A painter, a musician, a writer and a teacher

Four Stories looking for a happy ending... on the Internet of Value

1. A painter looking to sell art digital files and work on demand.

Greg is a painter, a visual artist who likes to showcase his art works in the Internet. Some time ago he opened a website, and he is active on some social media and artists’ platforms. Nevertheless, when he sees his images used without his consent elsewhere he has mixed feelings. It is good to be appreciated, and it is ok if someone likes his work and mentions you, but sometimes it is just the image which is taken with no recognition whatsoever. Henceforward, he wants to protect his copyrights. Therefore he is not uploading good quality images anymore: “he doesn’t want his images to be misused without his consent”, he argues. But Greg wonders if he might be missing some opportunities...

What if Greg could sell his digital files directly like he does with his paintings in the galleries? What if he could connect with prospective clients in a private, direct and reliable way on the web, just as he does with his paintings in his studio?

2. A musician looking for collaborations.

Monica is a pianist, music teacher and composer. She has been sharing some of her piano playing on Youtube and on social media in order to help promoting her career as a composer. This has been time-consuming and she wonders if it is worth anymore, because there is actually very little compensation, not to mention the problems that arise when the platform decides to take down one of her videos (this is a very nasty experience indeed).

Moreover, during the Coronavirus confinement she has been composing some pedagogical scores to work in class with her students. Now, she has realised that online teaching can be a good source of income, and she also considers selling her scores online.

What if Monica could sell her scores directly, just as she does when she hands them in her studio to one of her students? What if Monica could even make some educational videos for her students and provide them through the web for a fair price?

3. A writer, educator, and digital content designer.

G.M. is a published writer of children’s books which have been successfully used in schools. Nevertheless, books were only the first of a long list of media she has used to tell her stories as she knows that kids spend a lot of their time using the screen for entertainment as well as for education. G.M.’s books provided very little compensation because “her royalties were very small in a time were publishers and distributors were the real beneficiaries”, she explains. Moreover, her own educational website and social media presence in times of “free contents” never offered her the chance to benefit from the many quality contents she provided on the web. On another side, in the physical world, she made her way with workshops in her own studio, but now things are becoming more complicated with confinement…

G.M. wonders if the Internet of Value -she hears about lately- can bring another chance for her to connect directly with parents, teachers, educators… just like she does in her studio or like she used to do in schools. At his point, after all her experience with social media, G.M. is especially interested in finding privacy and meaningful relationships on the web, as well as secure and reliable ways to benefit from the time she might have to invest in bringing her contents to the Internet.

What if G.M. could open her private studio online and connect with those really interested in her work? What if she could be paid directly for her digital contents (ebooks, sound files…)?

4. A teacher in search of digital contents for her classroom.

Carmen is introducing classical music to her young students. In the school library there are some interesting books, and she knows about some apps with good educational contents. But Carmen is a creative mind, and she has written some stories with her students to make their classical music favourites more engaging… For these stories, she is using PD recordings in the classroom, but she feels limited and the sound quality is rarely good enough. She dreams of finding some classical musicians to collaborate with her, providing some recordings, and maybe also introducing their experiences to the students directly. She is used to look for resources on the web, and she might find a way to connect with classical artists. However, getting access to recordings for such personal projects is something really difficult. She knows that the school would support her initiative with some budget though.

What if Carmen could connect privately with classical artists on the web, like in their studios? What if she could find the way to introduce her project?

To be continued…

We* may not have all the solutions for Greg, Monica, G.M. and Carmen, but we are looking for them, and we are listening to Artists and Art-Users. We wish to provide the best ways to connect and exchange valuable art assets and creative experiences on the Internet of Value.

Whether any of these stories resonate to you or you want to share an experience of your own, you can send us your comment through this private form (it’s anonymous so you can speak your mind freely).

by Georgina Mauriño, designer of Smartists, “Bringing together Artists and Art users on the Internet of Value”.

*The team building Smartists, is leading some research for the development of a more useful DApp connecting artists and art-users to communicate and deal with benefits for all.