#28: Marketplaces Are Robbing Creators of Royalties

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A Key Feature of NFTs Has Completely Broken (The Verge)

One of the big promises of NFTs was the revenue model that provided the creator with a cut of resale price whenever their piece was traded. Unfortunately, that’s not the case anymore, as OpenSea - the biggest NFT marketplace by user base - announced a plan to transition from enforcing royalty fees to making them optional tips in an effort to remain competitive against rivals. Investor Mark Cuban, and largest NFT project Yuga Labs are not happy.

Friend.tech Gets Unfriended: Daily Transactions Drop 95% as Hyped Decentralized Social App Loses Steam (TechCrunch)

Just two weeks ago, a new crypto social network friend.tech, has blown up in crypto circles, and started attracting big-name crypto influencers, NBA players, and OnlyFans creators. The app lets users tokenize themselves and sell “shares,” now dubbed “keys,” to fans and followers, earning revenue depending on the creator’s popularity. While the hype appears to have been short-lived (the app’s daily revenues have dropped by over 95% since August peak), some acknowledge the potential of its incentive model.

Influencers Beware: Converting YouTube Fame to an IPO Is Not Easy (Financial Times)

Typically, a successful creator with millions of followers and millions of dollars of ad revenue looks to turn their devoted fan base into a business because: “even the most successful content creator lives at the mercy of social media company algorithms, moderators and the vicissitudes of digital advertising. Whoever owns the platform sets the rules.” Turns out swapping virtual fame for the real world is a bit tricky, as it requires an operator skillset, dealing with lawsuits and need to build brand outside of social media

Social Media is Dead. Group Chats and Messaging Apps Killed It (Insider)

Social media has become less social as they turned into curated platforms with meticulously planned content. Users are tired, post less frequently, and gravitate toward private posting and closed groups, seeking less pressure, more authenticity, and more closed, niche communities.

Sex Workers Took Refuge in Crypto. Now It’s Failing Them (WIRED)

Sex workers in the US have long faced financial discrimination from financial institutions that fear reputational damage and liability for illicit activity. Turning to crypto initially had privacy benefits, but now workers are encountering issues converting it to cash because crypto exchanges are also dumping them.

SEC Charges Impact Theory with Unregistered Securities Offering in NFT Launch (Blockworks)

The LA-based media company, with unregistered securities offering in their 2021 NFT launch and raising $30M. SEC interpreted the claims of future growth and project development as investment contracts, and forced Impact Theory to settle for $6.1M, refund money to “injured investors”, and destroy all the remaining NFTs it possesses. While unfortunate, this may help accelerate non-financial use cases of NFTs…

• Crocs and Doodles collection announced a footwear collaboration.

• McDonald's Singapore is introducing Grimace digital collectible.

• Shopify integrated Solana Pay plug-in for stablecoin payments.

• F1 Dutch Grand Prix offered ticket-linked digital collectibles to attendees.

• Tomorrowland earned $2.2M from NFTs linked to festival utility.

• The Weeknd global tour offers fans Souvenir NFTs.

• Donald Trump NFTs spiked following a Wednesday interview.

• Hawaii artist is fundraising for Maui with open-mint digital collectibles.

• Seaport launched a digital collectible scavenger hunt in Lower Manhattan.

• OnlyFans’ profitability proves the creator economy boom was real enough.

• Heyscribe helps creators make money from works-in-progress.

• Opensea published an open standard for redeemable NFTs.

• Bello introduced mass messaging to communities of wallets.

• TransientLabs Doppelganger standard stores multiple images in an NFT.

• LimeWire is launching generative AI creator studio for music.

• ZeroOne launched a cultural distribution engine for NFTs.

• ClubNFT enables collectors to download a backup of their NFTs.

• FirstMate raised $3.8M to equip NFT creators with digital storefronts.

• DeForm raised $4.6M to expand wallet screening tools for marketers.

• Magic Eden marketplace launched a $1M fund for creators.

• Digiphysical Goods: bringing programmable utility to physical products.

• NFT use cases for podcasters.

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