TL;DR
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We think that physical work is about to be replaced by digital as the dominant art medium, due to a shift in the means of production and distribution.
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AI will help shift the dominant medium from ‘physical’ to ‘digital’ while hyper-constraining production time and money costs.
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While Web3 (NFTs in particular) will make worldwide distribution available to all artists (more than it already has).
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The end result? Lower costs and cheaper reach for all artists. We like a level playing field!
Full story
Sip a Pepto Bismol, sniff a line of Tums – do what you gotta do… because what we’re about to say might be a little spicy for some taste buds.
We think that physical work is about to be replaced by digital as the dominant art medium.
Physical art isn’t dead yet, but we think we know what’s going to kill it:
A shift in the means of production and distribution.
OK, but what does that mean?
Let’s start here:
From about 2009 – 2017 we worked in the music industry.
In that time, we’ve seen Web2 technology reinvent production and distribution systems and change the face of the music business over the course of the past decade.
The shift in production:
Digital Audio Workstations (such as Ableton and Logic Pro) brought huge increases in efficiency and gave the means of production to anyone who wanted it (for about $100).
The shift in distribution:
While Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, SoundCloud and paid streaming platforms moved the (previously) cornered source of “distribution power” away from the labels/traditional news media brands and into the hands of artists.
We think we are about to see a similar ‘systems overhaul’ in the art world.
AI will help shift the dominant medium from ‘physical’ to ‘digital’ while hyper-constraining production time and money costs.
This means that creative efforts that used to cost hundreds/thousands/millions of dollars and days/months/years will soon cost a fraction of a cent and take seconds to complete.
While Web3 (NFTs in particular) will make worldwide distribution available to all artists (more than it already has).
For example, instead of having to be registered with a reputable gallery, you can reach a global audience simply by uploading your art to OpenSea.
Physical art and the galleries that support it will surely still have a place in the world!
But our guess is that both will go the way of the million-dollar recording studio and vinyl records, becoming niche methods of production and distribution.
The end result?
Lower costs and cheaper reach for all artists. We like a level playing field!
PS If you want to check out the article that sent us down this rabbit hole, it was thisThrough Max Widmer at Blockworks.