In his monthly crypto tech column, Israeli serial entrepreneur Ariel Shapira covers emerging technologies within the crypto, decentralized finance (De
In his monthly crypto tech column, Israeli serial entrepreneur Ariel Shapira covers emerging technologies within the crypto, decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain space, as well as their roles in shaping the economy of the 21st century.
With the news that Meta plans to take a nearly 50% cut of virtual asset sales in Horizon Worlds, it will not be surprising if independent artists and content creators turn away from the Metaverse entirely. Or at least from its Meta rendition, no matter how excited the company might be about the creator economy. It’s one thing to pay this much when the taxes go toward making life better for your community, but Meta is a business, not a charity.
And it’s not like your average creative type is living the high life. Streaming services have made life harder for musicians, and insurmountable creative fatigue has taken a toll on the variety and quality of creator-driven content across multiple markets. All too often, today’s creators are left to chase the ever-changing monetization policies on various platforms, and landing a sponsorship is no walk in the park either.
In theory, the advent of the Metaverse offers a new way for the creator economy to blossom, particularly with crypto integrations and decentralized platforms creating an alternative pathway for creators to make money. In reality, the prominence of major centralized Web2 companies, like Meta, within the Metaverse space doesn’t exactly indicate a warm welcome for independent creators.
Related: A letter to Zuckerberg: The Metaverse is not what you think it is
The concern about these major players dominating the Metaverse and Web3 space is not a result of anti-corporate hand-wringing; rather, it relates more to the liberties and flexibility that would exist in this new creator economy. For creators that maintain a creative business through any major Web2 platform, these companies’ reputations are the ultimate wake-up call.
The hassle of entering the Metaverse
Yeah, it’s a hassle indeed. Although Meta is justifying its eye-popping fees by shifting the blame to regulatory roadblocks brought on by Apple, it’s hard to see how that helps the creator. Big Tech platforms are not the biggest fans of one another — we know that much.
For all the flak nonfungible tokens (NFTs) get, they do offer creators a better shot at turning in a decent profit. Even though they have their own flaws (how many of the early sales were snatched by bots?), there are ways around those. Creators can court early buyers through a democratized whitelist platform like SparkWorld, putting the traditional whitelisting on an equitable footing where everyone gets a fair shot at the game.
Furthermore, with platform fees like Meta’s, we can wave goodbye to price tags that actually make sense. If creators have to hand over half of their earnings to Big Tech companies, you’re unlikely to see many more Metaverse projects like BattleFly, which sells its NFT combat butterflies at very affordable prices. And let’s be real: Nobody will pay a Gucci-level price for something that’s not only not actually real but also not actually Gucci.
Beyond pricing and fees, the other major obstacle for the Metaverse creator economy is interoperability. As it stands, major Metaverse studios only prioritize interoperability in their marketing. The actual developer scene is split between a few domineering projects all seeking to have a Metaverse monopoly, with little interest in cooperating with each other.
Related: The metaverse: Mark Zuckerberg’s Brave New World
Reshaping the Metaverse fabric
As it stands now, the centralized Metaverse seems intent on hitting off the crypto community’s centralization bingo card. This makes for a good selling point for studios crafting the Metaverse outside of Big Tech’s purview: Give accessibility and freedom to independent creators, and they will make most of the work for you. It’s as simple as that. You can hire 100 developers to build the backbone of your Metaverse, but they’ll never be as passionate as 1,000 independent fans who decide to make it their home.
Though it might seem beneficial only to have a few players making an impact in the Metaverse, the incompatibility of the leading Metaverse projects forces creators to choose sides. For example, a burgeoning fashion designer making Metaverse wearables has to select between creating products for Decentraland, The Sandbox or Horizon Worlds. All of these projects run on different engines and have their own software development kits and frameworks to navigate. It’s unlikely that a designer or programmer has the wherewithal to create projects for all three platforms, not to mention the dozens of metaverses popping up along the way.
Related: The best is yet to come: What’s next for blockchain and the creator economy
Blockchain-based Metaverse projects may lack Meta-level brand recognition, but they can strive to provide a welcoming environment that emphasizes…
cointelegraph.com