It’s not financially responsible to throw our ideas around online for free anymore, but the alternative threatens the spirit of what internet community is supposed to be about.
Early tokenization efforts had smart ideas; they built new markets and created new ways for artists to make money. These experiments proved particularly valuable for artists with dedicated fan communities but often created parallel economies operating separately from traditional distribution channels.
The ‘90s version of not selling out meant refusing to play certain spaces or not letting your song be in a beer commercial. The ‘20s version of selling out means making things in limited quantities to play against mass culture. Though different, the responses come from a similar place. They’re both sensing a culture where, to quote Claire L. Evans... See more