Podcast Summary
The Song A Day Man's Ethereum Journey: Creative dedication and hard work in crypto can lead to unique projects and financial value, exemplified by Jonathan Mann's Song A Day DAO in Ethereum
The Ethereum community is made up of people with unique stories and creative pursuits, many of whom have found a connection to crypto through their daily creative output. One such individual is Jonathan Mann, known as the "song a day man," who has been creating and singing one song a day for over four years. This consistent creative work not only demonstrates dedication and hard work but also highlights the potential value of crypto assets. Jonathan's journey also includes the creation of the Song A Day DAO. The podcast discussion also touches on the relationship between creative output, hard work, provably hard work, and the power of crypto assets. Sponsors like MetaMask and Ledger, which enable self-custody and financial control, play a crucial role in the crypto space. Overall, the podcast emphasizes the importance of the people behind the code in the Ethereum community.
Intersection of Passion and Technology: Unexpected discoveries and opportunities arise when combining passion and technology. A personal project can lead to a profound shift in perspective.
The intersection of passion and technology can lead to unexpected discoveries and opportunities. For Jonathan, his daily song project served as his personal proof of work, and when he heard Ethan Buckman's explanation of blockchain, he saw a potential connection. This encounter led Jonathan to crypto, starting with Ethereum and discovering CryptoPunks in 2017. The ongoing nature of his Song A Day project, which began in 2009, mirrors the relentless and innovative spirit of the crypto community. The journey of discovering crypto was a pivotal moment for Jonathan, demonstrating how a seemingly unrelated interest can lead to a profound shift in perspective.
Embracing imperfection in daily creative practice: Daily creative practice, like song a day, fosters personal growth and transformation through embracing imperfection and sharing work publicly.
The practice of creating a song every day, also known as "song a day," started as a way for a creative person to overcome writer's block and gain attention, but has evolved into a deeply meaningful and transformative practice. By embracing the idea that failure and creating "shitty" work are essential parts of the creative process, this individual has grown as a musician, producer, and singer. Additionally, the public nature of sharing these creations daily has provided a unique perspective on the importance of not taking oneself too seriously and understanding that not everyone is paying close attention to every mistake. This practice has become a significant part of their life, akin to meditation or journaling, and serves as a daily record of their personal growth and experiences.
The power of being fully present in creative activities: Fully engaging in an activity can lead to a flow state, but it's important to be kind to ourselves when we can't reach it, as our work still holds value to others.
Being fully present and engaged in an activity, such as creating music, can lead to a flow state where anxiety melts away and one becomes completely immersed in the experience. However, applying this mindfulness to everyday life can be a challenge. It's important to give ourselves grace and not be too hard on ourselves when we're unable to reach this state, as even seemingly uninspired or poorly executed work can still resonate with others. Ultimately, we may not be the best judges of our own creations, and it's essential to remember that others may find value in what we produce, even when we don't see it ourselves.
Creativity from the Unexpected: Allow creativity to flow naturally, even from unexpected moments or actions, and don't pressure yourself to be emotional or deep to create meaningful art.
Creativity doesn't always follow a predictable path. Sometimes, the most seemingly insignificant moments or actions can lead to great art. Tom Petty's "Free Falling" is a famous example of this, where he wrote the song in a carefree manner, yet it became one of his biggest hits. Pressuring oneself to be emotional or deep while creating can hinder the process. Instead, allowing oneself to write without pressure and see what comes out can lead to the most authentic and meaningful creations. The speaker's favorite songs are often the ones they put the most effort into, but even on days when emotions are hard to come by, simply showing up and writing can lead to something worthwhile. The crypto industry is another source of inspiration for the speaker, as it provides endless possibilities for creative exploration. Incorporating new interests and experiences into their creative work is a natural part of the speaker's process.
A songwriter's fascination with the compelling narratives in crypto: Songwriter finds inspiration in crypto's narratives, from ENS DAO to CryptoPunks, and believes captivating stories contribute to projects' success
Stories are a powerful force in the crypto community, inspiring songwriters to create music that encapsulates the spirit and essence of various projects. During a Twitter discussion, the speaker revealed that they wrote a song about ENS DAO due to its compelling narrative and the community's alignment with their philosophical beliefs. They also shared that they have a knack for storytelling, having previously made a living by recapping conferences and sharing compelling stories from the crypto space. The speaker expressed their fascination with the various narratives that emerge in the crypto world, citing examples like CryptoPunks and the story of Snowfro, who accidentally burned a zombie punk and used the proceeds from selling valuable punks to fund Art Blocks. The speaker concluded by stating that they are drawn to projects like ENS DAO that have captivating stories and are making a significant impact in the crypto space.
The value of daily practice and monetization through NFTs: Daily practices hold deep value for humans, NFTs enable monetization, stories of individuals showcase compelling nature and unique connection, crypto space provides platform for evaluation and monetization
The daily practice of creating and documenting something, be it a photo or any other form of art, holds a deep value for humans due to the scarcity of time. This concept has gained traction in the crypto world through the rise of NFTs, enabling artists and creators to monetize their daily works and give them an artificially scarce value. The story of individuals like the Indonesian kid who took a picture of himself every day for five years, or Justin Avarano who documented a birthday a day for a year, highlights the compelling nature of the daily practice and the unique connection it creates among people who engage in it. These stories also demonstrate how the crypto space provides a platform for evaluating and monetizing these daily creations, making them valuable not just for their artistic merit but also for their consistency and dedication.
Exploring the Complexity of Digital Scarcity in NFTs: Digital scarcity in NFTs is a complex concept, with value derived from time, proximity to creators, and human effort, rather than just scarcity alone.
The concept of artificial digital scarcity in the NFT world is still a philosophical question that we're grappling with. The idea of creating something digitally scarce to give it value is not new, but it's not as straightforward as it seems. Early projects like CryptoPunks gained value due to their scarcity, but they could have easily been made in larger numbers. One way to ground digital scarcity is by putting it in time, such as creating something new every day. Another way is through proximity to the creator, like Matt Condon's NFC chip. A more intriguing approach is Matt's sleep talking NFT project, where scarcity comes from the unpredictability of when it will occur. The relationship between scarcity and market value is complex, and while some may assign value based on scarcity, others argue that true value comes from the human time, labor, and creativity behind the asset. Ultimately, the blockchain provides a transparent platform for verifying scarcity and ownership, but it's up to the community to decide what truly gives an NFT value.
NFTs: A Tool for Rewarding Creative Work in Music Industry: NFTs can help restore value to art in the music industry by introducing digital scarcity, but the current market is experiencing wild speculation which needs to die down for the true potential to be realized. Polygon is a tool being used to build the NFT ecosystem and make transactions quick and cheap.
NFTs have the potential to be a powerful tool for rewarding creative work and restoring value to art, particularly in the music industry. Prior to recorded sound, music was extremely scarce and valuable due to its inability to be easily copied. With the invention of recorded sound and the subsequent ability to copy music, musicians were able to get paid for their work. However, in the last 20 years, the value of music has plummeted due to digital copies being infinitely copyable. NFTs and digital scarcity have the potential to help alleviate this issue, but it's not a perfect solution. The current NFT market is experiencing wild speculation, which needs to die down for the true potential of NFTs to be realized. The NFT market saw a similar frothy movement in 2018 and 2019, but it was during this time that many interesting developments came about. Polygon, a scaling solution for Ethereum, is one of the tools being used to build the NFT ecosystem and make transactions quick and cheap. As the NFT market continues to develop, it has the potential to become a significant way for artists to be compensated for their work.
Bridging Ethereum with Layer 2 solutions and Uniswap: Decentralized finance (DeFi) on Ethereum is growing with Layer 2 solutions like Polygon and bridges, enabling faster, cheaper, and more accessible transactions. Creators are embracing these technologies, with Uniswap's grants program allowing anyone to contribute ideas and shape the future.
The world of decentralized finance (DeFi) on Ethereum is expanding with the help of Layer 2 solutions like Polygon and bridges, making it faster, cheaper, and more accessible for users. Across is one such bridge that enables instant and secure transfer of assets between Ethereum and other networks like Optimism, Arbitrum, and Boba. Uniswap, on the other hand, is an autonomous decentralized exchange infrastructure that lets users trade tokens at market prices without intermediaries. The daily artists and creators in the crypto space are embracing these new technologies earlier than others due to their potential to monetize their work and bring value to their creations. The Uniswap grants program is an opportunity for anyone to contribute ideas and shape the future of this ecosystem. Overall, the growth of Layer 2 solutions and decentralized infrastructure is making crypto more accessible and valuable to creators and users alike.
Crypto and tokenization provide new opportunities for creators to monetize their work based on perceived value: Creators can tokenize and trade their work on open public networks, allowing perceived value to align more closely with human values, providing more control and recognition for their efforts
The value of creative work is often undervalued in today's society, and the emergence of crypto and tokenization provides an opportunity for creators to monetize their work more closely aligned with its perceived value by the public. Proof of work, as demonstrated by historical structures like the Egyptian pyramids, is a way to show the value of time and effort put into creating something. Creatives, such as musicians, have been turning to crypto to fill a monetization niche. With the ability to tokenize and trade creative outputs on open public networks, the perceived value of these assets can more closely align with human values. Creators simply need to prove they have burned their time honestly and in real fashion, and once enough people perceive value in their work, they can be supported financially. This adds legitimacy to the creator's work and allows them to continue doing what they love. The emergence of crypto and tokenization provides a new avenue for creators to monetize their work based on its perceived value, giving them more control and recognition for their efforts.
Exploring the potential of NFTs beyond monetization: The speaker's early involvement in the NFT community led him to discover the endless possibilities of digital scarcity and creativity, pushing the boundaries of what's possible with digital assets, beyond just monetization.
For the speaker, the discovery of Ethereum, crypto, and NFTs was not just about monetization, but rather seeing the potential in these technologies as tools to create unique and valuable digital assets. From the very beginning, the speaker saw the potential in NFTs to monetize his "Song a Day" project, which involved creating and selling a new song every day. This vision remained consistent throughout the evolution of NFTs, even when the technology was not widely understood or appreciated. The speaker's early involvement in the NFT community, which included the DADA people, SuperRare, and Artgnome, allowed him to explore the endless possibilities of digital scarcity and creativity. The monetization aspect was indeed a significant motivation, but the speaker's primary interest was in pushing the boundaries of what was possible with digital assets. The speaker's 2017 talk, which predates the widespread use of the term NFT, lays out his vision for using NFTs to create and monetize unique digital content.
From CryptoPunks to DAOs: Creating a Song a Day project: A dedicated artist used crypto and DAOs to transform a personal project into a profitable daily auction, involving community participation and generating revenue for the DAO's treasury.
The speaker's project, "Song a Day," which started as an attempt to combine CryptoPunks with daily songs, evolved significantly when the concept of DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) was introduced. The speaker spent a large sum of money on developing the project, which included hiring illustrators and a DAO collective. The project sold out quickly and now, every day, a new song is auctioned off on the speaker's website, with the proceeds going to the DAO's treasury. The speaker plans to involve attendees at an event in performing verses of songs written about them on stage. Despite the challenges in explaining the project's unique traits to others, the speaker remained dedicated to the vision and was able to bring it to life through the power of crypto and the DAO model.
Decentralized Autonomous Organization for Daily Song Creation: A DAO for daily song creation allows for community ownership and decision-making, with proceeds going to the organization and a focus on treasury management
The Song a Day DAO is a unique decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) where members can own and vote on the creation of a daily song, with the proceeds going to the DAO. The DAO operates on a 1 person, 1 vote system, with verification through Bright ID. Members can suggest creative input but the treasury decisions are binding. The creator, who is currently responsible for inflows of Ether into the treasury, aims to give more power to the community through the DAO. The ultimate goal is to make it a public good, ensuring that every voter is a verified person. The DAO's focus is more on the treasury management than the song creation, with the creator leaving the song creation to the professionals. Despite being the sole creator, the goal is to empower the community through the DAO's decision-making process. The dynamic of having one person managing the treasury is still being explored, but the creator aims to eventually distribute more power to the community.
Democratizing music licensing and revenue sharing through a DAO: The creator of 'song a day' is using a DAO to shift power dynamics, involve more people in financial gains, and potentially increase NFT song valuation through community-driven revenue sharing.
The creator of "song a day" is using a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) to democratize music licensing and revenue sharing, aiming to shift the power dynamic from centralized deals to a community-driven model. The creator recognizes their influence and wants to counteract it by involving more people in the financial gains. The DAO allows members to earn ETH through patronage activity, such as bringing in new music deals. The ultimate goal is for the DAO to negotiate deals directly with companies, with the potential for significant revenue flowing back into the DAO. The existence of the DAO could potentially increase the valuation of NFT songs as it provides a community-driven revenue sharing model, contrasting the traditional model where creators could keep all the profits for themselves. The creator also acknowledges the current trend of meme NFTs and the debate around utility versus meme value in NFTs, expressing uncertainty about the future but preparing for a long-term perspective.
Intersection of Music and DAOs: DAOs could bid for and even own songs about them, leading to unique strategies for artists and increased engagement for DAOs.
The intersection of music and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) is a promising new frontier. The discussion highlights how songs about DAOs could be valuable assets, with the potential for DAOs to bid for and even own the songs about them. This could lead to unique strategies for artists and DAOs, such as creating songs about multiple DAOs and allowing them to bid in their native tokens. This not only benefits the artists but also strengthens the connection between the music community and the DAO ecosystem. Moreover, artists could potentially allow commissioned songs, but the payment would have to go directly to the DAO instead of the artist. This innovative approach could lead to new revenue streams for artists and increased engagement for DAOs.
Leading and contributing in a decentralized autonomous organization: Joining a DAO like Song A Day offers a chance to learn new skills, contribute, and be part of an exciting community. The quote 'sucking at something is the first step to being kinda good at something' encourages trying new things.
In a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) like Song A Day, community members have stepped up to lead and contribute their skills, making it an exciting and gratifying experience. The most pressing task is getting the voting system up and running, and it's been inspiring to see individuals take the lead and make progress. If you're interested in joining or learning more, check out Song A Day dot world for daily song auctions and Song A DAO dot org for discussions. The quote "sucking at something is the first step to being kinda good at something" from Adventure Time was mentioned as a valuable lesson for anyone looking to try something new. And, if you're interested in crypto and building your skills, consider becoming a Bankless premium subscriber for access to exclusive content and community.
