER AND YOU FIND YOURSELF ALONE AFTER THE BOTS RUN OFF WITH THE LIQUIDITY. OTHER TIMES, YOU ARE THE ONLY HUMAN WITH CONVICTION LEFT STANDING AFTER YOUR FELLOW HUMAN USERS FOLLOW THE BOTS OUT THE DOOR. HUMANS WITHOUT CONVICTION AND BOTS ARE INDISTINGUISHABLE IN THIS PROCESS TURNING PUMP.FUN INTO A KIND OF BACKWARDS TURING TEST; FIND OUT WHICH HUMANS CONVINCINGLY BEHAVE LIKE ROBOTS.
I’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS PATTERN; A FRENZIED RUN UP, INORGANIC VOLUME, AN IMMEDIATE CRASH ONCE THE TOKEN IS BROUGHT TO MARKET AND FINALLY A SLOW, ARDUOUS REBUILDING. THIS PROCESS IS FRACTAL; IT IS THE PATH OF ALL EMERGING TOKENS AND IT IS ALSO THE PATH OF TOKENIZED MEDIA AS A WHOLE ACROSS THE LAST FEW YEARS.
NFTS, MEME COINS, DAO COINS, ALL THE COINS REALLY - ARE DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE SAME PRODUCT. IF YOU’RE PLAYING THE GAME RELATIONALLY THROUGH SOCIAL GRAPHS, ALL OF THESE TOKENS ARE WRAPPERS FOR DIFFERENT KINDS OF COMMUNITY. THEY ARE FAR MORE ALIKE THAN THE NARCISSISM OF OUR SMALL DIFFERENCES WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE. YOU CAN SEE THEIR SHARED PROGRESSION THROUGH THE LENS OF THE PUMP.FUN BONDING CURVE MODEL. I BELIEVE WE ARE AT THE POINT IN THE GAME WHERE PLAYERS WITH CONVICTION START IDENTIFYING WHICH ASSETS THEY WANT TO SUPPORT OVER A LONG HORIZON. THE ASSETS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO MARKET, THEY WERE WILDLY INFLATED, LIQUIDITY WAS SWIFTLY EXTRACTED AND NOW MOMENTUM IS SUCH THAT WE CAN START WITH PRICE DISCOVERY.
WE ARE EMERGING FROM A RAVINE AND PART OF THAT PROCESS IS THE MERGING OF PREVIOUSLY DISPARATE COMMUNITIES. MEME COIN TRENCH WARRIORS, TELEGRAM TRADERS, CULTURE COIN SQUADS, DAO FRIENDS, SOLANA KOLS, LIQUIDITY CABALS, INFOGRAPHIC STANS AND GRAPH ANALYZERS WILL ALL NEED EACH OTHER TO CHART A SUCCESSFUL PATH THROUGH WHAT IS COMING; A REPRICING. IT IS TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE VALUE.
Commenting with love from this big a** airplane still
PURE SOLIPSISM
A THEORY OF MEDIA
THE AMOUNT OF MEDIA BEING PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED DIGITALLY HAS PARABOLICALLY INCREASED AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO. THIS BREAKS DISCOVERY AT THE POINT WHERE DIGITAL GOODS MEET THEIR MARKET. YOU CAN EASILY OBSERVE THIS WITH SPOTIFY WHERE THE POSSIBILITY OF SIMPLY BRINGING MUSIC TO MARKET AND HOPING THAT IT WILL SUCCEED ON ITS MERITS AS MEDIA HAS BECOME UNREALISTIC. CONSEQUENTLY, MUSIC SUCCEEDS BASED ON PATTERNS OF DISTRIBUTION.
I’VE BEEN TOLD THAT THE QUALITY OF MEDIA WAS ONCE A FACTOR IN DISCOVERY. THIS IS NO LONGER THE CASE IF IT EVER WAS. WE HAVE REACHED A SCALE OF PRODUCTION WHERE TASTE HAS BECOME IMPRACTICAL. THIS MAKES WAY FOR A NEW KIND OF PRODUCT; A PRODUCT WHERE THE MEDIA IS INCIDENTAL BUT THE DISTRIBUTION IS FORMATIVE. LIKE RIVERS FINDING THE OCEAN, THE MOST EASILY DISTRIBUTED GOODS WILL ACCRUE VALUE ON THAT BASIS ALONE.
THIS IS A DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC OF THE CURRENT AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. IF A CANDIDATE HAD A SET OF PRINCIPLES AND SET OUT TO SOLVE PROBLEMS BASED ON QUALITIES LIKE INTEGRITY AND HONESTY, THEY WOULD BE POORLY EQUIPPED AS A CANDIDATE. THE BEST POSSIBLE CANDIDATE IS THE ONE WHO SAYS THE THING MOST DESIRED BY THEIR AUDIENCE IN ANY GIVEN MOMENT. THEIR MOST ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTIC IS THE LIQUIDITY OF THEIR POSITION. BELIEVING IN ANYTHING HAS BECOME A LIABILITY OR A LUXURY.
MEME COINS ARE VALUABLE BECAUSE QUALITY IS NO LONGER A MEANINGFUL MARKET FACTOR AND LIQUIDITY IS EVERYTHING. PERHAPS THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE CASE TO SOME EXTENT. WE ARE CURRENTLY WITNESSING THE PARABOLIC IMPORTANCE OF FLEXIBILITY AND THE DECLINING IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY. THIS IS A DIRECT CONSEQUENCE OF PORTING OURSELVES INTO THE DIGITAL. PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS NO LONGER EXIST. WE ARE POST MEDIA SCARCITY AND IT IS TERRIBLE AND AWESOME.
THE PREMISE THAT QUALITY WAS EVER VALUABLE IS A MEANING MAKING PRISM THROUGH WHICH WE VIEW THE PAST. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN QUALITY DID NOT OBJECTIVELY EXIST. THE OPTIONS WE COULD TAKE WERE THE OPTIONS WE TOOK. LOOKING BACKWARDS, WE CAN PRETEND THAT WE OPTED FOR THE BETTER OPTION. IN REALITY, WE OPTED FOR THE MOST LIQUID OPTION. WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE THE ONLY THING WE COULD DO. IN THE FUTURE, WE CAN NO LONGER AFFORD TO PRETEND THAT OUR TASTES ARE BASED IN THE QUALITIES OF THINGS.
DEFINING IDENTITY THROUGH MEDIA CONSUMPTION WILL BE LOOKED UPON AS A QUAINT RELIC OF THE PAST. WE ARE ALREADY DISASSEMBLING THE INDUSTRIES THAT RUN ON THIS MODE OF IDENTITY FORMATION. ACTUALLY KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT THE MUSIC YOU ARE LISTENING TO IS A HINDRANCE. KNOWLEDGE IS FRICTION BY ANOTHER NAME.
THE STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL MEME COIN HAVE BEEN ARTICULATED BY EVERY CYCLE’S RESPECTIVE PROPHET AND THEY ALL SAY THE SAME THING: COMMUNITY. COMMUNITIES WILL BE DEFINED BY THE LIQUIDITY OF THEIR MEMBERS. LIQUID CONSTITUENCIES WILL COMPRISE ADAPTABLE COMMUNITIES CAPABLE OF BEING IN THE MOMENT AND CATERING TO THE NEEDS OF THE GIVEN MOMENT. THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS WILL MATTER IN THE COMING MEME COMMUNITY WARS:
STRONG OPINIONS HELD LIGHTLY
HIGH CONVICTION & DEDICATION ON ISSUES THAT CAN TURN ON A DIME WHEN THE COMMUNITY DECIDES TO GO ANOTHER WAY
THE ABILITY TO FLUIDLY RECEIVE AND PROJECT THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY ONTO THE SELF AND ALSO TO PROJECT THE SELF OUTWARDS ONTO THE COMMUNITY
THE ABILITY TO ARTICULATE THE VIBE OF THE COMMUNITY ACROSS MULTIPLE MEDIUMS WITH NUANCE AND ACCURACY
THE ABILITY TO BE PRESENT IN THE CURRENT MOMENT WITH THE CURRENT THING
FRICTIONLESS CONSENSUS
ECSTATIC COMMUNION
LACK OF CENSORSHIP & INHIBITION
EXTREME PERMISSIONLESSNESS
THIS IS NOT DEMOCRACY BUT IT ALSO ISN’T BORING; THE MEME WARS WILL BE ECSTATIC. LARGE SUMS OF MONEY WILL CHANGE HANDS QUICKLY. FIND YOUR PEOPLE AS SOON AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN AND LEARN HOW TO MOVE AS ONE. WE WILL NO LONGER HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO MUCH OF ANYTHING AS INDIVIDUALS ANYMORE. ISOLATION WILL KILL YOU FASTER THAN COMMUNITY.
SEE YOU ON THE SECONDARY.
I AM FRUSTRATED WITH THE AMOUNT OF BOTS WHO ARE BUYING INPUBLIC TOKENS AND DUMPING THEM ON THE SECONDARY MARKET. TO COUNTERACT THIS ISSUE, I AM GOING TO AIRDROP THIS TOKEN DURING THE PRIMARY MINT TO WALLETS THAT ARE HOLDING MORE THAN ONE UNIQUE (ERC-1155) INPUBLIC TOKEN PROPORTIONAL TO THE AMOUNT OF UNIQUE (ERC-1155) TOKENS THEY ARE HOLDING (x10). YOU CAN SEE A LIST OF THESE HOLDERS BY NAVIGATING TO THE ‘HOLDERS’ TAB OF THE INPUBLIC TOKEN CONTRACT ON BASESCAN. THIS TOKEN WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE FOR MINTING ON THE PRIMARY MARKET.
SEE YOU ON THE SECONDARY.
I BELIEVE THAT ZORA’S AIRDROP MECHANIC IS CURRENTLY UNDERUTILIZED AS IT RELATES TO THE NEW SECONDARY MECHANICS ON THE PLATFORM. I INTEND TO CONTINUE TO ITERATE ON HOW TO INTEGRATE AIRDROPS INTO THESE MINTS IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THEIR SECONDARY MARKET AND HUMAN PRIMARY PARTICIPANTS.
DROP THE ART
CULT, RELIGION, ART, MEME, COMMUNITY, BRAND, TOKEN, COIN, FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT; WE ARE DEALING WITH A NEW THING, LET’S RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO USE OLD, LOADED WORDS AND THE BAGGAGE THEY BRING. THESE ARE TOKENS OR COINS OR SOMETHING DIFFERENT. CALLING THEM ART COxINS IS LAZY AND PERPETUATES A HIGH/LOW BINARY BETWEEN ART AND MEMES THAT IS A POOR FRAMING OF WHAT WE ARE DOING.
WE NEED LESS PERFORMANCE OF KNOWING OR YOU’RE GOING TO LOOK STUPID WHEN YOU INVEST IN A DOG COIN. EVEN WORSE, YOU MIGHT NOT INVEST IN A DOG COIN BECAUSE ART AND COST YOUR CHILDREN INTERGENERATIONAL WEALTH. DO BETTER.
IRRATIONAL THINKING MACHINES.
THE PHYSICAL REALM IS WASHED AND THE SWITCHING COST WAS REASON. THE CORPOREAL CREATES A FLOOR BUT ALSO A CEILING. YOUR UNINTEGRATED SELF IS THE FIRST PART THAT ARRIVES IN THE DIGITAL REALM, CONSCIOUSNESS FOLLOWS. IN AN AGE OF MAGIC, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU CONJURE THROUGH THE TERMINAL.
A VAMPIRE ATTACK ON REALITY.
EVENTUALLY THIS WILL CRASH OR EVERYTHING ELSE WILL. THE QUIET PART IS NOT ONLY THE THREAT TO THE DOLLAR (BACKED BY LEGITIMIZED VIOLENCE), IT IS ALSO THE THREAT TO CENTRAL ORGANIZING PRINCIPLES OF EXISTENCE. MY URGENCY IS NOT SOLELY DRIVEN BY THE OPPORTUNITY IN THE COMING MONTHS BUT ALSO THE INEVITABILITY OF DOWNSIDE IN THE COMING YEARS.
WHAT’S IN?
MENTAL DISCIPLINE, AGENCY
INTEGRATED CONSCIOUSNESS
CONSENSUS MECHANISMS SO RAPID AS TO LOOK LIKE MAGIC
SPELLS, POEMS, ENCHANTMENTS
UNARTICULATED CONSPIRACIES OF VALUE
INTEROPERABLE MODULAR BUILDING/DESIGN SYSTEMS
INTERDEPENDENCE
WHAT’S OUT?
ABSTRACT SYSTEMS OF CONTROL
FRICTION, PATIENCE, MANUAL CONSENSUS
TALKING IT OUT
DISHONESTY, LARPING, DISCOURSE
LONGFORM WRITING, WHITE PAPERS, NUANCE
REASON
PAPER MONEY
DO WE HAVE A DEAL MR. REAGAN?
FUCK YOU PAY ME
QUALITY OF ATTENTION HAS BEEN UNQUALIFIED WHILE QUANTITY OF ATTENTION HAS BEEN OVERVALUED. POSTS AND CLICKS MEASURE IN BINARY, TOKENS AND MARKETS MEASURE IN DEPTH. WHY ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION & WHAT IS YOUR ATTENTION BUYING?
MR. BEAST IS PRICE DISCOVERY FOR THE CIA
WOULD YOU SWITCH RELIGIONS IF YOU WERE PAID TO? WOULD YOU SWITCH FAMILIES? WOULD YOU MARRY SOMEONE YOU DESPISED FOR ENOUGH CAPITAL? WHAT AMOUNT OF MONEY WOULD YOU NEED TO SPEND A YEAR AT HOME? HOW MUCH TO GO BACK INTO THE OFFICE? HOW MUCH UNTIL YOU BELIEVE IN THE TOOTH FAIRY? WOULD YOU MINT THIS ESSAY IF IT MADE YOU MONEY?
A QUESTION OF BELIEF
TOKENS OFFER TO PAY BELIEVERS FOR THEIR ATTENTION. NOT IN THE ABSTRACT WAY THAT YOU ARE PAID FOR BELIEVING IN GOD, SOCIAL SECURITY OR SANTA CLAUSE. PERMISSIONLESS, TRANSPARENT, IMMEDIATE PROGRAMMATIC MONEY WILL BE SENT TO YOUR SELF-CUSTODIED ADDRESS. PROGRAMMATIC MONEY CAN MAKE US WHOLE.
IS THIS TRUE OR DOES IT FEEL GOOD? WHICH IS MORE PROFITABLE? THESE ESSAYS ARE MEME COINS. THEY HAVE MARKET CAPS. THE MEMES WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE USE CASES IMPROVE.
LIQUIDITY EVENT HORIZONS
I AGREE WITH ALL OF THESE TO AN EXTENT. TO SAY THAT EVERYTHING IS A MEME COIN IS CUTE, IT’S SIMPLE, HIGHLY PORTABLE AND COMFORTING TO ME, SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T UNDERSTAND HOW ANYTHING ACTUALLY WORKS. MORE THINGS ARE MEME COINS THAN WE ADMIT. MORE COINS WILL FUNCTION AS MEME COINS AS THE MEME OF MEME COINS GAINS LIQUIDITY AND MINDSHARE. MEME COINS DO HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO RUN THE FIRST HALF OF 2025.
MURAD ARGUES THAT MEME COINS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE GOOD ON THE PROMISES OF DAOS IN 2021. AS SOMEONE WHO SPENT A COUPLE YEARS LIVING AND WORKING IN A DISCORD WITH A SHIT COIN, THIS MAKES SENSE TO ME. WHAT MADE $FWB BEAUTIFUL WAS ITS CHAOTIC SPONTANEOUS ENERGY. IT WAS THE HIGH AND LOW CULTURAL ICONS COMING TOGETHER TO DECIPHER ETHERSCAN’S HIEROGLYPHICS. WE HELPED EACH OTHER LAUNCH WEIRD PROJECTS, TAUGHT EACH OTHER, BECAME A SIGNAL TO THE SPACE AND A PLACE OF PROFIT AND FRIENDSHIP - SQUADS WITH BANK ACCOUNTS. THEN WE FOUND OURSELVES ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE MEME CURVE. WE STARTED OVERTHINKING IT. WHAT WAS ONCE FLAT BECAME STRUCTURED. WHAT WAS SMOOTH BECAME RIGID. I WILL NEVER TALK ABOUT GOVERNANCE AGAIN. GOVERNANCE, LIKE LEADERSHIP, IS BETTER PRACTICED THAN DEBATED. DISCOURSE WAS WIELDED RECKLESSLY, TEACHING ME BOTH ITS POWER AND ITS COST.
$FWB WAS MY FIRST EXPERIMENT WITH A CULTURE COIN BUT IT WOULD NOT BE THE LAST. IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR I FOUND MYSELF IN A CHAOTIC TWITTER DM WITH THE SPACE’S BEST ARTISTS, GRAPHIC DESIGNERS AND MEME-ERS. THERE WAS A BEAUTIFUL SERENDIPITOUS MOMENT WHERE THREE OF THEM REALIZED THEY HAD DROPPED OUT OF THE SAME ART SCHOOL. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. WE MADE MEMES, DID OUR BEST TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER AND DROVE LIQUIDITY AND ATTENTION TO 747 AIRLINES. WE MADE CATALOG RADIO EPISODES, ORIGINAL SONGS AND FANCAMS, ZINES, THEORY. WE MADE A GAME. WE’RE WORKING ON AN APP (SHHH!). IT FELT LIKE FLYING. AND OF COURSE WE BURNT OUT. WE GOT FRUSTRATED WITH OTHER PROJECTS COPYING OUR STYLE (WE SHOULD HAVE CELEBRATED THIS TBH). THESE THINGS ARE CHALLENGING TO SUSTAIN, BUT I BELIEVE THAT 747 AIRLINES WILL FLY AGAIN.
DAOS ARE DEAD BECAUSE WE HAVE YET TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MONETIZE INFIGHTING ABOUT PROCEDURE AND GOVERNANCE (STUDY LAWYERS). NFTS ARE DEAD BECAUSE THERE IS NO SECONDARY MARKET FOR NFTS. SECURE LIQUID SECONDARY MARKETS ARE BEST SERVED BY COINS. THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS BUILT AND READY TO BE USED. LAUNCH PADS ARE THE PRIMARY MARKET FOR TOKENS. EXCHANGES ARE THE SECONDARY MARKET. I’M UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT WE’VE BASICALLY SOLVED FOR PRIMARY MARKET SHENANIGANS BUT THE SECONDARY MARKET REMAINS CHAOTIC AND FULL OF BAD ACTORS. IT IS THE KIND OF STRANGE DARK FOREST WHERE FORTUNES ARE MADE, LARPED AND LOST.
IF YOU’VE READ THIS SITE BEFORE, YOU KNOW I’M NOT REALLY HERE TO HOLD YOUR HAND AND BEMOAN HOW YOUR BELOVED NFT CULTURE HAS BECOME HYPER FINANCIALIZED. LOOK OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW, THAT SHIP SAILED A LONG TIME AGO. YOU ARE STILL ALLOWED TO MAKE ART, NOBODY IS STOPPING YOU. IF YOU BELIEVE, YOU WILL FIND A WAY. IF YOU DON’T, YOU DIDN’T BELIEVE. SIMPLE. IF IT HURTS TO READ THIS, TAKE A WALK.
MOST OF THE MEDIA PINNED IN THE TOKENS WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY MID (SORRY!). THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS, AND IF YOU TALK TO THEM, THEY WILL TELL YOU THAT MOST OF THE MEDIA PINNED IN THE TOKENS WAS PRETTY MID! I TALKED TO MANY OF THEM! MANY OF THEM GOT TIRED OF THEIR WORK BEING DISPLAYED NEXT TO RACIST ANIMALS! MANY OF THEM GREW TIRED WITH THE NARRATIVE INCONSISTENCIES AND SELF SERVING LOGIC OF THE SPACE! SOME OF THEM GOT RICH AND ARE NOW JUST CHILLING WITH THEIR FAMILIES WHICH I THINK IS BEAUTIFUL.
WE WERE GONNA FIX THE CULTURE INDUSTRIES WITH THE GIANT EXCEL SPREADSHEET IN THE SKY. AND LOOK, IT COULD STILL HAPPEN. IT COULD ALL STILL HAPPEN. BUT WE DON’T CONTROL THE TIMING OF THIS SPACE, WE NEVER WILL AND RIGHT NOW, WE ARE IN THE CHAOTIC CASINO TIMES AND I SUSPECT THINGS GET WAY MORE CHAOTIC BEFORE THEY STABILIZE. LIFE MAKES WAVES, SURF OR DROWN, RIP VIRGIL.
Artist: inpublic
Date: Oct 10, 2024
Market: artrun.io/c/k6a9hm
DON’T DO TOO MUCH
USERS NEED PRECISE & COMPELLING LOGIC FOR USING YOUR SPECIFIC PLATFORM.
PART OF THE INHERENT VALUE PROPOSITION OF TOKENIZED MEDIA & DECENTRALIZED NETWORKS IS THEIR ABILITY TO STORE VALUE. USERS WILL LEAVE IF THEY CAN’T CREATE A COMPELLING STORY WHERE THEY HAVE RECOUPED THE COST & TIME SPENT ON YOUR PLATFORM. WILL THE TOKENS ON YOUR PLATFORM STORE VALUE IN A FAVORABLE MACRO ENVIRONMENT?
PROVIDE A SOUND REASON FOR USERS TO CONVERT ETHEREUM INTO YOUR TOKENS.
MEME COINS ARE POPULAR ASSETS (IN PART) DUE TO THEIR UNDERLYING INTEROPERABLE TRADING INFRASTRUCTURE. LEVERAGING THIS INFRASTRUCTURE AROUND YOUR PLATFORM’S TOKENS IS AN EFFICIENT WAY TO UNLOCK SECONDARY LIQUIDITY MAKING YOUR TOKENS A BETTER STORE OF VALUE. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU NEED TO BE A TOKEN LAUNCHPAD. IT DOES MEAN THAT YOU NEED A STRATEGY AROUND SECONDARY LIQUIDITY.
A LIQUID SECONDARY MARKET DERISKS THE PRIMARY MARKET.
ENABLE MULTIPLAYER MODE. GIVE USERS MORE CONTROL OVER THEIR FEEDS. ENCOURAGE SPONTANEOUS COMMUNITY. LIQUIDITY YIELDS ENERGY - USE THIS TO DRIVE CONVERSATION. ONE OF THE UPSIDES OF A DECENTRALIZED NETWORK IS THE PROXIMITY IT GENERATES BETWEENS ALL MARKET PARTICIPANTS. USERS NEED TO BUMP INTO EACH OTHER IN ORDER TO CREATE COMMUNITY. MAKE THEM TALK TO EACHOTHER.
PEOPLE WANT TO MAKE FRIENDS; DECENTRALIZE COMMUNICATION.
PREDICTIONS:
UNIQUE PROPOSITIONS ACQUIRE USERS.
EVERY TOKEN IS A LONG HOLD.
SECONDARY MARKETS STILL MATTER.
COMMUNITY STILL MATTERS.
199999 $enjoy 🤐ON RISK AND CREATION
ONE OF MY MOST FORMATIVE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES WAS WORKING IN WILLY CHAVARRIA’S SHOP ON SULLIVAN (PTC) FOR A FEW YEARS AND DOING SOUND DESIGN FOR HIS SHOWS FROM 2017-2022. WILLY’S APPROACH TO BEAUTY WAS (AND IS) PERSONAL AND DEEPLY INTERESTED THE QUALITIES THAT MAKE US HUMAN. HE TAUGHT ME THAT THE PARTS OF MYSELF I HELD THE MOST SHAME AROUND WERE ALSO POTENTIALLY SOURCES OF GREAT BEAUTY. THE BODY IS IMPERFECT AND THE BODY IS BEAUTIFUL.
MAKING THINGS IS MESSY. PRODUCTS, SONGS, CLOTHES, PLATFORMS, SOFTWARE, HARDWARE - IT’S ALL HARD TO DO AND HARDER STILL TO DO WELL. ON TOP OF THE OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES INVOLVED IN PRODUCING ANYTHING, THERE IS A KIND OF SELF DISCLOSURE IMPLICIT IN THE ACT OF CREATION. THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE IMAGE AND THE PRODUCT - A POINT OF VIEW. IT IS POSSIBLE TO COBBLE TOGETHER THE SEXIEST SOURCE MATERIAL, ABSORB ITS LESSONS AND PRESENT BEAUTIFUL IMAGES. IT IS ANOTHER TASK ENTIRELY TO TAKE THE RISK OF ARTICULATING A PART OF YOURSELF OUTSIDE OF YOURSELF IN AN ACT OF CREATION.
LOVE IS A BLACK SWAN LURKING BEYOND THE PLATONIC FOLD. YOU MEET HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE AND THEN ONE DAY YOU MEET SOMEONE WHO HAS A DRAMATICALLY OUTSIZED IMPACT ON THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. BECOMING A PARENT IS EVEN MORE EXTREME; YOU ASPIRE TO DEDICATE THE REST OF YOUR LIFE TO SUPPORTING A HUMAN YOU HAVE NEVER EVEN MET. YOUR ARE UPENDED BY BOTH IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAYS. THESE PROCESSES REQUIRE THAT YOU GIVE UP CONTROL AND BECOME OF SERVICE TO AN ENTITY OUTSIDE OF YOURSELF.
ART REQUIRES THIS TYPE OF INTERDEPENDENCY. YOU MUST SEE THE UGLY ALONG WITH THE BEAUTIFUL IF YOU WANT TO TELL THE TRUTH. AESTHETIC VIRTUE IS A MASK FOR THOSE UNREADY TO SHARE THEIR POINT OF VIEW - THE TRUE POINT OF VIEW THAT COMES FROM WITHIN INSTEAD OF WITHOUT. WE EACH HOLD SOME MESSY BEAUTIFUL TRUTH INSIDE OF OURSELVES. SHARING IT OPENLY PRODUCES THE FREEDOM REQUIRED TO MAKE GREAT THINGS.
I want a minimum viable point of view
THE OPPOSITE OF TASTE
JUST AS THE ABSENCE OF POLITICS IS A POLITIC ITSELF, THE ABSENCE OF TASTE IS A KIND OF TASTE, MAKING THE TRUE ABSENCE OF TASTE (VIRTUALLY) IMPOSSIBLE. WHAT THEN IS THE OPPOSITE OF TASTE? JUDGEMENTS MADE IN AN AESTHETIC VACUUM BY AN ACTOR INCAPABLE OF PRACTICING TASTE.
THE OPPOSITE OF TASTE IS COMPUTE. JUST AS AN EXCESS OF TASTE WILL MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO DECIDE WHERE TO HAVE DINNER, AN EXCESS OF COMPUTE WILL HELP YOU OPTIMIZE TOWARDS THE MOST EFFICIENT POSSIBLE OUTCOME IN RECORD TIME. WHEREAS TASTE HELPS US NAVIGATE TOWARDS AESTHETICALLY PLEASING OUTCOMES, COMPUTE HELPS US NAVIGATE TOWARDS EFFICIENT OUTCOMES. IF COMPUTE BENEFITS FROM AN EXCESS OF INPUTS, TASTE DEFINITIONALLY BENEFITS FROM A SELECTIVE MENU OF INPUTS. TASTE ADDS FRICTION AND COMPUTE REMOVES IT.
BOTS AREN'T EVIL THEY'RE JUST INEFFICIENT
I am not a lawyer and my mother-in-law does my taxes.
There has been some chatter about the role of “bots” in NFT marketing “campaigns” particularly as it pertains to music NFTs. For the uninitiated, using ‘bots’ or ‘botting’ is shorthand for the use of tools like boost.xyz and layer3.xyz to incentivize volume on NFT mints. Essentially, these tools allow anyone to compensate users who take specific actions, usually ‘minting’ (or purchasing) an NFT, via an onchain bounty. Oftentimes this bounty exceeds the cost of the mint, meaning that users of these platforms are essentially paying for mint volume. This gives the appearance of interest or attention surrounding an NFT without necessarily surfacing that this interest is externally subsidized. Some users find this misleading while others think of it as a savvy technique for directing attention. Increased volume will cause the NFT to appear in more places like aggregators, wallets and algorithmically driven feeds. This will either lead to organic traffic or at least give the involved parties the feeling of meaningful distribution.
This technique is not really a break from traditional marketing tools. Labels have been using any tool at their disposal to push their artists up the charts since their inception. AOL distributed more than 1 billion free CDs with trial software between 1993 and 2006. In 1999 somebody from the Rawkus street team handed me a cassette single of Mos Def’s ‘Ms. Fat Booty’ that blew my mind and turned me onto music I might have never otherwise discovered. Giving away music as marketing is fine. Minting something because you think you might see financial upside from it is also fine.
Most artists would be doing themselves a serious disservice if they did not seriously consider all of their marketing options before releasing their work into the world. Good music goes unnoticed all the time. It is exceedingly rare for music to have a significant moment exclusively on its merits as music and rarer still without some magical synergy with the cultural zeitgeist. There is plenty of pretty good and ok music that is competing amongst itself on marketing, vibes and associations. There is even more music that no one will ever hear. Making, finding and nurturing exceptional music is very hard. It is so hard that most labels have essentially given up on trying to find talent before it has already broken to a large audience, preferring to throw capital at any artist with the right metric story. Looking at online metrics over quality is indeed how the traditional music industry is currently functioning but they usually have the savvy to filter out bots and incentivized actors when assessing these stories.
What bothers me about botting (paying for inorganic volume) is that this particular technique is extremely inefficient. Rather than activating bots (or humans incentivized to act as bots) around a mint, we should be targeting consumers with a sincere and demonstrated interest in the type of media we’re distributing. We might be distributing music to consumers but it’s almost certainly the wrong consumers. We should be developing mechanics that connect listeners with musicians they might care about. Our conversion metric should be fandom not a single transaction. Using these tools is both lazy and expensive. It’s a poor substitute for actual interest and meaningful attention.
Additionally, recent rulings from the FTC about “Misuse of Fake Indicators of Social Media Influence” imply that botting may easily be considered a deceptive marketing practice. We haven’t seen a test case that pertains to our space but it seems inevitable that this will eventually be litigated. This rule, “prohibits selling, purchasing, procuring, or distributing known or reasonably known “fake indicators of social media influence” that are used to deceive others about a business’s or individual’s importance for commercial gain. “Fake indicators of social media influence” are defined as those “generated by bots, purported individual accounts not associated with a real individual, accounts created with a real individual’s personal information without their consent, hijacked accounts, or accounts that otherwise do not reflect a real individual’s or entity’s activities, opinions, findings, or experiences.” I have serious doubts about how enforceable this rule will be when it comes to onchain bounties, but it is enough to give me pause about utilizing inorganic volume.
Advocates of using mint bounties often argue that their behavior is net positive for this corner of the space and has the potential to help reignite interest in the space at large. I don’t fully agree; incentivized volume feeds into very specific types of metric stories that don’t evenly benefit all the participants in the space. These tools have limited applications for individual artists looking to have their work acknowledged on its merits.
It is ironic that an individual used to be able to generate a metric story around a 1/1 NFT by purchasing it for the value they believed it to be worth at auction. Almost all of the revenue went directly to the artist and maybe, if the price point was significant or the token was novel, they would also receive both social and traditional media attention. The collector also stood to benefit from robust secondary markets and rampant speculation. Demand exceeded supply. Now platforms pay other platforms to pay bots to mint an artist’s low cost work at scale with only a fraction of that capital ever reaching the artist. An industry that prides itself on eliminating rent seeking middle men has expeditiously inserted a variety of rent seeking middle men into the supply chain. This is an outcome that platforms have pushed us towards with value propositions that champion onboarding new users over making quality work for existing users.
Web3 music suffers from a disproportionate amount of attention focused on distribution mechanics and an insufficient amount of attention focused on the production of undeniably good music. Making undeniable music is unbelievably hard. It requires a tremendous amount of work and a decent amount of luck. You have to try, with conviction, fail, and then repeatedly try again. This is where resources and capital should be focused. Investing in this sisyphean task with conviction is the brave thing we can do that record labels are no longer properly incentivized to do.
I definitely agree with your critique of "removing the chronological follower and discover feeds, and having them replaced by activity feeds". The Zora feed could look so many different ways and I don't really understand why it looks the way it does. I liked when parts of it were actively curated by hand a lot.
I never actually used sound so I don't know how this played out over there.
I'd love it if you curated a page of stuff you liked. I'm also bummed to hear that you're not making music but also get that sometimes you have to take a step back.
I don't think you're the bad guy at all, and honestly appreciate you pushing back on the stuff other people (myself included) are taking for granted. I obviously don't share your level of outrage, in part because these are people i worked with for a couple years and I have a ton of sympathy for the pressure they are under to make something great.
That being said I hope the feed becomes more dynamic, curated and less easily manipulated.
The issue isn't as simple as bots / boosts are good or bad. The "nefarious" part that everyone seems to keep leaving out is the most important part. It's the reason why I after several calls with David, I emotionally and actively stopped using or acknowledging the platform. It's the reason I've been pushing back so hard and so loudly about the changes to zora, removing the chronological follower and discover feeds, and having them replaced by activity feeds... If you want to pay to create fake demand, using bots, more power to you... I'd personally just airdrop actual humans I think might enjoy the music/art but "perceived volume" and all that jazz. THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM is why this ugly... Sound has a leaderboard, and they removed, the real time minting feed, by design they destroyed discoverability of all those new artists they shilled a brighter future to on tiktok and ig, and they never stood a chance, but a guy with a turtle neck controls those charts.... The same issue is now on zora, where unrealistic amount of mints keep going to the platforms posts, big projects, and friends of the inner circle... all of these things are fine in a free market, but when you manipulate discovery, and design to amplify the most active, and bury everyone else...... you can't gaslight me to make me believe the ones designing and calling the shots aren't intelligent enough to understand how broken and rigged that is.... I know without a doubt, it was by design at sound, i spoke for hours with David. It's becoming increasing more difficult to not look at Zora in the same light. They are devs, they could easily create an organic default feed that only shows original posts in the order they were minted from the people you follow and create a second feed, that has the activity mechanics.... the only reason not to do this, is as exactly how it looks, and i've screenshot and documented so many examples that's it's happening... So when I see promo about how Zora is fun, mints are better than likes, it feels like the same playback, trying to onboard a bunch of new users, who will be buried by the latest AI generated meme...... It's not bots, it's the whole picture. It's not speculation, it's not salt, it's actively happen to point it's impossible not to see. Am I the bad guy for bringing up a design flaw that so many others see and label it as "the rich get richer" scheme... This behavior on sound was detrimental the ecosystem.. So it's not the bots, it's a insider strategy that is easily abused, that doesn't just benefit the the ones getting high volume, but makes the experience for everyone else feel and look bad.... Everyone is so passive in this space, these aren't defi trading ponzi's, these are platforms centered around art, that actively market themselves as superior to the web2 experience... your integrity gotta be on empty if you try and shun the messenger for trying to stick up for the greater good of health of all users.... I don't even wanna work on music or document art after all this, so I pivoted and began documenting in detail this whole experience to create and actual documentary. No one wants to acknowledge users justified critiques, but steady reposting untrue glazing statements... tisk tisk... Naurdwuar on the case...... INCOMING 111111 $enjoyMORE BOTS
TO MINT MY NFT
SO I CAN GET MORE ROYALTIES
SO I CAN BUY MORE BOTS
TO MINT MY NFT
SEE MARKET GO
Zora Go.
Zora Go.
The key point for me was "Zora is looking to replace ... secondary market OpenSea with ... secondary market from Uniswap"
Previously I was presuming that Zora's intent was for every 1155 to become an ERC-20 token.
But now I see that it's not a forgone conclusion; it's an opportunity that only needs to occur if it makes sense.
A critical thing that would make this scheme feel more coherent & palatable is a UI for the secondary market; something that presents it as a useful & desirable extension of the existing NFT universe and not an abstract concept that harkens back to a time of toxic speculation.
ONE BILLION ROBOT USERS
MAINSTREAM ADOPTION IS AN OUTCOME. BUILDING FOR A SPECIFIC OUTCOME IS FUNDAMENTALLY UNSOUND PRACTICE IN ANY ENDEAVOR. BUILDING PROCESSES WILL ALWAYS BE MORE MEANINGFUL. PRAXIS.
IN 2021 WE WERE A YEAR INTO A LIFE ALTERING PANDEMIC THAT PUSHED SOCIALIZATION ONTO THE INTERNET. I BECAME CURIOUS ABOUT THE BOUNDS OF DISEMBODIED IDENTITY AND EXPRESSION. TOKENIZED MEDIA EMERGED ALLOWING FOR VERIFIABLE PUBLIC LEDGERS TO MOVE CAPITAL, MEDIA AND SOCIALIZATION AROUND THE INTERNET. SQUADS WITH BANK ACCOUNTS. THERE WAS A CLEAR LOGIC HIDING UNDER THE ‘PFP’ BUBBLE. TOKEN GATED DISCORDS. GROUPS HYPING UP ART PROJECTS IN TWITTER SPACES. THERE WERE BAD ACTORS. THERE WERE ALSO DIGITAL ARTISTS FINDING MARKETS FOR THEIR WORK FOR THE FIRST TIME. IT WAS CHAOTIC. IT WAS A CASINO. IT WAS FRENETIC ENOUGH TO GIVE US ALL CONVICTION THAT SOMETHING MEANINGFUL WAS BEING BUILT.
THE CRISIS WE ARE CURRENTLY FACING IS UNFORTUNATELY NOT COSMETIC. CHANGING OUR NOMENCLATURE OR IMPROVING THE USER INTERFACE WILL NOT FIX ANY OF THE BROKEN FUNDAMENTALS OF OUR INDUSTRY. THERE IS A NARRATIVE VACUUM AT THE CENTER OF TOKENIZED MEDIA. I DON’T THINK DIALING IN THE FEE STRUCTURE WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON THIS ISSUE. I DO BELIEVE THAT PRESENTING A SOUND REASON TO TOKENIZE MEDIA IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD.
I HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY CYNICAL ABOUT ORGANIC PLATFORM VOLUME; TOOLS LIKE BOOST.XYZ AND ‘MINT RACES’ MAKE IT CLEAR THAT A GREAT DEAL OF VOLUME IS DRIVEN BY BOTS OR USERS BEING INCENTIVIZED TO BEHAVE LIKE BOTS. IF YOU BUILD FOR AN OUTCOME (VOLUME OR ADOPTION) AT ANY COST, YOU CAN EASILY FIND YOURSELF OVERLOOKING THE FLAWS IN YOUR PROCESS. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS A SORT OF CONCEPTUAL LAZINESS COMBINED WITH RISK ADVERSITY THAT CAUSES CAPITAL TO AVOID EVALUATING THE GLARING HOLES IN THE LOGIC OF THIS INDUSTRY THAT ARE APPARENT TO EVERYONE OUTSIDE OUR BUBBLE.
I DO NOT THINK THAT INSERTING BLOCKCHAINS INTO FAMILIAR USER EXPERIENCES WITHOUT MEANINGFULLY IMPROVING THE FUNDAMENTAL EXPERIENCES BEING DELIVERED IS A MEANINGFUL INNOVATION. THIS IS AN INTELLECTUALLY LAZY EXERCISE THAT MIRRORS THE “UBER FOR BLANK” PHENOMENON. SWITCHING COSTS ARE HIGH. DECENTRALIZATION BEGS FOR AMBITIOUS USE CASES THAT GO FARTHER THAN WHAT WEB2 HAS BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE. BUILDING BEYOND THE BOUNDS OF WHAT CURRENTLY EXISTS IS A FUNDAMENTAL TENANT OF MEANINGFUL INNOVATION. BLOCKCHAINS CAN DO THIS BUT THEY NEED AMBITIOUS THINKERS TO APPLY THE TECH IN NEW WAYS.
(GOOD) ARTISTS AND MUSICIANS ARE CREATURES OF CONVICTION. WE MAINTAIN PRACTICES IN THE FACE OF OVERWHELMING FINANCIAL OBSTACLES AND STUBBORNLY RELEASE WORK INTO MARKETPLACES THAT REFUSE TO ADEQUATELY VALUE THE TIME AND ENERGY WE PUT INTO OUR CRAFT. WHEN WE BELIEVE IN SOMETHING, WE BELIEVE DURING GOOD AND BAD MARKET CONDITIONS ALIKE. THERE IS A PROFOUND FEELING OF THRASH IN THE CULTURAL COMMUNITY OF WEB3 AS THE LOGIC OF THE SPACE RAPIDLY ALIGNS ITSELF IN FORM AND SUBSTANCE WITH FAMILIAR PLATFORMS & PARADIGMS LIKE INSTAGRAM. THE USERS THAT ARE HERE ARE BEING ALIENATED TO ATTRACT USERS WHO WILL NEVER COME AS LONG AS OUR LOGIC IS INCOHERENT. WE NEED CONSISTENT MENTAL MODELS ABOUT WHAT THIS TECHNOLOGY IS GOOD FOR.
NO WEB3 PLATFORM SHOULD BE INSTAGRAM WITH A BETTER VIBE. IF WE VIEW OUR MISSION AS PUTTING LIPSTICK ON A PIG WE HAVE ALREADY LOST. AS OUR INDUSTRY MATURES, WE ARE BRINGING IN PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT CONCEPTUALLY GRAPPLED WITH THE IMPLICATIONS OF DECENTRALIZATION. CONSEQUENTLY, THEY BELIEVE THIS TECHNOLOGY IS A COMPLICATED SHELL GAME AND CONDUCT THEMSELVES ACCORDINGLY. IF WE BELIEVE IN DECENTRALIZATION, WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IGNORING ITS APPLICATIONS & IMPLICATIONS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO FATALLY IMPACT OUR INDUSTRY.
CURIOSITY IS A NECESSARY COMPONENT OF IMAGINATION.
500,000 $enjoy robots need jobs tooInpublic, you are appreciated. Deeply.
333333 $enjoy
THE LIMITS OF COINS AND CONTENT
WHEN I ENTERED THE SPACE IN JANUARY 2021, SECONDARY ROYALTIES WERE A MAJOR SELLING POINT USED TO ATTRACT ARTISTS TO TOKENIZING THEIR WORK ON BLOCKCHAINS. ANYONE FAMILIAR WITH THE CONTEMPORARY ART MARKET WILL ATTEST THAT THE PRIMARY SALE OF AN EMERGING ARTIST’S WORK RARELY ACHIEVES THE PRICE POINT THAT SECONDARY MARKETS PROVIDE WHICH REDIRECTS THE MAJORITY OF REVENUE GENERATED BY ART TO MEDIATORS LIKE GALLERIES, DEALERS AND AUCTION HOUSES. SECONDARY ROYALTIES TRACKED & BACKED BY BLOCKCHAINS MARKETED THEMSELVES AS A SOLUTION TO THIS WIDESPREAD PROBLEM.
AT THIS POINT, SECONDARY ROYALTIES FOR NFTS WERE A SOCIAL CONVENTION - THEY WERE NEVER ENFORCEABLE ONCHAIN. IF YOU THINK ABOUT THIS LONG ENOUGH, YOU REALIZE THAT A CENTRALIZED POINT OF AUTHORITY (SOMETHING BLOCKCHAINS FAMOUSLY DO NOT HAVE) IS NECESSARY FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF SECONDARY ROYALTIES.
LET’S SAY THAT YOU HARD CODED INTO A CONTRACT “EVERY TIME THIS NFT IS SOLD, THE CREATOR GETS 10% OF THE SALE PRICE”. THEN I MINT THAT NFT AND DECIDED TO SELL IT TO MY FRIEND. ALL I NEED TO DO IS TELL THE CONTRACT THAT I AM SELLING THIS NFT TO MY FRIEND FOR ZERO DOLLARS TO EVADE THE SECONDARY ROYALTY. THEN I WRITE A SEPARATE CONTRACT THAT SAYS THE 2ETH MY FRIEND PUT IN ESCROW CAN BE RELEASED TO ME ONCE THEY RECEIVE THE NFT I SOLD THEM FOR ZERO DOLLARS. IF ANYBODY ASKS, WE ALL INSIST THAT THIS 2E IS COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO THE SALE OF THE NFT. TO COUNTERACT THIS BEHAVIOR YOU’D NEED EITHER; A REGULATORY ENTITY TO APPEAL TO OR A CONTRACT THAT PROHIBITS THE TRANSFER OF AN NFT FROM ONE WALLET TO ANOTHER FOR ZERO DOLLARS. AND IF YOU DID THE LATTER, MAYBE I JUST SEND IT TO MY FRIEND AND THEN RECEIVE .0001E INSTEAD OF ZERO.
ATTEMPTS TO ENFORCE SECONDARY ROYALTIES EITHER REQUIRE SOME SORT OF CENTRALIZED AUTHORITY (A NON-STARTER) OR SOME SORT OF CONTRACTUAL MECHANISM THAT WOULD RESTRICT THE FREE TRANSFER OF TOKENS BETWEEN WALLETS (ALSO A NON-STARTER) . CONSEQUENTLY, SECONDARY ROYALTIES ONLY BECAME A THING THROUGH SOCIAL CONSENSUS WHICH IS ACTUALLY PRETTY COOL IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT.
ARTISTS BANDED TOGETHER AND ENTERED SUGGESTED SECONDARY ROYALTY AMOUNTS INTO CONTRACTS AND THE MAJORITY OF SECONDARY MARKETPLACES IN THE SPACE RESPECTED THIS SUGGESTED ROYALTY WHEN THEY PROCESSED SECONDARY SALES. OPENSEA, BY FAR THE MOST POPULAR AND WIDELY USED SECONDARY MARKET, DID ALL OF ITS MARKET MAKING (THE PROCESS OF PAIRING BUYERS WITH SELLERS AND HELPING THEM EXECUTE TRADES) OFF-CHAIN. BECAUSE OF THIS, THEY COULD NOT EASILY INTEGRATE THE SUGGESTED ROYALTY CONVENTION INTO THEIR PROCESS SO THEY ADDED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ARTISTS TO GO INTO THEIR SYSTEM AND MANUALLY ENTER A SECONDARY ROYALTY THAT THEY WOULD ENFORCE IN THEIR OFF-CHAIN MARKET MAKING PROTOCOL.
IN FEBRUARY OF 2023 A MARKETPLACE EMERGED THAT IGNORED SECONDARY ROYALTIES (BLUR) AND ATE UP A DECENT AMOUNT OF OPENSEA’S VOLUME. WHAT ENSUED IS BETTER DOCUMENTED ELSEWHERE. BLUR WISELY SAID AND DID VERY LITTLE BESIDES STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT. OPENSEA EVENTUALLY ADOPTED A NEARLY IDENTICAL LEVEL OF OPTIONALITY AROUND ROYALTIES AS BLUR BUT NOT BEFORE TRYING SOME RIDICULOUS INCOHERENT SYSTEMS OF THEIR OWN (WHICH BLUR ELEGANTLY GAMED) AND SAYING A BUNCH OF NONSENSE ABOUT HONORING CREATORS. TO SUMMARIZE;
SECONDARY ROYALTIES FOR NFTS HAVE NEVER BEEN MEANINGFULLY ENFORCED ON-CHAIN AND HAVE EXISTED THROUGH SOCIAL CONVENTION, ON-CHAIN SUGGESTIONS AND OFF-CHAIN MARKET MAKING.
EVENTUALLY THESE SYSTEMS WERE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO RESIST MARKET FORCES AND SECONDARY ROYALTIES FOR NFTS ARE NO LONGER AN INDUSTRY WIDE CONVENTION
THE MARKET MAKER WITH THE MOST VOLUME HAS SIGNIFICANT LEVERAGE AROUND SECONDARY ROYALTIES BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE BEST ENVIRONMENT FOR TRADING (I.E. THE MOST BUYERS AND MOST SELLERS)
UNISWAP IS AN ONCHAIN MARKET MAKER DEPLOYED IN 2018 TO FACILITATE THE SWAPPING OF ERC-20 TOKENS. ERC-20 TOKENS ARE DIFFERENT FROM NFTS IN THAT THEY DO NOT POINT TO MEDIA (NO PICTURES) AND THE ARE FUNGIBLE (NOT UNIQUE). THE LACK OF UNIQUENESS ALLOWS FOR FAR MORE ELEGANT MARKET MAKING BECAUSE YOU NEVER HAVE TO WORRY IF YOUR ERC-20 TOKEN IS WEARING A PARTY HAT OR AN EYE PATCH OR IF IT HAS LASER EYES - THERE ISN’T EVEN AN ON-CHAIN PICTURE FOR YOU TO WORRY ABOUT.
UNISWAP ALLOWS FOR USERS TO PERMISSIONLESSLY CREATE LIQUIDITY POOLS AROUND ANY PAIR OF ERC-20 TOKENS. YOU CAN USE UNISWAP WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING HOW LIQUIDITY POOLS WORK - JUST CONNECT AND SWAP ONE TOKEN FOR ANOTHER AT THE PRICE DETERMINED BY THE PROTOCOL. I USED UNISWAP FOR YEARS BEFORE STARTING A LIQUIDITY POOL OR EVEN ASKING HOW THE SWAPS I EXECUTED WERE ENABLED.
WHEN I WANT TO SWAP ONE COIN FOR ANOTHER ON UNISWAP, I DON’T HAVE TO PUT MY COIN UP FOR SALE AND WAIT FOR A BUYER TO COME BY; MY COIN IS IMMEDIATELY SWAPPED OUT BECAUSE THERE IS A POOL OF CAPITAL SITTING THERE WAITING FOR PEOPLE TO COME ALONG AND EXECUTE A SWAP. THIS POOL OF CAPITAL IS AN LP.
USERS CAN PUT UP BOTH SIDES OF A POTENTIAL SWAP (USUALLY ONE SIDE IS ETHEREUM AND THE OTHER IS THE ERC-20 TOKEN THEY ARE LOOKING TO SUPPORT) TO ALLOW FOR OTHER USERS TO EASILY BUY IN AND SELL OUT ON UNISWAP. IN EXCHANGE FOR PROVIDING LIQUIDITY TO ENABLE SWAPS, LP PROVIDERS ARE ENTITLED TO A PORTION OF THE FEE UNISWAP TAKES ON EVERY SWAP.
THE SIZE OF A LIQUIDITY POOL HAS AN IMPACT ON PRICE STABILITY. A TOKEN WITH A VERY LARGE LIQUIDITY POOL (COINS LIKE $DEGEN HAVE LPS WORTH MILLIONS OF $USD) WILL HAVE A STABLE PRICE BECAUSE SMALL INDIVIDUAL TRADES WILL NOT MEANINGFULLY IMPACT LIQUIDITY. COINS WITH SMALL LPS WILL HAVE A VERY VOLATILE PRICE POINT. A LIQUIDITY POOL IS INSULATION FROM VOLATILITY. SHOULD YOU EVER FEEL MOVED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TRADING OF AN ERC-20 TOKEN, IT IS WORTH CHECKING THE SIZE OF THE LIQUIDITY POOL TO UNDERSTAND THE STABILITY OF THE CURRENT PRICE.
IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT YOU CANNOT PROVIDE LIQUIDITY WITHOUT ASSUMING SIGNIFICANT RISK. IF PEOPLE ONLY BUY OR ONLY SELL YOUR ASSET, ONE SIDE OF THE POOL WILL DRAIN AND UNISWAP WILL CONVERT SOME OF THE OTHER SIDE OF THE POOL TO COMPENSATE. OVER TIME, THIS CAN ESSENTIALLY DRAIN YOUR LIQUIDITY POOL. CONSEQUENTLY, PROVIDING LIQUIDITY IS A HIGH RISK BEHAVIOR. SOLICITING LIQUIDITY IS ALSO RISKY BEHAVIOR & PROMISING PROFIT IN EXCHANGE FOR LIQUIDITY IS UNWISE.
APPARENTLY, THE SEC THINKS THIS WHOLE THING IS A SECURITIES CONCERN AND IS CURRENTLY TAKING UNISWAP TO COURT SPECIFICALLY CITING LIQUIDITY POOLS AS THEIR AREA OF INTEREST. I PERSONALLY BELIEVE UNISWAP IS AN INCREDIBLE INNOVATION AND SANE ADULTS CAN BE TRUSTED TO USE IT RESPONSIBLY.
TO SUMMARIZE;
ERC-20 TOKENS ARE FUNGIBLE TOKENS THAT DO NOT EXPLICITLY REFERENCE ANY MEDIA. EXAMPLES INCLUDE DOGE COIN, ETHEREUM, WRAPPED ETHEREUM AND MOST MEME COINS ON ETHEREUM & ETHEREUM L2s.
UNISWAP IS AN ONCHAIN MARKET MAKING PROTOCOL THAT ENABLES SWAPS OF ERC-20 TOKENS BY ALLOWING USERS TO PROVIDE LIQUIDITY POOLS IN EXCHANGE FOR FEES GENERATED BY THE PLATFORM.
PROVIDING LIQUIDITY IS A HIGH RISK BEHAVIOR AND SHOULD NOT BE THOUGHT OF AS AN INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY.
UNISWAP CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS A SECONDARY MARKET FOR ERC-20 TOKENS. LP REWARDS CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS A KIND OF ONCHAIN SECONDARY ROYALTY
LAST NIGHT, ZORA DROPPED THE LIMITLESS ZORB TO SHOWCASE A NEW FEATURE SET THAT ENABLES ONCHAIN SECONDARY TRADING THROUGH UNISWAP. THE FOLLOWING THINGS HAPPENED;
THE LIMITLESS ZORB WAS AVAILABLE AS AN ERC-1155 (A FUNGIBLE TOKEN WHERE EVERY TOKEN REFERENCES THE SAME PIECE OF MEDIA) FOR A THREE HOUR WINDOW.
542,000 ERC-1155 TOKENS WERE MINTED
UNTIL THE MINT WINDOW CLOSED, THIS FUNCTIONED THE SAME AS ANY OTHER ZORA MINT.
THE ONLY FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE BEING THAT ZORA HAS RECENTLY ADJUSTED THEIR FEE STRUCTURE FROM .000777E/MINT TO .000111E/MINT.
WHEN THE MINT CLOSED, THINGS GOT INTERESTING. HOLDERS COULD CHOOSE TO WRAP THEIR ERC-1155 TOKENS INTO ERC-20 TOKENS THROUGH UNISWAP. THIS MEANS THAT AN OPTIONAL FEATURE OF HOLDING THE ERC-1155 LIMITLESS ZORB IS GOING TO UNISWAP AND RECEIVING AN ERC-20 TOKEN IN ITS STEAD. THE CORRESPONDING ERC-20 TOKEN FOR THE LIMITLESS ZORB IS $ZRTK. A SMALL PORTION OF THE MINT FEE FROM THE LIMITLESS ZORB WAS ROUTED TO AN LP FOR $ZRTK THAT USERS COULD PARTICIPATE IN VIA UNISWAP. A PORTION OF THE REWARDS GENERATED BY THAT LP WILL BE ROUTED TO THE CREATOR OF THE ORIGINAL NFT. PRICE ACTION PUSHED THE PRICE OF $ZRTK FROM 0.20$ UP TO 8.00$ OVER THE COURSE OF THE EVENING. IT INEVITABLY CRASHED AS MOST ERC-20 TOKENS DO.
HOLDERS OF THE ERC-1155 TOKEN DO NOT HAVE TO UTILIZE THIS FEATURE OR ENGAGE WITH UNISWAP AT ALL. YOU CAN TRADE THE LIMITLESS ZORB ON OPENSEA OR BLUR IF YOU PREFER. YOU CAN HOLD ONTO YOUR ERC-1155 TOKEN IF HAVING THE PICTURE OF THE LIMITLESS ZORB IN THE TOKEN DATA IS VERY IMPORTANT TO YOU.
IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT USING AN NFT AS A LAUNCHING DEVICE FOR AN ERC-20 TOKEN IS NOT NECESSARILY A NEW IDEA. THIS PROCESS CAN BE TRACED BACK TO PARTYBID (NOW PARTY) WHICH STARTED BY FRACTIONALIZING SINGLE ERC-721 TOKENS INTO ERC-20 TOKENS THAT COULD BE REDEEMED BY USERS FOR A PORTION OF THE PROFITS OR LOSSES IF THE ERC-721 TOKEN WAS SOLD. PARTY HAS EVOLVED INTO A SOPHISTICATED COORDINATION TOOL WHOSE LATEST ITERATION INCLUDES MANY OF THE FEATURES IN ZORA’S UNISWAP INTEGRATION. RUG.FUN IS ALSO A TOOL FOR LAUNCHING ERC-20 TOKENS WITH PIECES OF MEDIA THAT NOTABLY PITS DIFFERENT ASSETS AGAINST EACH OTHER AND REWARDS LIQUIDITY TO THE MOST & LEAST POPULAR MEMES OUT OF THE TOP TEN MEMES SUBMITTED THAT WEEK. I’VE FOUND ALL THREE OF THESE TOOLS TO BE CONCEPTUALLY & TECHNICALLY CHALLENGING. CONSEQUENTLY, THE MENTAL MODELS THEY DEPLOY TO EXPLAIN THEIR INTERIOR LOGIC ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND WILL LIKELY DEFINE THEIR ADOPTION.
THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF ANXIETY CIRCULATING AMONGST THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY OF WEB3 AS THE MOVE TOWARDS ERC-20 TOKENS UNDERSTANDABLY FEELS LIKE A MOVE AWAY FROM MEDIA AND CULTURE. IF YOU ZOOM OUT A LITTLE BIT, I BELIEVE THAT ERC-20 TOKENS ACTUALLY DO ‘POINT TO MEDIA’ - THEY JUST DON’T POINT TO MEDIA USING THE ON-CHAIN CONVENTIONS UTILIZED BY NFTS FROM 2020-2024. IF YOU THINK ABOUT DOGE COIN, YOU SEE A PICTURE OF A SHIBU INU DOG. JUST BECAUSE THAT PICTURE ISN’T LINKED TO THE TOKEN CONTRACT DOESN’T MEAN THESE TOKENS CAN’T BE ASSOCIATED WITH MEDIA. HUMAN BEINGS ARE COMPLEX CREATURES, WE DO NOT NEED OUR TOKENS TO REFERENCE AN IPFS LINK TO KNOW THAT SPECIFIC MEDIA MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE TOKENS. INSISTING ON THIS (OR INSISTING THAT THE INFORMATION NEEDED TO RENDER AN IMAGE MUST EXIST INSIDE THE BODY OF A CONTRACT) REPRESENTS AN OVERLY LITERAL UNDERSTANDING OF HOW MEDIA AND TOKENIZATION RELATE TO EACHOTHER.
WE ARE SEEING A NARRATIVE SHIFT EMERGING AROUND TOKENIZED ASSETS. WE STARTED BY PROMISING SECONDARY ROYALTIES IN PERPETUITY TO FINE ARTISTS FOR TOKENIZING THEIR UNIQUE 1/1 WORKS. WE ARE NOW IN AN ERA WHERE ERC-20 TOKENS WILL BECOME BRANDS AND THESE BRANDS WILL REQUIRE CREATIVE AGENCIES TO GENERATE PROMOTIONAL MEDIA AS WELL AS ON & OFF CHAIN ASSETS. THESE THINGS MAY OR MAY NOT BE EXPLICITLY LINKED TO THE BRAND’S ERC-20 CURRENCY VIA CONTRACTS AND I DO NOT THINK THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT. YOU CANNOT FIT A VIBE INSIDE A CONTRACT.
THE BEST EXPERIENCES I HAVE HAD WITH ERC-20 TOKENS HAVE INVOLVED GROUPS OF CREATIVES, DEVS & DEGENS COMING TOGETHER TO GENERATE MEDIA, EVENTS, ZINES, VIBES AND NFTS TO SUPPORT AN ERC-20 TOKEN’S BRAND & LIQUIDITY POOL. THE SUCCESS OF EACH OF THESE BRANDS IS LARGELY DEPENDENT ON THEIR ABILITY TO FOCUS ON THE MISSION; DRIVING VALUE TO THE TOKEN. I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THE TEAMS CAPABLE OF ACCOMPLISHING THAT MISSION WILL WIN THIS NEXT CYCLE.
THIS ESSAY WILL TURN INTO AN ERC-20 TOKEN ON SUNDAY.
limitless 500000 $ENJOYThe essay Secondary Royalties in NFT: Inefficient, anti-market & ethically suspect by Charlotte Fang is good supplemental reading on secondary royalties. I think the conclusion there (Artist's Reserve is the correct model for NFT Art World) makes sense and works well with the new Zora ERC-20 system.
goldenlight.mirror.xyz/VEkExWCvY0WUf0j33A7NJMdyZ65SLOhNskxORUdxCeU
secondary onchain royalties (enforced), huge huge deal. ty for writing about this!
500000 $enjoy
$CRASH ZINE
VISUALS, LAYOUT & DESIGN BY JAMEE CORNELIA
PRODUCED BY $CRASH & INPUBLIC.FUN
EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY @CXY & @CLT
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM:
RUBY JUSTICE
DAISY ALIOTO
EILEEN SKYERS
GREMLIN
YANA SANISLOVA
YURI RYBAK
TONYHAWK PRO GOLFER
GRAHAN IRVIN
CHAD MASTERS
<3 to Yuri
$CRASH ZINE (INTRODUCTION)
$CRASH ZINE IS A COLLECTION OF WRITTEN WORKS INSPIRED BY THE THEME OF CRASHING & AIR TRAVEL. EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED WAS PAID IN $CRASH, A MEME COIN THAT HAD A MOMENT IN MARCH & APRIL OF 2024. $CRASH WAS LAUNCHED THE WEEK MY DAUGHTER WAS BORN BY A TEAM OF THREE INTERNET FRIENDS. I AM NOT AN OFFICIAL FOUNDER BUT I AM AN EARLY ADOPTER OF THE COIN. I HAVE A VISION THAT $CRASH COULD BECOME A CURRENCY FOR WRITERS, ARTISTS, MUSICIANS AND MULTI-HYPHENATES IN ‘THE SPACE’ AND THAT WE WILL USE IT FUND A SERIES OF CREATIVE PROJECTS. THIS ZINE IS MEANT AS THE LITERARY PORTION OF THAT MOVEMENT. WE WILL BE RELEASING $CRASH ZINE ON A DAY WHEN MANY OF YOU ARE LIKELY FLYING OR TRAVERSING AN AIRPORT. THIS IS LARGELY INSPIRED BY MY EXPERIENCE OF BEING ONBOARDED INTO “CRYPTO” VIA $FWB.
I SOLD A SMALL AMOUNT EVERY WEEK IN ORDER TO LIVE AND DID MY BEST TO GET THE REST OF MY $CRASH INTO THE HANDS OF CREATIVES IN THE SPACE. I’VE GIVEN AWAY, COMMISSIONED PROJECTS AND PURCHASED NFTS WITH A FEW BILLION $CRASH WHICH WAS VERY FUN. I WOULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN EXACTLY THAT WAY. I AM DETERMINED TO TRY AND DISTRIBUTE THIS CURRENCY TO OTHER COOL PEOPLE DOING COOL THINGS. I USED $CRASH TO BUILD INPUBLIC.FUN (THANKS CHRIS & SAM!).
I WANT TO THANK SIRSU, DILLON & ANUBIS FOR FOUNDING $CRASH. THANK YOU CY & CARL FOR BELIEVING IN THE VISION. THANK YOU DREW & EMILIE FOR EDITING, COMPILING AND ORGANIZING THIS WORK. THANK YOU TO ALL THE CONTRIBUTORS; YOU UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT. A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO JAMEE CORNELIA FOR DOING ALL OF THE GRAPHICS, TEXT, LAYOUT AND VISUALS FOR THIS PROJECT.
ALL PROCEEDS WILL BE SPLIT EVENLY AMONGST ALL PARTICIPANTS (WRITERS, EDITORS, DESIGNERS, AND A CONTRIBUTOR SHARE WILL BE ALLOCATED TO THE $CRASH LP).
IN THE WORDS OF JONATHAN MANN WHO IS CURRENTLY SUING THE SEC,
“THEY SAY TIME IS AN EQUALIZER, NOTHING GOOD EVER LASTS. TIME AND SPACE ARE JUST AN ILLUSION; WHY FLY WHEN YOU CAN CRASH?”
111111 $enjoy
FACTORY.FM
FACTORY.FM
I SPENT LAST WEEK GLUED TO FACTORY.FM. THE PLATFORM, WHICH INDEXES SPOTIFY, ALLOWS USERS TO SUBMIT “LOGS” ASSOCIATED WITH ALBUMS. THE UX IS MINIMAL, IT’S CURRENTLY MOBILE ONLY (UNLESS YOU TURN ON DEVELOPER TOOLS IN SAFARI) AND PROVIDES A VERY LIGHT FRAME FOR USERS TO REFLECT AND DOCUMENT A SMALL AMOUNT OF TEXT WITH ANY ALBUM (ON SPOTIFY).
FACTORY FM IS ADDICTIVE. BECAUSE I’M PRONE TO OVERTHINKING AND OVERWRITING (ESPECIALLY ABOUT MUSIC) I HAVE LIMITED MYSELF TO LOGGING IN HAIKUS. THE INVITATION TO TALK ABOUT MUSIC AWAKENS SOME STRANGE COMPULSION IN ME THAT WANTS TO BE SEEN AND BRINGS ME JOY. AS THE LEADING POWER USER OF THE PLATFORM (IT’S NOT CLOSE), I WANTED TO DOCUMENT SOME INSIGHTS;
RIGHT NOW IT MAKES SENSE THAT LOGS ARE PRETTY LOOSELY DEFINED HOWEVER I FOUND GREAT JOY IN BRINGING SOME STRUCTURE TO MY LOGGING PROCESS. SEVERELY LIMITING WORD COUNT OR PROVIDING MORE PROMPTING MIGHT INCREASE ENGAGEMENT;
LOG AN ALBUM YOU FELL IN LOVE TO
LOG A SONG THAT GOT YOU THROUGH A HARD TIME
FAVORITE LYRIC
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN YOU FIRST HEARD THIS
I HAVE FOUND THAT THE MORE PERSONAL THE CONTENT OF MY LOG, THE BETTER I FEEL ABOUT USING THE PLATFORM.
BUILDING A PERSONAL CARTOGRAPHY FEELS BEAUTIFUL AND MAGICAL. I COULD TALK ABOUT MUSIC IN THIS WAY ALL DAY.
PROMPTING OR DIRECTION ON LOGS SHOULD VEER TOWARDS THE PERSONAL. THIS ALLOWS THE USERS TO BRING PART OF THEMSELVES TO THE PLATFORM AND MAKES IT STICKIER.
I FEEL PRETTY STRONGLY THAT FACTORY FM SHOULD NOT INTRODUCE A TOKEN. RIGHT NOW IT’S A WEIRD OBSESSIVE HABIT FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO SPEAK INTO THE VOID ABOUT ALBUMS. THE NOISE THAT A LAYER OF FINANCIAL INCENTIVIZATION INTRODUCES WOULD LIKELY ROB THIS EXPERIENCE OF EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL ABOUT IT.
IF TOKENIZATION BECOMES NECESSARY FOR FUNDRAISING PURPOSES I’D SUGGEST BEING RUTHLESS ABOUT ALIGNING THE MECHANIC WITH WHAT MAKES THE PLATFORM SPECIAL;
BE OPINIONATED
REWARD THE PERSONAL
FOCUS REWARDS, DON’T SPRAY & PRAY.
QUALITY OVER QUANTITY
I ALSO FEEL STRONGLY THAT, BECAUSE THE STRENGTH OF FACTORY.FM IS AS A SORT OF REGISTRY OR LEDGER, IT WILL FIND ITS TRUEST FORM AS A WEB3 PRODUCT. THIS MEANS FINDING WAYS TO SURFACE THE NETWORK BEING DEVELOPED HERE THAT ARE MORE NOVEL THAN DROPPING A TOKEN OR INTRODUCING AN NFT. WE NEED CREATIVE WAYS TO USE BLOCKCHAINS TO MAKE NETWORKS VISIBILE AND MEANINGFUL. SOME IDEAS;
AN ONCHAIN SCOREBOARD
BRINGING LOGS INTO A TCR OR ONCHAIN WIKIPEDIA TYPE STRUCTURE
SOME SORT OF COMMUNICATION PLATFORM (NOT TELEGRAM, PROBABLY NOT DISCORD)
IT IS CRITICAL TO IDENTIFY THE VALUE THAT FACTORY.FM IS GENERATING AND STICK TO BRINGING THAT SPECIFIC (AND ONLY THAT) VALUE ONCHAIN INSTEAD OF PIGGYBACKING ONTO THE ALBUM CULTURAL POSITIONING OR LIKENESS OF EXISTING WORK (ALBUMS) AS THE BASIS FOR THE ONCHAIN ASSET.
I AM LARGELY UNINTERESTED IN INTERACTING WITH OTHER USERS IN THE FORM OF COMMENTS. THIS COULD BE BECAUSE NOBODY HAS MATCHED MY FREAK OR IT COULD BE BECAUSE I’M AN OBSESSIVE NARCISSIST.
IT’S INTERESTING TO ME THAT PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS TO TOKENIZE AN INDEXED VERSION OF SPOTIFY (LIKE HITPIECE) FELL SO FLAT WHILE FACTORY.FM FEELS ADDITIVE AND INTERESTING. THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE A THOUGHT PROMPTED BY AN ALBUM FEELS MORE LIKE CO-CREATION THAN MINING EXISTING WORK FOR PROFIT. THIS IS WORTH KEEPING IN MIND AS FACTORY.FM GROWS. THERE ARE PATHS THAT COULD FEEL EXTRACTIVE UNDER THE WRONG MONETIZATION MECHANIC (I.E. ONE THAT DOESN’T PRODUCE ANYTHING ADDITIONAL OF VALUE).
FACTORY.FM USES SPOTIFY AS A MAP. THIS IS SMART, VALUABLE, AND RESONATES WITH SOME OTHER THINGS I’VE WRITTEN ON THIS SITE. THIS MAP SHOULD YIELD A NETWORK. I’M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT OSCILLATOR (THE TEAM BEHIND FACTORY.FM) DOES WITH THAT NETWORK.
These two things, for me, capture the essence of what I love about Factory:
"The invitation to talk about music awakens some strange compulsion in me that wants to be seen and brings me joy."
"Building a personal cartography of albums feels beautiful and magical. I could talk about music in this way all day."
IN PUBLIC 2024
MUSIC & COMMUNITY
BEST IF VIEWED ON INPUBLIC.FUN
NATIONAL ANTHEMS. SPORTS CHANTS. RELIGIOUS RITUAL. A MIXTAPE FOR YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CRUSH. FOLK SONGS AROUND A CAMPFIRE. MUSIC IS DEEPLY LINKED TO MEMORY & FUNCTIONS AS A MAP TO HELP US NAVIGATE OUR INNER LIVES. THROUGH THIS PRISM WE BETTER UNDERSTAND OURSELVES AND WITH ANY LUCK, WE FEEL MORE DEEPLY CONNECTED TO THE WORLD & PEOPLE AROUND US.
THE MOST ACCURATE PREDICTIVE FACTOR AROUND THE SUCCESS OF MOST MEDIA ONCHAIN HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH THE MEDIA ITSELF. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT ALL GOOD MEDIA IS UNSUCCESSFUL OR THAT ALL SUCCESSFUL MEDIA IS BAD. IT SIMPLY MEANS THAT SUCCESS AND QUALITY OF MEDIA ARE TYPICALLY UNCORRELATED. THIS IS SIMILAR TO MANY TRADITIONAL MEDIA DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS BUT DIFFERENT IN THAT WE HAVE AN ACCURATE AND TRANSPARENT ACCOUNT OF TRANSACTIONS SURROUNDING THE MEDIA ALONG WITH THE ONCHAIN IDENTITIES OF ALL INVOLVED PARTIES.
THE SUCCESS OF MEDIA ONCHAIN IS OFTEN DETERMINED BY THE CHARACTER AND SIZE OF THE ONCHAIN NETWORK AROUND THE CREATOR. SOCIALLY ACTIVE, CONNECTED AND LOUD CREATORS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SECURE SIGNIFICANT VALUATIONS FOR THEIR WORK WITH VAGUE VALUE PROPOSITIONS AS LONG AS THESE GESTURES WERE CONNECTED TO A POWERFUL AND ACTIVE DECENTRALIZED NETWORK.
MUSIC WANTS TO BE HEARD. IT WANTS TO BE MIXED WITH OTHER RECORDS. IT WANTS TO BE HELD AND ADDED TO A MIXTAPE OR AT LEAST A PLAYLIST. MUSIC DOES NOT WANT TO BE REFERENCED AS THE ANIMATION URI OF AN ERC-1155 CONTRACT. TOKENIZED MUSIC HAS FELT UNCOMFORTABLE & ILLIQUID IN THIS MEDIUM. LIMITING MUSIC NFTS TO NON-FUNGIBLE TOKENS THAT REFERENCE AN AUDIO FILE IS A NARROW VIEW OF THE MEDIUM.
$FWB IS A TOKENIZED DISCORD COMMUNITY THAT PROVIDES CULTURAL RESOURCES FOR THOSE AT LEAST SEMI-LITERATE IN BOTH BLOCKCHAIN AND CULTURE. IT WAS BUILT BY A SQUAD WITH DEEP RELATIONSHIPS & EXPERIENCE IN DIFFERENT SECTORS OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY.
ALTHOUGH FWB HAS (WISELY) NEVER IDENTIFIED AS A MUSIC NFT, I BELIEVE THAT $FWB IS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL EXPRESSION OF TOKENIZED MUSIC & COMMUNITY. THIS COMMUNITY HAS ENDURED AND GROWN FINDING ITS MOST SUCCESSFUL CURRENT ITERATION IN AN ANNUAL FESTIVAL IN THE IDLEWILD MOUNTAINS. THIS YEAR I WILL BE AT HOME TAKING CARE OF MY NEWBORN DAUGHTER, BUT IF YOU CAN, I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU MAKE YOUR WAY TO FEST.
SCENES
CHECK OUT SCENES @ scenes.soundoffractures.com/
SCENES
“‘ART’ & ‘CONTENT’ ARE BOTH INTERPRETIVE FRAMEWORKS, AND MUSIC IS NOT ‘ART’ UNLESS WE CHOOSE TO ENGAGE WITH IT AS SUCH. THIS IS NOT ALWAYS AN EASY CHOICE, SINCE EXPERIENCING MUSIC AS ART MEANS MAKING OURSELVES VULNERABLE TO IT. WE GRANT ART ACCESS TO MEMORIES AND EMOTIONS THAT MIGHT BE UPSETTING, INCONVENIENT OR DISRUPTIVE.”
-ART VS. CONTENT BY MATT LEMAY
‘SCENES’ BY SOUND OF FRACTURES IS NOT CONTENT. IT ASKED ME TO SHARE SOMETHING PERSONAL; A TIME I WAS IN LOVE, A PHOTO. THESE ARE PROMPTS THAT NO COMPUTER CAN ANSWER - THEY PULL ON MEMORY, EMOTION & CONNECTION EXPLICITLY AND QUICKLY. GIVING COMPUTER NETWORKS THE ABILITY TO ANSWER PROMPTS IN SEEMINGLY HUMAN WAYS MAY FEEL LIKE A RELATIVELY RECENT PHENOMENON BUT THE INVERSE, CONDITIONING USERS TO HIDE THEIR HUMANITY WHILE NAVIGATING NETWORKS, IS A CENTURIES OLD PROCESS EXACERBATED BY THE TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENTS THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BRING US CLOSER TOGETHER. WE ALL EXIST IN OUR OWN SILOED VERSION OF THE INTERNET ALGORITHMICALLY TAILORED IN WAYS WE WILL NEVER FULLY COMPREHEND. DISTRIBUTED NETWORKS ONCE FELT LIKE AN ATTEMPT TO BRING US ALL INTO THE SAME INTEROPERABLE, DECENTRALIZED AND COMMUNITY CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT.
“THE ROLE OF ARTISTS IS TO BREAK THE MEMETIC UNIVERSES OF THESE PLATFORMS… AND BRING THEM INTO COLLECTIVE CONTROL… APPARATUS WERE INVENTED TO FUNCTION AUTOMATICALLY… THE HUMAN BEING WOULD BE RULED OUT… THIS RIGID AND UNINTENTIONAL FUNCTIONALITY, AUTOMATICITY, IS WHAT NEEDS TO BE MADE THE OBJECT OF CRITICISM.”
-TOWARDS A PHILOSOPHY OF PHOTOGRAPHY BY VILEM FLUSSER
WE ARE AT A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN THE EVOLUTION OF MEDIA ONLINE & ONCHAIN. PLATFORMS THAT ONCE HERALDED ARTISTS ARE PIVOTING TO SUPPORT CREATORS. THE PRICE AND QUALITY OF WORK IS MOVING ACCORDINGLY. THEY CELEBRATE CONTENT INSTEAD OF ART. REPLICATING OLD SYSTEMS IS UNIMAGINATIVE.
SCENES IS POWERFUL. THE MUSIC IS EMOTIONAL, THE IMAGES AND TEXT ARE COMMUNITY SOURCED AND THE PRESENTATION IS BEAUTIFUL. IT’S NOT CONTENT. ITS SOMETHING NEW - SOMETHING DIFFERENT. GO CHECK IT OUT.
I think the emphasis on the SCENES might has distracted or confused people from Collecting the Music side of the project, I only say this because after speaking with Jamie (SOF) I was shocked to hear how many people who loved, championed and backed this wonderful performance art project never collected any of the songs, Including myself, because I honestly thought I already did. I missed the not so obvious detail that there were two options, collect song and collect scene. Because SOF put so much emphasis on the SCENES side of it, I wonder how many people missed collecting the music side like i did. If you're reading this and you also missed it but love this project, please take a few moments to go back and revisit the site to grab the music also <3
This was inspirational to watch unfold. Grateful I was able to witness it up close..
Instead of a raucous celebration
in a local venue
over a few hours,
for supporters to hear the music
see each other (literally)
and share in real time;
SCENES is a thoughtful dialogue
online & onchain
over a few months,
for supporters to hear the music
see each other (metaphorically)
and share asynchronously.
Each prompt in SCENES created space
for listening, introspection, vulnerability, and reflection
on each individual's own terms, their own place, their own time.
The cumulative wave of each SCENE,
Jamie hand-editing each submission into the greater body of work onchain;
is in stark contrast to dry Play & Like counts,
metrics of a marketing campaign pitting algorithms vs algorithms.
When I browse through the [SCENES galleries](scenes.soundoffractures.com/scenes),
it is something new - something different.
It's a glimpse of a new native form of music online & onchain that is
conversational, emotional, durable.
BLOG-ERA ENERGY
New instruments in new hands.
The incumbents hate it because it's unrefined & unfamiliar.
But there's no other way to express the energy of new possibility than to make ugly weird shit with it.
It's punk.
MUSIC NFTS
there exist very few great songs documented on the blockchain. no new genres have been invented which is disappointing given that clowncore is achieved by playing math metal dressed as a clown. you could argue that our own version of clowncore has been attempted by universal music group in the form of kingship, a band composed of 4 bayc avatars. their output has been scrubbed from the internet in embarrassment (if you can find it please send it to me).
‘minting' needs to be broken down into ‘media type specific’ behaviors. 'collect' is a weak value proposition in 2024 when I am writing this (it may come back around). 'support' is a little better but still not great. you could build a model where you are funding the next thing ('fund'), like super collector, which is also better than 'collect’. I got a peek at fam from iamnick.eth and I think it's moving in the right direction, which is to create ways beyond 'mint' or 'collect' to engage with music onchain, especially at the collective level. we need more music nft clients like fam, songcamp’s audiato & futuretape that open the door to behaviors that will click with people who aren't wealthy or just trying to support web3 as a concept. denying web3 music as a category is foolish. it is not uncommon for the medium to have a relationship to the content or message, some might even say that the medium is the message. mixtapes, AM radio, car commercials, rare japanese vinyl, 8 track, soundcloud, song used in prestige television closing credits - all of these mediums have a 'sound'. people will group web3 music into a category because of the distribution method. sadly, most of the publicized music in web3 doesn't really have a coherent much less cohesive sonic or visual identity. web3 music is mostly uncurious and unambitious.
i don't have an issue with raw, under produced or technically unproficient work existing here. I wish more web3 music felt raw. the medium creates a huge opportunity to create visual and written context for the music and when people lean into this it is awesome and well received. Latasha & Gremlin are two artists who have a clear visual language that they've married to their sonics and it hits very hard. they are also both taking sonic risks and making types of music that doesn't exist in over abundance elsewhere. I don't want to mint pollen type beats or car commercial type beats or even 'i wish i was burial or two shell' rave type jungle house ass beats. I want web3 music to fucking slap and be new and to have a mechanic that is legible to regular people as a sensible way of engaging. if
that's "give me a couple bucks just because" that's absolutely fine - passing the hat around during the live set is a tried and true way of supporting music. we have enough tools to be able to build in that direction in a meaningful way, and we are failing musicians by not building in a direction that supports risk taking.
I also fundamentally disagree with the notion that great music is common, that creativity should always be encouraged agnostic to quality or that artists should be coddled by their audiences. you have to earn a following, same as everywhere else. there are no shortcuts to making good music and never have been.
good music, proficient music, well produced mixed and mastered music, is everywhere and this excess of supply has driven the price way down. there is really powerful and great pop music coming out of the major label system. writing/producing as a craft is concentrated and supported in small scenes that are outputting a very specific & great sound. once a good artist gets absorbed into the industry, the incentives warp dramatically in a way that almost immediately snuffs out the thing that made them special and stops them from innovating further. the economics of boundary pushing and risk taking get overwhelmed as soon as the first major check gets cut and then you're just trying to monetize a well known brand as content and manage reputational risk and downside. most of the best rap labels have mastered keeping the creative process away from the industry and utilizing majors for their distribution and label services while avoiding the kind of slow death encouraged by the content mill.
there is a lot of possibility for experimental music and the risks associated with making experimental music have never been higher. the macroeconomic conditions that inspire that kind of movement have never been weaker in my lifetime. In the 90s you could write a song about walking on the sun built around a cute organ riff and never have to work again even if your band dressed like the cast of the movie clerks. we are currently in a difficult climate for creating great work and the need for great work has never been higher. the birdman must fly in any weather.
we need experimental music onchain. we need onchain native genres. we need artists interested in exploring the containers for their music and mixing media together in unanticipated new ways. the blockchain has a character, the music
documented here could have a character, this could all mean something besides number go up. we need a point of view and a sense of community to get there. i’ve felt it at different times in different corners of the space; during a partybid for pussy riot’s ‘drink my blood’, minting loot from the contract, figuring out how to get a terraform to say ‘bing bong’ in fwb’s nft general chat at 4am. I’ve heard beautiful music here; tangling in headlights by urboiari, barely A lady ✧ raw jam by forrest mortifee. I think about these songs all the time.
there were conditions under which this music might have been attributed its full value by market forces; in march of 2021 anything felt possible. I made my best music nft which was purchased for 65 $fwb by cooper turley. I made one good nft since then, which i gave to bradey from panther modern because he said he liked it in the fwb discord. why did my nfts get discernibly worse as i spent more time in the space?
i was talking to a friend about nft collections and he asked me what exactly in the code made it so you could only make nfts that were profile views of animal cartoons. his exposure to nfts was so limited that he assumed there was something in the code forcing people to only make nfts that utilized a profile view of an animal drawing as their media. Its the same brain worm that executives at umg were dealing with when they decided to make 4 bayc avatars into a band (seriously if you can find any of kingship’s music please drop it in the comments).
some version of this brain worm has found its way into my brain; on some level the gravity of capital convinced me that nfts had to be a certain way to succeed. that way is undeniably worse than the kind of experiments i was making during my first year on the blockchain.
someone’s version of a music nft is definitely dead and honestly, thank god, because that stuff wasn’t fooling anyone. the capital was sourced before the product could mature, the cart was put before the horse. when we’re done clearing away the carcass of failed experiments like kingship we will have made space for what will come next. long live music nfts.
Incase the links don’t load properly:
[clowncore](www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR_rPd_ufK4)
[tangling in headlights by urboiari](opensea.io/collection/deer-tangling-like-ivy)
[barely A lady ✧ raw jam by forrest mortifee](zora.co/collect/eth:0xdffd47af914c4fb80f58db83e9c0c5fb7d6dfa be)
[my best music nft](opensea.io/assets/ethereum/0xabefbc9fd2f806065b4f3c237d4b59d9a9 7bcac7/1653)
[one good nft since](foundation.app/mint/eth/0x3B3ee1931Dc30C1957379FAc9aba94D1 C48a5405/37994)
wish there was more raw stuff too. the forrest track is moving as hell.
as far as this price/supply meta, it doesn't seem interesting or innovative to me. need more real experimentation and interaction w the new mediums available and less shouting about skeuomorphic takes on what we should do.
i don't care what it's called. i care that it means something to me and maybe explores some new ground.
The thing that got me into onchain stuff in the first place was the relational aspect - the ability to fix intangible things and their relation to each other and to people in virtual space. I like the sentiment of artists "exploring the containers of their music" because that was my own primary reason for getting in to all this stuff, and it's the reason I am still around. The *interaction* is "the sound" of onchain music for me. If it's not utilising the composability, the modularity or the relational aspects in some way then it's just distribution. Don't know if I am making sense, but the feeling of an open space to explore is "the sound" to me. Traversing an uncharted territory and finding likeminded people along the way to follow or befriend is "the sound" to me.
Anyways, appreciate this new place, appreciate your peptalk, appreciate all the possible futures.
i feel so similar i don't have much to add here
thanks for this
boy you know the way to my heart. that line *hits*!
It's a strong point that is also counter intuitive (at least to me, when i was first introduced to it). I kinda intentionally didn't get into pricing here because I think it's secondary to content but ultimately it's a pretty personal thing. from the artist side, being asked to lower your price or feeling market pressure to conform to a low price point can have deeper meaning than just the metrics. Price point can be symbolic of worth even if the data bears out that a lower price point will have higher overall revenue. The meaning of that revenue, in the form of one person's belief, has a different meaning than 10 people valuing the work differently.
I'll use John Henry as an example here - you buying this for 65 $fwb profoundly changed my life in a way that is difficult to measure. And that impact is uniquely linked to the fact that your bid felt like an important signal of belief to keep going. It was a powerful enough signal that it prompted me to quit UMG and eventually start working at FWB. Would minting a bunch of editions to different people have had the same impact? i doubt i would have gotten enough $fwb to join the discord this way and that would have had a major impact on my trajectory.
All this is to say that there are forces that are only visible from the artist side that transcend the data. You're objectively correct with the point you're making - the dune dashboard is pretty undeniable - but there are also metrics we don't measure on Dune that really matter.
It means the world to me to start having this conversation in long form onchain instead of on twitter. let's keep it going.
I've been collecting music onchain for the better half of 4+ years at this point - and am still collecting music pretty much everyday.
My POV stemmed from the fact that there are not new people coming into the space excited about the idea of minting their music or people collecting it organically because they love it.
For a space to work - it needs to be able to support recurring, organic behavior that is not dependent on any expectations of profits or utility. I believe we are the closer to that now than we ever have been.
And this is why I think "Music NFTs" as a meme are dead. To me - "Music NFTs" represented the 2021 logic of selling a very small number of limited editions for a very high price. The current meta of unlimited open editions feels like a much healthier place to grow from. There seems to be a misconception that because the editions are cheap (typically 0.000777 ETH but I think even this is high) that the music is undervalued or worthless.
We've noticed this model is actually more profitable in the long-term as it creates opportunities for anyone to come in whenever they want - without having to worry about there being no copies left or being priced out due to it being out of someone's budget. Data here - dune.com/coop_records/coop-recs
We've managed to onboard 100 artists in 2024 - leading with the narrative of low stakes, low pressure and low expectations. We actively push back on the use of the word "NFT" as its polarizing and intimidating to anyone who didn't make a bag in 2021. It's a much healthier starting point and exposes artists to the space by getting them paid without having to cater to a brand new group of supposed "superfans" who are largely just people trying to flip for profit at the end of the day.
Had no clue my post would ruffle so many feathers - I thought we were all on the same page based on onchain data in 2024 across the board and saw it as an opportunity to start a new narrative about healthier beginnings using the learnings of the past two years in a bear market.
John Henry is a banger. Proud to be a collector of what you consider to be your best Music NFT.
those who love it will keep showing up and creating no matter what. don't ever lose the soul and essence of how you move/ walk it out or i'm fly to you and have talk.
let's check-in on 07/16/2025, 07/16/2026, 7/16/2027, 7/16/2028, 7/16/2029, 7/16/2030, 7/16/2040, 7/16/2045, 7/16/2050, etc. etc. etc.
MOOD tonight. this still goes HARD (stank face energy)
i miss you roy hargrove
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfILgLkfnMs&ab_channel=TheRHFactor-Topic
keep going and stay heartFULL,
David T Phung
07/16/2024
x.com/studio_daddy/status/1796254157877436645?s=46&t=vXs_JZn8PJrQc6nfdn92XQ
[tangling in headlights by
urboiari](opensea.io/collection/deer-tangling-like-ivy)
[barely A lady ✧ raw jam by forrest
mortifee](
be)
[my best music
nft](opensea.io/assets/ethereum/0xabefbc9fd2f806065b4f3c237d4b59d9a9
7bcac7/1653)
[one good nft
since](foundation.app/mint/eth/0x3B3ee1931Dc30C1957379FAc9aba94D1
C48a5405/37994)
TOKEN # 1.1
-Long form PDF getting into the vision coming soon.
-$Crash zine coming soon
-The comments section supports [markdown](www.markdownguide.org/basic-syntax/) so drop a weird .gif or link if the spirit moves you
this documentation of comments onchain is necessary.
keep going! happy friday.
p.s. its fun to see so many familiar names here. its like I've come home to the fwb discord channel chats.
all it needs is one blog and person to care about documentation onchain. thank you, yuri rybak! need a yuri beats energy as i browse comments in the future.
-Stephen Brand