Subnostr

Would be interested to hear your thoughts after looking at that article. In particular I started to think about the "influence" that a state or patron might have over artists and what that might mean for the artist's ability to express freely what they want. In a way it might be seen as a potential "centralised" influence. Perhaps our participation in bitcoin and what we are seeing in and around nostr might be the seed of a more "decentralised" model of funding artists.

Leo Fernevak 2y ago

Freelance and commission work are beneficial for artists and generally the most accessible funding option. Government involvement will always come with political motives so that's a trap I would stay away from.

Personally I perform better when a client wants a particular result and is willing to pay a reasonable amount for the work. I see it as a matter of honor to give back the value in art that I receive in commission. The money isn't earned until the quality of the work matches the value of the commission, in an approximate estimation of course.

When I create art for myself I either have a project that the art must fit into, or if it's not project related then I explore new ideas. Repetition drags me down so I prefer to

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Leo Fernevak 2y ago

... so I prefer to keep some variation in my work.

SovereigntyQuest 2y ago

Interesting. Is there any obvious difference that you could foresee if bitcoin/lightning and it's sphere were to be more involved in that process compared to traditional fiat?

Leo Fernevak 2y ago

There are many centralized platforms that many types of artists are dependent upon, that I would like to see decentralized. For example the whole 3D product ecosystem.

Artists are dependent on exposure for reaching clients, as well as for hosting their art and/or products and services.

Bitcoin Lightning is a game changer in terms of sovereignty for artists. Still there is a need to decentralize the central hubs that artists are dependent upon.

This is not easy to do immediately. Artists need reach and centralized hubs naturally have better reach. User traffic and visibility impacts how well artists can earn income from products they have made. This can be anything from art prints, tutorials, 3D models, texture products, promo/advertising work to technical tools they have coded.

Those that control visibility also have power over those that need visibility for their services. If we have high quality decentralized hubs where art ecosystems can flourish and attract traffic, then this will greatly counteract the centralized hubs of today.

Leo Fernevak 2y ago

It would be valuable to have decentralized marketplaces where artists can meet customers who are looking for the services/products offered.

The obvious obstacle: why should customers look for decentralized marketplaces when they already have centralized hubs?

There are no simple answers here. If the decentralized marketplaces provide unique, quality products with better product browsing and filtering - more signal and less noise - then this would be a possible edge that could attract traffic.

Bitcoin brings sovereignty to creators, yet we need to convince the larger public to make purchases with bitcoin rather than fiat.

SovereigntyQuest 2y ago

Thanks for your thoughts on that. Almost all of the most creative artists and musicians I have known as friends were frankly hopelessly unable to interact with the marketing and the general economics of their art and maybe bitcoin's wider self sovereign ethos might prove to be something that can make it less problematic to deal with that? I agree with your point that, as yet, anyone wanting to reach the greatest audience as possible, whether it's art or anything else, is reliant on those platforms.

Leo Fernevak 2y ago

I think your observation is very accurate. A lot of artists are not natural marketers or salespeople. Many artists, musicians and writers are introverts at heart, which is probably also why they have spent so much time with their creative obsession in the first place.

We are in a marathon and bitcoin LN brings more and more opportinity to artists and creatives every year. It's amazing what tools we already have.

Networking and audience reach will improve with Nostr over time. We live in exciting times.

SovereigntyQuest 2y ago

Yes, it is very cool to see different creative groups explore the possibilities around Bitcoin and Nostr. Long may it continue!