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Royalties chat again, welp.
Here’s my go at a measured and constructive take on all this. Not saying this thread achieves that, but it's certainly the intention...
🧵👇
Here’s my go at a measured and constructive take on all this. Not saying this thread achieves that, but it's certainly the intention...
🧵👇
1. The royalty race-to-zero behaviour we’re seeing now is disappointing but not surprising. Some of the same people who gleefully sold artists on the idea of Web3 new royalty models are now investors in 0% royalty marketplaces. derp.
2. 0% royalties for 1/1 artists is what happens when vulture mindset is allowed to run rampant in the space. Phrases devoid of empathy like ‘rent-seeking’ and ‘parasitical’ surface, as if artists were nefarious leeches instead of just people who like to make things lol.
3. This might be a marketplace, but artists are not stocks or FTSE500 companies. They have rent, mortgages, tax, families, artist tool costs & above all are human beings just trying to make a living from selling their art.
The number of artists making +1E sales here is few...
The number of artists making +1E sales here is few...
4. ... and I know many artists for who the royalty of a secondary sale helps them eat for the week, or keeps their head above water for another month or two.
This said, sorry fellow artists but things like 20% royalties is too high. Collectors also have bills & obligations too.
This said, sorry fellow artists but things like 20% royalties is too high. Collectors also have bills & obligations too.
5. Artists switching out sold Manifold nfts to punish no-royalty sellers is preposterous & goes against cryptoart’s ethos of immutable ownership. imo so is restricting-by-smart-contract where & how an nft can be sold.
Royalties are also not enforceable by smart contract.
Royalties are also not enforceable by smart contract.
6. There is, however, one thing artists have sensible control over. Who they sell to & allow in their sphere of trust. 0% royalties = 0% future gifts, 0% airdrops, 0% event/exhibition invites, 0% personalised provenance & above all, 0% prospect of a lifelong frenship.
7. Also, 0% respect not just with the artist, but potentially with artists frens with that artist too. Any artist will come to their own decision about who they interact with, be frens with, sell to etc, but artists do warn each other of those who've treated them really badly.
8. The collectors who care about having the respect of the artists they collect from & love the art of; who care about being an integral part of their career; & about being a valued & widely-respected part of this ecosystem, will care about at least some of the above.
9. In 10-20 years, it's possible that numerous artists here will be the amongst the most celebrated artists in the world... Imagine being disrespectful to say XCOPY years ago, and now being locked out of a connection/frenship with him forever simply because of greed 😵💫
10. The often-parroted line is, ‘markets will work themselves out & artists who seek anything above 0% royalties will slowly become outdated’. This could be true: things change.
But what’s forgotten here is that, long-term, collectors who show no regard for the well-being...
But what’s forgotten here is that, long-term, collectors who show no regard for the well-being...
11.... of artists have an obvious expiration date. I know some superb artists who already refuse to sell 1/1s to certain collectors, irrespective of their wealth or influence (yes I know it's more difficult to be this way if just starting out. & you also don't know who's who etc)
12. The most ironic thing of all is, is that artists who become very successful, well the chance of them being chill about proactively foregoing royalties of a big secondary sale if a collector has treated them respectfully, goes way UP 👆...
13. ... and not just because they don't *need* the royalty from a financial perspective, but also because many would just be happy to see those who really supported them, be rewarded for that.
I know of zero artists who don't want their early supporters to win big!
I know of zero artists who don't want their early supporters to win big!
14. A common critique of the above is that it's the artist partaking in ceNsOrShIp of who collects their art. If so, then so is the very concept of friendship. Each of us chooses who to be friends with, & who not to be, based on their behaviour towards us. That isn't censorship.
15. Another critique is social consensus isn't powerful enough to resist this. All I have to say to that, is that crypto itself became huge because of social consensus. Most things are the result of social consensus, things we agree upon collectively. It's entirely possible imo.
Above all tho, it seems like what gets forgotten most, is that this whole thing is reciprocal, based on mutual respect & shared visions of the future.
That means artist & collector winning together & it's dumbasf for either side to lose sense of that, because of $.
16/16
That means artist & collector winning together & it's dumbasf for either side to lose sense of that, because of $.
16/16
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Dmitry Martovsky @DMartovsky
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Nov 9, 2022
Interesting thread