Ed3 Weekly Issue #46: Creators Start Your Engines
How the web3 ecosystem is ready to onboard creators and artists onto the blockchain
Hello web3 and education frens,
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I always believed that true blockchain adoption would start with artists and creators. One could argue that it will specifically be musicians that will lead this transformation.
If we look back on the major technological shifts in the last 100+ years, it was music that lead the way. Radio, television, and the internet were all driven by the need for consumers to access musical media.
Will the blockchain be the same thing?
It very well could be. I am very interested to see how this “sleeping giant” will drive a post-bear market.
This week’s issue is all about some different creator-centered changes we are seeing in web3. From music to Hollywood there is a lot that has yet to be explored in the media space.
We have yet to see a paradigm-shifting fan-driven creator experience. Music NFTs are cool, but what about NFT holders deciding what instrument will be used for a chorus, the ending to a movie, or which actor will play a certain character?
These are the defining “aha” moments that can shift web3 from being some sketchy money grab to interesting technology for the masses.
Enjoy the resources this week where we talk about:
🎥 Will Hollywood finally make a real web3 play?
🎶 Audius and Tik Tok create a partnership and Spotify wants a piece too
🪜 Yahoo shares the five steps to a billion web3 users
🎙 Listen to an interview with the Unstoppable Domains founder and CEO
Web3 in Holywood
Image Credit: roman makhmutov/Getty
My original draw into web3 was the opportunity for creators to own and monetize their art. Instead, the first phase of crypto adoption focused on the financial mechanisms of web3. This article outlines how we are ready to enter a new era in which creators and fans can take advantage of blockchain technology to evolve how we interact with art.
The article also does a good job identifying the fact that an NFT drop doesn’t automatically make something a web3 project. It shares how community members can be part of the artistic process. One thing that this recent web3 wave missed was the partnership between creator and fan. Hopefully, we can start to see more of this as we transition out of this recent bear cycle.
Web2 Music Meet Web3 and Vice Versa
Photo: Depositphotos
This is a rare two-for-one entry into the newsletter. The first article outlines how Spotify is testing some web3 features that will allow NFT holders to access specific playlists. This other article goes in the opposite direction and outlines how web3 music platform Audius is adding a TikTok integration.
Both of these instances are further evidence of the expansion of the creator economy on the blockchain. Musicians can access new revenue streams if their content can be integrated into a web2 platform. It is also beneficial to web3 creators to have web2 platforms find ways to integrate their content. For an education system that is evolving toward cultivating the creator economy, this is great news for aspiring young creators.
One Billion Is a Lot of People
Image from Yahoo Finance
It’s a heavy question to ask how one billion people can be onboarded into web3. Yahoo attempts to answer this question with this article. Using a chart tweeted by Lark Davies, it is possible to predict this number of users by 2027. That’s not that far off in the future.
But how is this supposed to happen? Here are the 5 steps Yahoo proposes:
One-click accessibility with fewer steps to onboard
Onboarding businesses so their customers follow suit
Celebrities taking stakes in Web3’s creator economy
Improving interoperability between layer-1 chains
A clear and consistent regulatory landscape
Will this happen? I guess we’ll find out over the next 3-4 years.
Web3 and Digital Identity
Image by thedefiant.io
I’ll close this week with an extended podcast interview with Unstoppable Domains founder Matthew Gould. It is interesting to think about what Gould is sharing in light of the “5 steps for adoption” outlined in the Yahoo article. One could surmise that maintaining your digital identity can help support the onboarding businesses and increase celebrity adoption.
I am not sure if the two things are directly correlated. Regardless, the idea of maintaining one’s digital identity is at the heart of the blockchain and the creator economy. It is not that far of a reach to see how the two can help support each other as web3 continues its mainstream adoption.
Thank you for stopping by for another issue of my web3🤝education newsletter. If you’re on LinkedIn you can check out a version of this newsletter on my LinkedIn page and give me a follow. You can also link to all my work by checking out my blog or give me a follow on Twitter.