Creator Collaborations

Both web2 and web3 have their own ecosystems of high-profile creators. We are starting to see crossovers between the two groups, typically as non-crypto creators combine their longstanding industry network with crypto-native creators’ audience and expertise. Most recently, Defiant founder Camila Russo announced her partnership with director Ridley Scott and production company Scott Free Productions to produce a feature length adaptation of her 2020 book “The Infinite Machine.”

Eschewing traditional forms of fundraising, Russo is launching a collection of 10,499 NFTs to help fund production of the film. A random selection of NFTs will have unique utility in the form of rewards, including the chance to be included in the movie as an extra, featured in the credits, receive invitations to the film premiere, and more. This form of web3-native fundraising may continue to be the preferred path for web2.5 collaborations between web2 and web3 creators. Hollywood creators like Scott will enlist A-list stars and writers to bring the story of crypto to mainstream audiences, while web3 creators like Russo can accelerate fundraising and endow additional benefits on supporters.

Representation in Web3

Celebrities from traditional media and tech backgrounds have flocked to web3 - specifically supporting individuals and groups that have historically been underrepresented in crypto and tech. Paris Hilton’s “Empowered by Paris” sought to raise the profile of talented female artists like Serwah Attafuah and Chelsea Evenstar. Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine studio is collaborating with World of Women for future projects in media and technology. There are many more to come in this category.

Creator Communities

It comes at no surprise that celebrities are particularly good at marshaling their communities and the industry in which they rose to fame. We’re seeing particularly strong network effects in sports. Autograph, co-founded by Tom Brady, has led the market in terms of attracting high-profile athletes to launch NFTs and market to their fanbases. Among them: Naomi Osaka, Derek Jeter, Wayne Gretzky, Usain Bolt, and Simone Biles. Just as consumers today go to specific marketplaces to seek out collectibles from specific industries, so too will the NFT space need to find a balance between completely permissionless NFT markets (Opensea) and tightly-reined ones (MakersPlace) to allow focused but not overly-curated marketplaces for consumers interested in exploring specific industries.