E60 - Royalties & Loyalties
00. Listen
...or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
01. News
- Trinity's genesis project
Our very own Trinity has been recently experimenting with AI generated art and released her first piece, "awakening," on objkt; a classic case of the collector has flipped the script to become the collected. More to come, maybe.
Thank you to everyone who collected.
- objkt one
Tezos marketplace Objkt is expanding its ecosystem to include a platform dedicated to curated 1/1 projects. objkt one will make its debut in early March with a lineup full of amazing artists.
- Google Cloud validating on Tezos
We assume that you've seen the valuation of your tez bags increase, and we have Big Tech to thank. The search giant announced this week that it is set to become a validator on the network, allowing its corporate clients to deploy nodes and more easily build on the chain.
This is an exciting announcement, given that this is the third (as far as we can tell) blockchain that Google is working with, after Ethereum and Solana. Say what you will about Solana, but this is good company to be part of.
- Interview with Jamie Gourlay
It's cliche to keep saying "this interview is our best yet," but our latest interview with Jamie Gourlay of Verse may be our best yet. We dive into Jamie's background in the traditional art world, the challenges of NFTs as a brand, and a long discussion on the importance of markets and how to legitimize the space to make it more appealing to new collectors.
Definitely check this one out.
02. Royalties (the big discussion)
Look, this article isn't going to rehash our entire take on the royalty discussion that lives in this here episode. Know that we support royalties. We don't support the race to the bottom that seems to be happening on Ethereum. No, Blur isn't sustainable. No, not all NFTs are the same; the segments collecting art are staying in this fun little corner while the degens operate in completely different modalities.
Some links for anyone who wants to catch up on the conversation:
- Our prior discussion in E33, when Sudoswap and x2y2 were at top of mind
- PROOF royalty discussion with Zeneca
- Unchained debate on royalty
- The Chopping Block episode with Blur creator
- NFT market overview dashboard
- Blur vs OpenSea overview dashboard
And some Twitter threads for further information:
03. Market index updates
A big week for Tezos (see: Google Cloud announcement) means some crazy things for the market. Click through thread below to read more!
04. Projects of the week
- Smooth Steps
Andreas Gysin is at it again with another stellar animated project on fxhash. This DA went in just three blocks at 112 tez and has seen a flurry of market action as collectors scrambled to collect the pieces that most struck their fancy.
Pieces and projects referenced -
- re\:build
Chris McCully's decision to become a full-time artist is paying off huge with the release of re\:build, which just may be his best project to date. With a lower flat price after Trust's high auction mint out, it ended up hitting a sweet spot for both collectors and speculators alike.
Pieces and projects referenced -
- Erg
Ballzerino and Rich Poole teamed up for this small-run collection that has the entirety of its primary and secondary proceeds going to #TezQuakeAid. While we wish the DA started at a higher price (Erg minted out in a single block with 1,798 tez going to bakers and not charity), there is nothing else to complain about these pleasing dunes with excellent colorways.
Project and piece referenced -
- Verse exhibitions
We love what Verse is doing, and for three weeks they are slowly releasing amazing project after amazing project for their latest exhibition, Imperfections. This week is just the beginning, and below are some of our favorites (so far) -
05. Shoutouts
- Type-o-Graphic
Type-o-Graphic may well be fauxjebus' breakout project. It's wildly diverse and anyone can find a piece (or a few dozen) that they'd be happy to call theirs. At just 3 tez and 50% of the secondary proceeds going to the minter, this is an absolute slam dunk of a release!
Piece referenced -
- On Time
shaderism released On Time Thursday evening to a quiet market that quickly woke up and took notice. This Very Cool(tm) audio-visual project is mesmerizing to take in and appreciate the small moments in life that pass us by.
- melt
Johan. Holwerda has been using shaders since before they were cool, and melt lives up to its name in the most awesome way. Don't forget to try out the interactions, and with a floor price at mint (currently 4 tez), it's a very cool pick-up.
Projects referenced -
- asunder
Mintable project alert! We both love asunder and the variety of feelings that different parts of its algorithm evoke. It would have been great to see a tier or two below the resting price of 25 tez in the DA, but this project is too cool to pass up.
Pieces and project referenced -
06. Looking ahead
- Remainder of Imperfections by Verse
Verse has new projects going all next week. You can check them out here. Below are some of our favorites from artists who have released on fxhash -
- Teaboswell
These WIPs Tyler has posted to Twitter are absolutely sickening. "Galactic September" doesn't do it justice, these are on a totally different cosmic (pun!) level. Can't wait to see if / when it comes to fxhash!
That's it for this week and, as always, join us next Sunday to check in on the market (monthly update time!) and art. If you like what we're doing, don't forget to collect this article as the best way support the show, and donations are always accepted at 'WTBS.tez'. Have an excellent week.
xoxo
Trinity + Will