This story was originally published on Passionfruit.
From June 9 to 12, Web3 festival Consensus’s Creator Summit kicked off to explore the intersection of the crypto and creator economies.
Here are our major takeaways from what the internet-obsessed, blockchain-fanatic creators and business leaders had to say at the event—including why the blockchain appeals to some digital artists; advice on what Web3 creators should do while the crypto market is in the gutter; and the tension between the decentralized Web3 ideology and big-money talent and tech interests.
Consensus is a 4-day Web3 festival, exploring topics relating to blockchain-based technology: including cryptocurrencies; decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs); non-fungible tokens (NFTs); NFT-backed “metaverse” virtual and augmented reality experiences; and the investing, finance, and regulation of crypto. It is hosted by CoinDesk, a digital news outlet covering the crypto economy.
Consensus has been going on since 2015, and while it has previously taken place in New York City, this year it came to downtown Austin, Texas—the festival’s first time IRL since it went virtual in 2019. CEOs, politicians, professors, artists, investors, and more took to the stage to discuss Web3. This year, the festival also made a push toward the creator economy, with a half-day “Creator Summit” for business people and creators to connect over Web3 art, finance, and technology.
Most creators speaking at the summit were digital artists, some long-time crypto fanatics, and others who have just begun to sell their work as NFTs. In general, these artists often said they grew tired of putting their digital work—like photographs, drawings, and other creations—on social media with little reward from platforms beyond likes, follows, and maybe a small cut of ad revenue or a creator fund.
