GM everyone!

Where you mint matters - discoverability is so important long-term

I was going to mint something this weekend and saw that it wasn't on an artist's own contract but instead on a totally new one. All I could think was that no one would ever see this collection again after a month.

I have been spending quite a bit of time on secondary markets in the last couple of months, and one of the strongest conclusions I have made is that... where you mint matters when it comes to discoverability.

It is so hard for an artist to get traction and take off. If a collector is putting their limited funds into collecting, many would at least like the work to show up on people's radar if/when an artist takes off enough for people to take the time to research.

This isn't to say that you always have to mint on your own contract but think about how will people find your work long-term.

For most artists, an edition of The Meme by 6529, a 1/1/x on Art Blocks or equivalent is likely much more discoverable than their own contract, but this is the 1% exception. Because of this, I am really bearish on group collections minted on a group contract and much more bullish on Foundation Worlds or equivalent where the artists' creations can come together at sale, but still exist on artists' own contracts. Note that you can still do group collections. Noble, Proof, Skalda, and many others bring works together that are still minted on artists' own contracts.

I think most of us should list our for-sale art on our own contract when we have the choice.

Contract = Long-term Discoverability Chance

Bull market wen?

I am bullish. I am bullish on ETH, crypto, PFPs, and NFT art. I think there are positive signs coming in, but just know I have also been wrong many times before.

We talked about bull market signs on our Spaces this week. Many thanks to Clete and Fer for co-hosting each week with me, and Ben Meadows who joined us for most of the Spaces as a speaker.

Here are some key takeaways from that discussion and beyond…

The latest run-up in PFPs seems to be in existing collections and some that have a bit of age on them. This points to the upward move in PFPs is coming from those who have stuck around, just waiting on the sidelines. If one has seen Doodles at 20 ETH you might feel a bit of FOMO if they start to move up from 1 to 2 ETH, thus we start to see people jumping back in. Looking at the number of wallets active in NFT and those that are bidding, very little to new money has joined the space. This is also to be expected early in a cycle.

Fine art sales don't seem to be up much if at all. Because SuperRare has an API, I was able to look at the number of sales and total sales volume. November is actually tracking to be about the same as October was, which is less than half the sales of even March of this year. So we aren't even on the upswing in 1/1. Foundation numbers aren't available, but just from looking each day, the number of auctions seems to not be increasing.

That doesn't mean we won't get there. Generally, the order in which things take off in cycles is…

Crypto ➡️ PFP ➡️ Big Name Art Collections ➡️ Generative ➡️ 1/1 Art

I feel like we are in the middle on this, and of course, when we actually see a bull market, all of these will start to increase and build off each other.

gmoney who was on Laura Shin's podcast this week talked about how much of the NFT buying still comes from crypto gains. One of his thesis is that those who make money in crypto then want to show that off and they get into PFPs and then NFT more broadly. This is kind of the status symbol thesis (think Rolex and Fendi bags). I don't think this motivation can be dismissed as a common motivation, but of course, we all hope for "I just love the art" collectors. A group in between is community affiliation. Many people buy PFPs and art to be part of a community, and I think this motivation is also a pretty pure one.

New market cycles do take a while, but I will say that when people get together for end-of-year holidays they often talk, and it is definitely the time of year when new people enter the space or return.

SuperRare gets into the 1/1/x with new Lazy Minting auction mechanic

This is news because, to be frank, SR hasn't innovated a ton in this bear market. The auction part of lazy minting might be new, but we will have to see as details come out. Leading with a Van Arman drop on Thursday at a 1 ETH price point is sure to be popular, and I imagine all the mint/auctions will likely get kicked off. SuperRare says the details will be available today (Monday).

This has me thinking more broadly about the now frequently used label 1/1/x.

For those who don't know, 1/1/x means that all the pieces are unique, but they get released in a larger collection all at once or in this case as they are minted. 1/1 is distinct in that it is a stand-alone release. The distinction here isn't always clear. If an artist releases 5 new 1/1s at once, that seems like five 1/1s. If they do 50 in a new collection, that seems like a 1/1/x. 1/1/x was made popular with generative collections, and then I guess PFPs are generally 1/1/x but are rarely thought of that way. With generative and AI the volume of pieces created certainly can increase and thus I think we see this term more. I don't think the difference is fully defined, but as the term is used more frequently, I tend to think about it.

Happenings

Women's World on Foundation is happening on Friday, November 17th. 60 women artists will be releasing 1/1 work at .1 ETH.

On Wednesday Art for Humanity is raising funds for Palestinian civilian relief via 1/1 auctions. 70+ artists are involved and 50% of sales are going to relief. All pieces start at .1 ETH. They have been very thoughtful about the charity, and we quote them here: "The JHCO [the benefiting charity] has permission from Jordanian, Egyptian, and Israeli governments to send trucks of aid into Gaza, and everything has been thoroughly inspected by the Israeli government. Due to this, we felt that this group was our best attempts to put funds into action". 

Braving high gas prices, our friend Olly will be releasing his newest on-chain 1/1 this Monday as part of Builders DAO. Also, check out Ben Meadow's security-minded on-chain piece currently available. 

Le Moon has been curated into so many great collections, and now she is the curator! Sloika is working with her to bring artists together for a 7-day Open Edition of the AI + Animation collection. Open Call is now live and closes on November 24th.

We are enjoying this 22 artists, 22 Tarot card collection on Tez.

Roger Dickson is hosting NFT Stats (Punk9059) today at 1 PM ET. This is two people who watch the market super close to one Spaces. We will be tuning in!

Spotlight on Art - Imagination

Happy new week, everyone! It’s Clete here with the 46th spotlight thread that is full of imaginative wonders from you!

Below you will find my 10 picks from our collaborative art share thread with Pop! If you wish to read it on X instead and drop a comment or share my picks, you can head to this X thread!

"The Struggle" by @leaf_swan

1. "Mental Fog" by @PonseLakiva 

Once again, Ponse nails answering the human need to find something familiar wherever we look with her style and relatable message! Out of her cosmic and beautiful imagination, this piece speaks directly to most of us!

2. "Big Big Big Big Big Big Mac" by @GraphicaPng

Graphica's imagination is fun and self-aware enough to stuff us all into a giant Big Mac as an on-point commentary on our age! The overwhelming nature, our stepping on/sticking with each other, all there! A feast for the eyes!

3. "Proof of Aliens" by @PunyFox777 

A tad of quirky imagination and contemporary culture blends beautifully in this very piece! Love this scene of "taking the smartphone out" as a first reaction as it both embraces the new generation and the criticism of the previous one!

4. "Nirvana" by @flostitanarum 

These meticulously crafted details and vibrant palette do magnificent work creating an otherworldly and tranquil scene of imagination that promises nirvana at the end of the road! Such a wonderful journey ahead!

5. "Disrupted connection" by @magicalords

An impactful visualization of the roots and connection we have as humanity and a reminder that although innovation connects us more than ever today, it is us that supply the will and power to stick together! Great work!

6. "Coin Operated Cosmos" by @MoonlightCiara

A cosmically beautiful interpretation of an idea that arrived in a dream state! Love this whimsical idea of dropping a coin to take a journey to somewhere in space in a 'universomat' and its gorgeous application! See the original, animated version here!

7. "Melancholy" by @minwjr 

This wonderfully shaded and detailed, hand-drawn piece of our dark and deep state of mind pulses with a sad yet beautiful vibe thanks to the imaginative power and skills of Mina! Outstanding job!

8. "World’s End" by @PWarrenn

A gorgeous photo manipulation that resonates with the vibes of power, readiness, and will to face hardships. In imagination or in reality, in a broken world, we stand our ground!

9. "Bioluminescence" by @cerenyuzgul

This surreal scene that looks as if painted with vibrant hues of light brings the depths of the imagination where it gets even more blurred to the surface of the mind! Taking a dive into this is recommended!

10. Artwork by @barrylsutton

Bringing the elements of elegance, fine art, modernity, and movement together with AI collaboration, this piece and many alongside it in the collection of "Mythologies" does an excellent job putting forward raw and powerful imagination! Bravo!

As it does every week, last week’s art share thread was full of wonderful art! You can check the art share thread or the #PopExploresImagination tag on X for more!

You can always reply to this email to share upcoming news. No one ever replies so it will defiantly get seen. 👀😂

Thanks for reading!

Pop Punk & Clete