Blockchain’s Promise: Eliminating Intermediaries
A new internet, often referred to as Web3, is now on the horizon, built on radically different technologies, primarily the blockchain. This foundational technology underpins innovations like:
- Cryptocurrencies
- Social tokens
- Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs)
- Smart contracts
The most significant aspect of blockchain is its ability to eliminate the need for intermediaries.
Traditionally, when individuals place money in a bank, they trust that institution to hold and manage their funds. Blockchain technology allows for the direct holding of digital assets, such as cryptocurrency, without requiring a trusted third party like a bank.
This capability is not merely about holding digital money; it represents a profound transfer of power from those who historically controlled digital interactions and transactions to individuals. For creators, this means the potential to establish direct financial relationships with their audience, independent of any single platform.
NFTs as Direct Creator-Audience Connections
One of the most compelling applications of blockchain for creators is the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to establish direct, verifiable relationships with their audience.
Today, many creators rely on subscription platforms like Patreon, Substack, or YouTube, which host content, handle distribution, and process payments. While these services are valuable, creators are beholden to each platform’s rules and take a share of their earnings.
Imagine a scenario where a creator, like a country artist named Lisa, wants to sell subscriptions to her audience. Instead of relying on a platform-specific subscription, Lisa could sell a unique digital token—a “membership card”—for a few dollars to anyone who wishes to subscribe.
If major platforms like Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook were to respect these blockchain-based membership cards, Lisa’s relationship with her subscribers would become portable. She could establish her presence on Instagram, and if she later decided to branch out to Twitter, her dedicated audience (“Team Lisa”) and their subscriptions could follow her smoothly.
Critically, because these membership cards are built on the blockchain, no single company could take Lisa’s community away from her. Even if a platform were to disappear, Lisa would retain her relationship with her subscribers and her income stream. This model shifts the dynamic from renting an audience to owning it.
Investing in Creative Futures with Smart Contracts
The rapid pace of technological change means that new talent can emerge and succeed faster than ever, but it also means less job stability. The financial infrastructure supporting creative endeavors, particularly how ideas are funded, largely predates the internet.
The predominant method for individuals to raise capital is through debt, which carries significant downsides, as anyone who has struggled with a mortgage, student loan, or car payment can attest.
Blockchain technology offers an alternative: investing in people, much like investing in startups. Creators could use this technology to raise funds by selling a share in their future earnings. For example, a creator might offer five percent of their earnings over the next ten years in exchange for an investment.
These terms could be codified and enforced automatically through a “smart contract” on the blockchain. This smart contract could link various revenue streams—such as YouTube ad revenue, Patreon subscriptions, and Instagram merchandise sales—to a single digital token that anyone who believes in the creator’s potential could purchase.
This model allows the audience to directly participate in a creator’s success, building equity in the content they know, love, and trust. For creators like Lisa, this direct investment would provide the capital needed to explore new ideas and create more content, fostering a community of financially invested supporters.
Building a More Independent Creator Economy
The vision of an internet where creators truly own their audience relationships and can secure direct investment for their work is not something a single company can build. It requires industry-wide collaboration and pioneering creators to demonstrate the model’s viability. While established creators might initially lead the way, the true power of this idea lies in its accessibility to everyone.
This shift promises to democratize opportunities beyond privileged individuals. It could empower a diverse range of talents, from a skateboarding phenomenon in Berlin like Oumi Janta to a photographer in California like Terry Lowenthal, to turn their passions into sustainable livelihoods.
By pushing power into the hands of creators, enabling them to own their audience relationships, and allowing anyone to invest in creativity, blockchain technology has the potential to facilitate one of the largest transfers of power from institutions to individuals in history, fulfilling the original promise of the internet.
