Over 100 subscribers
since we last met, it's been an whirlwind...
i've transitioned my newsletter over to paragraph 📮
i've set up a hypersub! a hyper what? 👀
new art was made and an edition airdropped!
happy march, let's get into it!
feel free to check out my substack archives for previous posts or listen to these posts via apple, spotify, or google.
if you're receiving this in your inbox, you may notice that the newsletter looks a bit different. that's because i've migrated to paragraph.xyz. it's native onchain integration is right up my alley and i'd like to leverage more of its features as i grow.
the biggest change for readers is the ability to create an account that correlates an ethereum wallet with your email. this allows you to receive the newsletter in places such as coinbase wallet notifications vs. your inbox. it also means you are able to collect this post. very cool.
i'll be keeping the substack as it is for now, but only sending emails via paragraph. if you want to compare them for yourself, here's a handy feature list.
when i first dabbled onchain with token based artwork it was actually by way of researching newsletter subscription services. this was in late 2020 and my research lead me to opensea of all places. i was reading posts from xcopy and nerding out on documentation for platforms like foundation. ultimately i would end up getting wholly distracted from newsletter subscriptions while i started connecting the dots on provenance and would end up minting my art on ethereum mainnet in spring 2021. this piece above – breakthrough. – was my genesis.
at that time i’d wished for an onchain art subscription service, something that could combine my desire to have an opt-in mechanism and be art focused. i settled for the ability to mint and have total control over how my art was being distributed.
now it’s 2024 and the onchain art subscription service i'd hoped for is happening via hypersub. their platform makes it possible for artists (or any creator) to set up a contract on ethereum mainnet or a layer 2 (e.g. base, optimism, zora) which then allows people to mint tokens to which time, or a subscription duration, is tied. Here's how the contract states it...
An NFT contract which allows users to mint time and access token gated content while time remains.
in exchange for this subscription-time-via-token the creator sets a price and outlines what their subscribers are entitled to or will receive. in the case of my art, this enables me to have a running list of people who have queued for artwork, export it and utilize it to send art via airdrop. oh, and get paid for it!
to put it simply, with hypersub, people can pay a monthly rate to subscribe to my art and receive it seamlessly from me via airdrop. so far i've seen subscriptions ranging from 1 month to 2 years with the most common being ~3 months.
i launched my m/branson subscription on feb 27th and started seeing subscribers trickle in immediately. i wanted to get art in their hands quickly, so i got to work prepping my first edition, through line. this week i sent it out as an edition of 35 to my first ever paid subscribers.
this piece is an intentional call back to my genesis mint. it’s another beginning. one built on the foundation of a collective mindset. in the end we all rely on one another, we all create the whole.
monthly subscriber edition airdrops. each month all subscribers will receive a 1/x edition (e.g. the art i mentioned above). the size of the edition will fluctuate with the number of unique subscribers each month and will be targeted to drop in the first half of the month. if that changes due to holiday plans, subscribers will be notified.
24hr early access to upcoming mints. subscribers will be notified of future drops and either be pre-sale or reserve allowlisted depending on the platform and mint type (e.g. whether generative or open edition).
quarterly raffles for 1/1 artwork. 1 unique subscriber* every quarter will receive a 1/1 artwork, minted to my self-titled ethereum erc-721 contract. the first raffle will be held at the end of may 2024. *to be selected at random.
m/b subscriber group chat. each member will receive optional access to a token gated warpcast group chat. this is done via the token you receive when you sub. if you want to join, just come back and click the link once you're subscribed. so far it's been a great way to meet subscribers and answer questions.
earn hypersub subscriber rewards. long term subscriptions are incentivized with earnings toward an 8% pool of all subscription fees. this is done through multipliers based on when you subscribe and are halving each month. currently the multiplier is at 64x. 👀 read more about hypersub's subscriber rewards.
that last point is really cool and uniquely hypersub. i did the math on this and for people who subscribe for 13 months during this initial period, the immediate reward is equal to one month. so you effectively get a month (and a piece of art!) for free. nice.
when all you want to do is make art for people who enjoy it, this is a dream. i can’t wait to drop future editions and play with additional rewards (print/plot shop discount anyone?). subscribe to get in on it + thanks for being part of this journey!
thank you for reading! if you enjoyed, please subscribe and i’ll see you next time!
m/b ⚫ ️✨
the song playing on my speakers right this very moment...
m/branson
Hey man, nice writing! I enjoyed to follow through your article. Feels very fresh, flowy & like you had fun writing it. Sending you love <3
thanks bodhi, appreciate the words and you spending some time with it. much love in return!
Ok, Alfafrens is nice but Hypersub is probably more sustainable (and usable).
is there any articles on hypersub i should check out? haven’t looked into them much tbh
@nonlinear.eth please 🫡
- https://paragraph.xyz/@mbranson/stuff-of-dreams - https://onchainletters.xyz/hypersub - https://www.kaloh.xyz/p/big-news-we-are-going-onchain - https://paragraph.xyz/@investinmusic/music-subscription-season 🫡
TY!! 🫶
agree. also tokenization has its benefits
alfa gud ponzi tho 10 $degen
can you please tell us more about it?
In terms of UX: - There's a gas cost for un/subscribing, and un/staking - Chat is barely functional - Slow & Quirky for a mobile app Financially: - Three monthly subscription tiers (per channel): 500 degen ($9), 1000 degen, and 1500 degen ($27) at current degen price rate Content quality: - definitely not work $9 pm.
The gas cost is confusing, and it rises up by a lot (expect 12 degen - 500 degen).
worth*
think the arguments for af are that -functionality of the app is something that can be fixed, we see them patching bugs in real time -if/when they move to degenchain has effectively goes to zero or they can leverage other base/degen grants or run sqf round to subsidize gas for users
gm /words 👋 in my latest newsletter i cover ramping up with @hypersub and what onchain subscriptions, for art or content of any kind, make possible. https://paragraph.xyz/@mbranson/stuff-of-dreams
1000 $DEGEN
ty for the tip!
Maybe you can help me understand NFTs and what the etiquette is when you buy one? Can I use it as a digital card for my niece? What happens if she sends it to someone else?
this is generally up to the artist. often it’s agreed that art for sale, whether nft or otherwise, is meant for the enjoyment of the purchaser, not the commercial use. i state in the descriptions of my art listed onchain whether or not the usage license transfers with purchase. it’s very much a case by case basis.
That’s super helpful - thanks 🙏
90 $DEGEN
Creators need to own their membership lists. The problem: if you have paying subscribers to your content every platform you use tries to own your membership list & take their cut. Take rates: YouTube "Channel Memberships" - 30% Apple "Podcast Subscriptions" - 30% Substack Paid Posts - 10% Twitter Subscriptions - 10%
But worse than the take rate is the lock in. Want to host discord chat for paying subscribers only? SORRY Substack membership is for your Substack content only. Someone pays $10 a month for your YT Channel Membership...does this give them access to the Members-only podcast feed in Apple? Nope!
Are your fans supposed to buy bespoke memberships for each and every platform? That's lock in. Eac platform pretends they're the center of the universe. In reality your community is spread across dozens of them. These platform specific membership lists are just fancy wrappers for stripe - they exist to lock you in.
You can use a platform membership to test things out but don't stay on the morphine drip too long. You are a creator not an employee. You don't work for YouTube or Apple you work for your community. Don't let someone else own your membership list.
What about also something as basic as payments? How much Stripe, Paypal, Gumroad, Lemonsqueezy and such get in their pockets for basic internet transactions
This is exactly what @nonlinear.eth and co are going after with @fabric @hypersub https://warpcast.com/zinger/0xde1cb625
this is precisely why i’ve jumped into @hypersub. my latest post is about exactly this. https://paragraph.xyz/@mbranson/stuff-of-dreams
Surprised you’re not already on @fabric Hypersub with those crazy take rates.
The value that these large tech firms have by keeping your social graph locked into their eco-system is amazing. Imagine you could just switch from YouTube to another client that would charge you just fee for hosting/streaming the videos + small markup and you got to keep the revenue you generated
💯 @basemint is building a membership list for creators with single click email signups, private chat and exclusive benefits where the creator owns all the contact info.
@rsa.eth FC is different right? I can’t find a clear answer. Let’s pretend @dwr.eth bans you from WC. You then move to another FC app. Will I (a WC app user) be able to see your casts? If yes then you do own your membership list. If no then It’s like gmail blocking yahoo emails.
I just subscribed to @mbranson on /paragraph! Check it out:
🤝 thanks eric. last lil bit goes to you today, appreciate all your awesomeness. 238 $DEGEN
put together my thoughts on ramping up with @hypersub for my latest newsletter post (now with @paragraph!). enjoy. https://paragraph.xyz/@mbranson/stuff-of-dreams
2000 $DEGEN for writing this right when I needed it 🙌
🙏🖤 so glad it’s helpful!!
awesome read📓🖤✨
thank you! 🖤😍
96 $DEGEN