Patronage As An Asset Class — simondlr.com

Jesse Walden defines “patronage+” as patronage with the possibility of profit, a phenomenon that is introduced through tokenized ownership. That investment element was an impossibility in web2 without an on-chain record of ownership like an NFT or a social token (imagine trying to resell a TikTok video that was downloaded from the app).

Can we all earn a living for doing what we love, and loving what we do? Surely there is an entire sample space of token design resting on patronage, appreciation and respect as foundational primitives. One centered on the notion of energy that must be earned and refreshed anew in a world of constant entropy. I do believe the weight of historical go... See more

What if some of our most important and culturally-relevant non-profits, which have to spend so much time, energy, and ironically, money fundraising, were owned and governed by DAOs? A treasury backed by real-world assets with a token fueled by narrative upside would be an interesting proposition.

What's also interesting here is the mental model shift: People typically mint for a combination of patronage and profit—they want to support creators and the work they want to see more of in the world, and minting has traditionally been a way to do that, with provenance to prove it. However, there's also the desire to potentially profit from being ... See more

This framework implies a return to patronage – we are not paying for utility, we are funding the story, the taste, the culture, and its support and proliferation.

Ironically enough, patronage is an even older media business model than advertising or subscriptions. During the Renaissance, patronage was symbiotic – it afforded patrons cultural capital... See more

An alternative to the old-school endowmentapproach referenced to the left, an upstart socialjustice activist or a grassroots organization or anestablished nonprofit could create an NFT (or a seriesof NFTs) and sell them to their network of supporters.These digital goods could then be exchanged or sold,and the original creator would receive a royalt... See more

how can we combine top down critical narratives and curation in what we think is an important art movement together with access to emerging artists and opportunities in a way that there is real investment value, precisely because they're undiscovered. And so our thinking there is to really try to create the MoMA for generative art by pairing some o... See more