Displate: Supporting the Creator Economy Through Physical Drops

In the growing area of Web3, the creator economy offers new ways for individuals to directly engage with their followers, grow a community and monetize their creativity. What makes the creator economy such an exciting opportunity is that it’s available to anyone. All you need is an internet connection and 1,000 true fans and you’re on your way to living as a creator.

Web3 increases this opportunity by removing the gatekeeping of social media platforms and letting creators focus on their community rather than an algorithm. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in particular have provided a clear example of how Web3 can remove boundaries for creators and allow for a continued, secure income through primary sales and secondary royalties.

If you’re a creator, Web3 and existing Web2 channels offer unique possibilities for upward mobility. Ownership of your creations and portability of content through Web3 have made it the perfect time for creators to get involved.

For collectors and community members, NFTs and other Web3 technologies offer a more personal connection with creators and additional ways to show your support. In a digital society, shared interest in creators and projects can create communities of like-minded individuals. Yet communities exist offline as well, and fans of creators still want to show their support in the physical world.

One company looking to bridge the digital and physical divide for both creators and communities is Displate, the world’s largest marketplace for collectable metal posters, with over 40,000 artists selling over 1.5 million unique designs. Displate celebrates community and supports the creator economy by letting creators reach their fans and receive direct user-to-creator payment.

Direct user-to-creator payments are made possible through artist shops. You can set up a shop on Displate so your fans can show support, without the need for upfront overhead costs. This additional monetization opportunity, made possible by Displate, has generated over $28 million for creators to date.

Physical art like that offered by Displates offers a complimentary layer to a creator’s NFT project, providing additional value to the community. Displates are built with durability and longevity in mind, values similar to the persistence expected by blockchain decentralization.

Additionally, Displate has embraced limited drop culture since early 2020, quite some time ahead of the NFT craze and offered an experience for collectors similar to that of buying a rare NFT. Their drops offer a unique chance for creators to sell a fixed number of Displates in a limited amount of time. The parallels between limited drops on Displate and NFT minting has attracted some of the most recognizable NFT artists to the platform, including Inward, Gal Barkan, Peter Mohrbacher and several others. To further engage communities, Displate runs polls where users can vote for specific designs that will be featured in future limited edition Displates.

The creator economy marks a significant shift in the way we work, create and connect with our communities. As this emerging economy continues to develop, Displate supports all creators through user-to-creator payments and an additional platform for creators to engage with their community.

Related: Why Decentralization Cultivates Community