Blockchain and Web3 technologies work hand-in-hand towards providing a stellar ability to exert more ownership over their online content. With such utility, artists, and creators can readily and more easily earn profit from their works, Chris Lyons, president of Web3 Media at a16z crypto, says.
He disclosed while speaking on Yahoo Finance's Financial Freestyle podcast. During the podcast, Lyons explained blockchain's eventual integration into everyday life and how such a paradigm shift can revolutionize profitability for online content creators.
Describing the vast potential in Blockchain technology, Lyons said, "You're going to start to see brand new social networks that are going to come out where you can have 100% ownership of your followers." using American artist Jean-Michael Basquiat as an example, Lyons said, "Back in the day, [Basquiat] sold a painting for $25,000. 50 years later, that same piece is now sold for $100 million, and how much was he able to take from that?" Lyons confirmed that the artist received only the initial $25,000.
The Web3 Media President at Andreessen Horowitz's venture capital crypto fund further explained how Blockchain could have protected Basquiat's interest in his painting. "But if that was on [blockchain]," Lyons continued, "what happens now is that there's a smart contract that's already written inside of it, so you can say, 'I'm going to get 10% of every single secondary transaction that's now being sold.'"
Lyons also theorized that via blockchain integration, creators and artists will be able to have a "zero-to-one engagement" with their fans, eliminating the middlemen that currently depreciate returns from most online deals.
“New music platforms are going to come out where instead of having to make a million [purchases] for an artist to have a sustainable living, now all you need is 1,000 true fans that can every day buy your CD, buy your merch, buy your tickets – and you can create an actual living off of that,” he explained.
Although many who aren't well-versed in cryptocurrency and digital transactions are unfamiliar with blockchain technology, Lyons suggested it could become as ubiquitous as GPS technology.
In a theory he describes as "hiding the wires," Lyons claims "the next generation of blockchain or even AI technologies – you're not even going to notice or know that you're using them."
The media director added that blockchain systems, which deviate from centralized ownership towards decentralization are the only true path forward towards financial freedom.
Final Remarks
Web3 Media President, Chris Lyons, says that integrating blockchain technology into the online creation world can revolutionize profitability for independent artists. He made the comments during the weekly Financial Freestyle podcast by Yahoo Finance.