Designing Scarcity in an Infinite World

What does it mean to collect Art when digital technology has made the cost of copying zero? Is scarcity obsolete? As a creator, how do you assert authenticity when your work can be copied and transmitted thousands of times without you even knowing? How is the dynamic between creators and consumers changed with the advent of social media, and what new opportunities exist to remediate this relationship?

http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_IAP25453

Transcript

1. March 10, 2014, Austin, Texas Designing #Scarcity in an Infinite World South by Southwest — @chrismessina
5. David Hockney, Yosemite I, October 16th 2012 Detail
6. How can we help digital artists make a living doing what they love to do?
7. Haven’t I seen this movie before?
8. Hilary Rosen from Wired; Napster screenshot from Kent Newsome
9. Sort of. Yes.
11. An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing the Copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies, during the Times therein mentioned.
18. Selling points of “Free Music” 1. Cost (zero or approaching zero), 2. Portability (to any device), 3. Mobility (wireless access to music), 4. Choice (access to any song ever recorded) and 5. Remixability (freedom to remix and mashup music) Source: Pew Internet, The State of Music Online: Ten Years After Napster, 2009
19. Selling points of “Free Art” 1. Cost (zero or approaching zero), 2. Portability (to any device), 3. Mobility (anywhere access to digital art), 4. Choice (access to any art ever created) and 5. Remixability (freedom to remix and mashup art) Adapted from Pew Internet
20. But… ✦ Art isn’t consumed the same way as music ✦ Art needs to be seen to be enjoyed (#notEnoughWalls!) ✦ Art is sold and valued differently than music — high price points for Fine Art makes it less accessible ✦ Art comes in many shapes and forms — it’s not just 2D, especially digital art
28. Q: What is collectible, limited-edition digital art? A: Art that is made artificially scarce by restricting its availability in a system.
47. Common Uncommon Rare Very Rare Extremely Rare Variant Chase
72. create@neonmob.com bitly.com/join-neonmob ! Send feedback using the SXSW app! #scarcity