Thread by @punk6529

1/ On NFT Photography 1/1s vs Print 1/1s

I have had a lot of photographers discuss this with me in DMs and there is a discussion online today.

Since there a lot of dimensions to this question, I am going to lay out my overall views here

2/ I am going to cover:
a) the legal position
b) old v new photographs
c) my view
d) what I think others will think

3/ The legal position is crystal-clear. In absence of another agreement, the photographer has the right to issue an NFT 1/1, a print 1/1, a coffee mug, a t-shirt and so on, from the same image.

They retain the copyright.

4/ I would also like to dispense of the topic of 'old' photographs that have already been issued in print bc think the dynamics are different.

There are a lot of famous photographs that have been featured in print as well that have/will be issued as NFTs.

I think this is fine

5/ In general, I think the business dynamics for famous print photographers are different.

If a famous photographer had a photograph on the cover of NatGeo and then issues an NFT, the NFT collectors would buy bc of the NatGeo cover, not despite it!

6/ I would like to focus on 'new' 1/1 photographs that have not been issued either as a 1/1 NFT or as a 1/1 print.

In a case like this, what should the photographer do?

I mean, they should do whatever they want, but what are the tradeoffs?

7/ One point of view is that the NFT and the print edition are different things and the artist can sell both.

Just like you can buy a Haring 1/1 and edition and t-shirt of the same thing, the same applies here.

In this view, this is just normal course of artist business

8/ A more 'advanced' point of view of the same is that 'exposure is good for the NFT', so selling a 1/1 print helps.

While I am a well-known fan of the 'exposure helps' theory (all the way to buying public domain NFTs), I think it is a bit of a stretch...

9/ ...to say that selling 1 print is going to help with exposure.

The general idea of "provenance, not copyright" from a business perspective is broad exposure, not 1 more print in someone's house.

(but what if the print sale is to the MOMA? is that different?)

10/ The flip argument to this is that NFTs can provide better liquidity to photographers, give them access to a global market and, as such, why not prioritize them over prints, not because "you have to" but because "you want to as a business decision"

11/ Let me state for the record that I, as a collector, do not care.

I have bought NFTs that have corresponding prints, that are public domain, that are NFT only.

It does not matter to me personally.

But...

12/ ...for better or for worse, I do think it DOES bother some other buyers.

I think the potential issue is that it blurs the line about which one is the original.

Let's go back to TradArt

Warhol soup cans: 1/1 in MOMA, print editions 250 each, posters unlimited. It's clear

13/ Now if there is a 1/1 print and a 1/1 NFT, which one is the "original"?

If there is a 1/1 NFT and also an open edition poster on Amazon, then the hierarchy is clear.

I think it is the 2 x 1/1 that is potentially confusing

14/ Because I am doing the economist thing here - on one hand this and on the other hand that, I will give also a summary view.

This view does not apply to:
a) famous photographers (they have already made it)
b) images already in print
c) creative experiments

15/ I believe that for any given piece of art, the NFT version of it, *in most cases*, will be more valuable than the off-chain version of it due to:
a) perfect provenance
b) global marketplace of buyers
c) composability
d) better storage / maintenance

16/ I think we are seeing this with generally higher prices for NFTs relative to artist 'famousness' than in TradArt.

This is either a bubble (hater view) or because it is a better medium/distribution system (my view).

17/ If you believe #15 and #16, then for new artists, it makes sense to lean into the NFT as being the definitive 1/1 of your work.

You are likely to capture more value that way than mixing the question of provenance between the NFT and a 1/1 print

18/ This might sound counterintuitive but I think you are better off having a 1/1 NFT and many prints than a 1/1 NFT and 1 print.

The former preserves the hierarchy we know from TradArt (MOMA is not threatened by soup can posters, but in fact helped).

The latter is confusing

19/ I would also aim to be fully transparent about your plans and pricing of your plans

Let's give some examples below on how to describe the plans for an image

a) A 1/1 NFT and this is the only way / time I am issuing this image

20/ b) A 1/1 NFT and will make 1 signed print for collector

c) A 1/1 NFT and a 1/1 print

If you think about this is b) with an extra charge really...

Also, compare to Fidenzas. Would it be strange if @tylerxhobbs sold the print only to someone *other* than the token holder?

21/

d) A 1/1 NFT and open edition prints

e) A 1/1 NFT along with commercial rights

f) A 1/1 NFT and shared commercial rights (I did this with @gabscanu)

g) A 1/1 NFT and release non-commercial rights

h) A 1/1 NFT and release to public domain

22/ I think both artists and collectors should read through the above and see how their heart feels.

And if / how it impacts value.

I buy across all variations, but I do think c) is possibly the least interesting. It potentially confuses provenance without any big other gains

23/ I want to reemphasize transparency.

Photographers imho have been much less good at communicating and managing their issuance plans than other artists (tradart and NFT).

There is no confusion about @XCOPYART 1/1s vs editions or on @tylerxhobbs's approach to NFTs/prints

24/ I have been offered free prints by NFT photographers (that I have bought), I have been shown prints bought by others by NFT photographers that I have bought.

I can count on *zero* fingers the number of photographers who actually *explained* their print plans to me.

25/ The only NFT photographs for which I know the plans are the CC0 (public domain ones) where I know it is "everyone in the world can do whatever they want"

For all the rest, I think mostly it has not been thought out well.

26/ tl;dr

Consider making the NFT 1/1 the 'original'
Communicate your plans
Make more art

📸📸📸

27/ If you just arrived here from this thread, you can see all 30+ NFT tweetstorms here

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https://twitter.com/punk6529/status/1448399827054833668