Building Artist Economies with Editions
With his new project Proceed w/ Caution, Lucréce created $7M of value for his collectors. Up 10X in one week, Lucréce editions offer a glimpse of enormous opportunities lying ahead.
Editions are the most powerful tools available to digital artists today to build large groups of engaged and loyal collectors.
For a long time, editions’ use cases were limited to providing an affordable entry point into artist worlds. Unlike unique collections pieces or premium 1/1s, editions weren’t seen as artwork that could accrue value. However, as NFT technologies evolve and their applications expand, editions are starting to take on the role of currency, unlocking new utility and rewarding holders.
Select artists have been consistently creating enormous value for holders of their editions. In the last 12 months, XCOPY, Guido Di Salle, and AlphaCentauriKid created over $20 million of net value for more than 4,000 of collectors.
Editions hit an inflection point last week when Proceed w/ Caution, an artwork by Lucréce that sold 8,408 editions, appreciated 10X in three days, creating almost 5,000 ETH ($8 million) of net value for collectors.
Hype or beginning of a new phase for digital art? I decided to find out.
Editions: taking the art world by storm
Editions – multiple copies (typically limited count) of the same artwork – have been very impactful for both artists and collectors. Priced at a significant discount to premium 1/1 art, editions allow artists to onboard hundreds of new collectors, without diluting the value of their work. Collectors, in turn, get a chance to collect pieces from most coveted artists at a fraction of the price of their premium 1/1 art.
One of the biggest trends in digital art has been proliferation of timed editions. Unlike the more standard limited editions, timed editions are available to mint in unlimited quantities for a set duration of time. Priced at an even lower price point, timed editions truly democratize access to highly sought after artists, allowing thousands of people to collect artwork, while demonstrating to the artist the true scale of the market and demand for their art.
Since November 2022, timed editions have been taking the digital art world by storm. More than 300 artists released timed editions, including 70 who grossed over 5 ETH ($6,000). Priced at $10-100, many artworks minted in thousands of editions.
Is this another hype cycle or do so many people really enjoy the art so much and want to own it?
Both are true. The rising wave of timed editions is, in part, reminiscent of the digital collectibles (PFP) boom in 2021. Many artists are jumping on the trend without a clear vision or reason, while speculators almost immediately list their editions for sale at a marginal premium. Same as 90% of PFPs, the majority of editions won’t be worth anything in the long run. In two months, over 90% of these editions saw no volume on the secondary market despite over 20% of them being listed for sale.
There have been several exceptions. In the last 12 months, XCOPY, Guido Di Salle, and Alpha Centauri Kid created over 13,000 ETH ($20 million) of net value for more than 4,000 of collectors. In the last two months, editions by emerging artists Charlesai, Pho, and CMPLX traded over 100 ETH ($160,000) and held their value. However, the one that truly defied anyone’s expectations is Proceed w/ Caution by Lucréce.
Lucréce: defying expectations
Proceed w/ Caution launched on January 18 and minted for 0.06 ETH ($100) a piece. In 15 minutes, 8,408 items were collected, raking in 504 ETH ($820,000) in primary proceeds. This is one of the highest grossing timed editions per minute, second to XCOPY’s Max Pain in March 2022 which grossed 7,469 ETH ($23 million) in 10 minutes.
It turned out that the mint was just the beginning. Shortly after the mint ended, Lucréce announced the next phase of the “game.” He invited collectors to “burn” their editions for one of the eight pieces. Same image. Eight different colors. The caveat: there could be no more than 1,051 of each piece.
(Burn = the process of exchanging an edition of one (or sometimes more) artwork for an edition of another one, typically rarer series, in which the original edition is destroyed.)
By setting the maximum limit on the number of each artwork, Lucréce established scarcity guidelines for each piece, but allowed his collectors to play with the economic element. Because the game was to collect the full set of eight different colors, collectors needed to choose which colors to mint and which colors to buy on the secondary. Once a certain color is minted out completely, its price is solely in the hands of holders who are inclined to set it high.
The burn was open for one week. In the end, 6,838 original pieces were burned for new colors. This is equivalent to 81% – an unprecedented engagement, even by web3 standards. (In the past, the project which demonstrated the highest level of engagement was Grails I by Proof Collective which consistently engaged 94% of its members in the course of one week.)
Lucréce editions traded 3,150 ETH ($5 million) on the secondary and gained 10X in 10 days. Proceed w/ Caution is now valued at 4,600 ETH ($7 million), standing firmly as the 3rd most valuable digital art edition of all time.
What happens next? There are 475 wallets holding 678 full sets of Proceed w/ Caution clearly awaiting for the game to continue. Would collectors need a full set to keep playing? What about those who hold 1-2 pieces? Would there be value for everyone?
One possible path is to maintain the deflationary dynamics, burning full sets and creating more scarce and therefore valuable artwork (i.e., in smaller edition sizes). This is what artist Jack Butcher did with his recent 16,031-piece Checks series.
In addition, Lucréce could create burn opportunities for holders of individual colors or even specific sets of colors, thereby engaging various pockets of his community. Photographer Guido Di Salle has been doing this masterfully for nine months, constantly onboarding new collectors, rewarding his most loyal patrons, and in the process creating $3 million of value for his community.
Next for editions: artist economies
Lucréce’s editions were among the top-5 trending digital art collections for over a week. They traded over 3,150 ETH ($5 million) on the secondary and engaged more than 5,000 collectors for hours every day. Conversations about Proceed w/ Caution dominated every art community, with hundreds of collectors discussing the burn, learning about Lucréce, exploring his artwork, and having a great time.
Connecting people over a shared mission (in case or Lucréce: passion for the artist) is the primary reason why NFTs are such a powerful technology. Completely programmable, they allow for more functionality to be embedded in them later on, allowing artists to fulfill their wildest dreams, reach more people, expand their families of collectors, engage them, and build strong bonds in the long run.
Editions are already allowing artists to understand who their collectors are and what resonates with them. Pioneers like XCOPY and Guido Di Salle who have released several dozens of artworks as editions possess enormous data on types of artwork their collectors love and what they value most. Constantly experimenting with scarcity and engaging their collectors in shaping their art series, they are finding unique ways to spread their art, scale their brand, and create enormous value for their supporters.
As NFT technologies evolve and their use cases expand, editions will take on the role of currency in these artist economies, unlocking new utility and rewarding holders in various unique ways, regardless of how early or late they joined or how much they paid for the art. And, as more collectors join and these communities grow, the value of artist economies will expand.