Two Major Ways Web 3.0 Will Reinvent How Content Creators Make A Living

Co-founder and CEO at Snipfeed.

Earlier this year, the monetization platform OnlyFans decided to ban certain types of NSFW content, putting many of their creators, whose livelihood depended on the platform, into a tailspin. Days later, faced with enormous pressure from their users, the company retracted this ban. The panic created by this decision highlighted how vulnerable creators are in front of these powerful platforms, whether this is a social media platform or monetization platform, both of which control creators’ visibility and economic opportunity. 

Up until now, social media and monetization platforms have provided creators the means to distribute their content and generate limited revenue. In exchange, these platforms receive data and the opportunity to monetize via a premium level of service, a revenue share model or through advertisements. Moreover, these platforms preserve the ability to remove creators or content as they’d like. Creators are catching on to this, at times, seemingly unfair bargain and are now experimenting with other means of distribution.

Some creators have begun to migrate from these platforms to build their own websites (where followers can find their content and pay them directly), while others have begun experimenting with Web 3.0 innovations. For example, after OnlyFans initiated its ban, creators began experimenting with creating nonfungible tokens (NFTs), many discovering for the first time how these crypto-assets could provide them with control over the distribution and monetization of their content and likeness.  

While Web 2.0 positioned creators to be dependent on centralized platforms, Web 3.0’s innovations, specifically social tokens and NFTs, will bring creators freedom from these platforms and provide simpler monetization routes.

1. Social Tokens 

Social tokens, one of Web 3.0’s innovations, allow for followers to go beyond consuming a creator’s content and additionally offers them the opportunity to invest in a creator’s growth. For example, if Dixie D’Amelio, a famous creator and now musician, were to be discovered in a few years (rather than a few years ago), her fans would likely be able to support her by purchasing one of her social tokens and, in turn, receiving “stock” in Dixie’s career.

If an “undiscovered” Dixie were to offer social tokens to her early fans, she’d have the potential to raise immediate funds, allowing her to accelerate her career. In this example, tokens would also likely boost her popularity as these tokens are typically designed to reward fans’ attention (that’s what companies like Pools are doing).

Were Dixie to create 1,000 tokens each valued at $100 initially, she could drive each token’s value up further by not only building her career but by also adding perks for token holders. If she offered a private concert for token holders while at the top of her career, each token could possibly be valued at $10,000. And if 700 tokens are snapped up, Dixie could keep 300 tokens to benefit from her success.

There are nuances here, but ultimately, social tokens promise a way for creators’ communities to crowdsource their rise. However, I don’t think fans are yet willing to buy tokens the way many purchase an NFT on OpenSea — at least not yet. Fans are more likely to start by buying merchandise or a ticket to a concert in exchange for a token.

Now even if tokens are fascinating, they haven’t hit mainstream popularity yet. NFTs, alternatively, are quickly transcending into the mainstream, as somewhat evidenced by the amount of spend going into them. One report claims that the number of U.S. dollars exchanged for NFTs in Q2 2021 was $782 million but it jumped in Q3 to $5.9 billion. With their rising popularity, NFTs are also already redefining creator monetization.

2. NFTs

Creator NFTs, in addition to allowing fans the opportunity to benefit from creators’ growth, will also provide two significant opportunities for creators: 1), allow them to offer unique experiences for fans (similar to social tokens) and 2) ensure that they’re compensated for their content.

To address the first point, NFTs can offer the buyer not only rights to the image but also rights to an experience the creator has attached to this image (i.e., a meet-and-greet). The major difference between unlocking experiences with social tokens vs. NFTs? With tokens, creators can offer different experiences according to the amount of tokens held by each fan, whereas a single NFT is likely to be priced according to the experience(s) attached to the asset. 

I predict most NFT communities will soon be built around a personality rather than being faceless — the former being more common for this type of community today. Once this happens, it’s likely that utility-based NFTs will dominate the market. This is a focus of my company: to enable creators to build a new kind of NFT membership for their “100 true fans,” a term Li Jin, founder and managing partner at Atelier Ventures, uses in reference to how many fans a creator requires to make a livable income. 

Another interesting case for NFTs: ensuring a creator’s compensation for their content is proportional to their content’s current value. When their popularity rises, so will the value of their content, and if their content is backed by a smart contract, creators are able to take a cut as their content is resold on secondary markets. For example, Beeple, a digital artist, recently sold one NFT for $69 million and could continue to earn 10% of more than $69 million if his piece is resold at a higher value (and if his popularity grows).

With the onset of Web 3.0, creators are gaining a new set of tools, and with that, the ability to free themselves from the grip that distribution platforms have traditionally held. If these platforms are to survive, it is imperative they incorporate Web 3.0 innovations into their offerings. This impending overlap of crypto and the creator economy will change the lives of anyone that creates impactful content, providing them with significant economic opportunity and creative freedom.

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