LUME. Creatives in Web3 Age

I was a Dingo fan when I was young. I first saw them on stage at my hometown vocational school and joined the fan club. My friend and I would share photos of our idols. Today, with social media, fan engagement has transformed into following, liking, and purchasing products. What if fans could be more involved – not just as distant admirers, but as part of a community where they could have a more personal experience and be recognized for their participation? The new internet (Web3) is opening doors to fan services, where tokens enable fans to experience unique experiences, exclusive content, and completely new types of fan services. In this blog, I dive deeper into how Web3 can change the way fans and artists meet. Tokens as a bridge between artist and fan A key challenge in fan relationships is communication. The new internet offers one solution to this challenge in the form of blockchain. The information stored in the blockchain is public, which allows artists to establish a direct connection with their fans by utilizing the fan's unique crypto wallet address. Knowing this address, artists can send their fans digital gifts in the form of tokens. However, it is important to note that the crypto wallet address alone does not contain personal information about the fan, which guarantees the privacy of users. A token is a digital unit that represents value or rights on a blockchain. It can act as a means of payment, a right to use a service, or an ownership interest in an asset, such as special content or services provided by a creator. Tokens act as a bridge in both directions. For example, American rap artist Snoop Dogg has moved his Death Row catalog to a platform called Tune.FM, thereby declaring that the era of Spotify is over. Tune.FM is a decentralized music streaming platform that utilizes blockchain technology and tokens called JAM. When a fan listens to Snoop Dogg's music on Tune.FM, he pays for his listening with tokens. These payments are transferred directly to Snoop Dogg without intermediaries. (Syväluomi 2025.) The payment is very small in nature, the price of one JAM token is approximately 0.0001753 (USD) at the time of writing. Compared to a traditional streaming service, this provides a fairer compensation for the artist by bypassing many intermediaries. Snoop Dogg also gets a direct connection to reward his fans, for example with a token that entitles them to purchase one concert ticket 2 hours before the actual sale starts. Stardust over content creators Traditionally, fan culture has been built around well-known creators and performers. Musicians, actors, and other major stars in entertainment have benefited from fan communities that are willing to purchase fan merchandise directed at them. That connection is nurtured and strengthened through performing. At the same time, many other creative content creators, such as visual artists, writers and designers, have been overshadowed as builders of fan services. Their work has not been based on direct, systematically maintained audience contact in the same way. However, fan services of the new internet can change this situation: they offer new ways to support and fan the creative professionals who traditionally work in the background. Any creative can build their own fan communities, where passionate supporters can participate, influence, and be recognized for their support. Specialized and even unique content can find their own fan base thanks to the global internet. Exclusive tickets – more than just an event ticket Traditionally, an exclusive ticket has meant a front-row seat to a concert, a premiere, or VIP access to a festival. In the new internet world, such tickets can be transformed into digital tokens owned by fans that offer additional benefits. Music and film fans can purchase special tickets that entitle them to, for example, an artist’s soundcheck or a film premiere discussion with the director. For example, Kentucky rapper Jack Harlow has sold VIP tickets to his concerts in the form of NFTs. Compared to regular tickets, the holders of these tickets had, among other things, faster entry and early entry to the concert venue to grab the best seats (see Kubinek 2023; Bincnce 2023; Halonen 2023). Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk has launched the VeeFriends NFT collection. Each NFT grants entry to VeeCon (see VeeCon 2024). The event will run over several days, and the NFTs will serve as both collectibles and access to events hosted by the artist and other community members. For example, Elton John’s Rocket Club NFT membership gives access to the artist’s special photo collections (Sweetio.com), and Snoop Dogg’s The Passport Series NFT gives its owner the opportunity to accompany Snoop Dogg in the backrooms of concert venues and events on his tours (Langston, 2023). Martha Stewart and Quentin Tarantino also have their own NFT communities (Langston, 2021). The content of different VIP events is very diverse. Film fans can participate in NFT-based viewing experiences, where the film's director or lead actors discuss the film with fans. In the theater industry, closed readings can be organized, where fans can follow how a new play is being developed. In literature, VIP events can mean, for example, exclusive literary circles, where an author discusses his works with fans, and designers can invite their fans to design launches, where new collections are presented before official sales. A peek behind the scenes of creative work as a service for fans Especially during the corona years, a digital leap was taken towards remote participation. Zoom, Teams and Google Meet became familiar to many. These also led to the spread of digital artist meetings aimed at fans. There is no need to travel to the meeting, and everyone (including the artist) is physically safe behind their own screen. For example, director Kevin Smith (n.d.) released her film "KillRoy Was Here" in NFT form, giving NFT buyers not only the film but also the opportunity to participate in virtual meet & greets with Smith and access to behind-the-scenes footage. In addition to stars, people also want to meet creative professionals who stay behind the scenes. For example, the meeting site Charitybuzz.com has sold an hour-long Zoom remote meeting with, among others, The Walking Dead director Rosemary Rodriguez (Charitybuzz, 2025). Authors can sell special edition NFT books that entitle them to a private Q&A session, for example regarding alternative story endings. On the non-fiction side, Amanda Cassatt's (2023) Web3 Marketing book came with a limited-time purchase of the book, along with the right to join her private Discord group, where you can meet Amanda and other Web3 marketing developers. Visual artists can offer access to closed art tours that explore the creation stories of their works, while designers can sell limited tickets to prototype exhibitions where fans can provide feedback before the wider launch of products. A new era of fan culture In the Web1 era, mailing lists were collected from fans, in the Web2 era, various social media data and information provided by cookies in website tracking became the source of fan information. In the era of the new internet (web3), blockchain plays a key role in reaching fans. The tokenized services offered by the new internet not only deepen the relationship between artists and audiences, but also expand the concept of who can be fanned and how. Fanning is no longer just a domain dominated by the performing arts – writers, artists and designers can also build their own communities where fans can participate and influence more than before. So perhaps the title of my blog should have been a new era of fan culture instead of a new era of fan services. ​When I was young, joining the Dingo fan club and sharing photos with a friend, I felt a connection of sorts – even if it was a one-sided fandom. The new internet allows today’s fans to have a deeper and more personal connection with their favorite artists. With the help of blockchain, fans can own digital collectibles, participate directly in events organized by artists, and receive recognition for their activism. This development is transforming fandom from one-way admiration to an interactive community where fans are active participants and influencers. Sources Binance News (2023). Jack Harlow's Concert-Goers Experience Blockchain-Based VIP Tickets. Binance News 5.12.2023. https://www.binance.com/en/square/post/2023-12-05-jack-harlow-s-concert-goers-experience-blockchain-based-vip-tickets-983371762130 Cassatt, A. (2023). Amanda Cassatt on Web3 Marketing and the early days of Ethereum. Decrypt @DecryptMedia 25.10.2023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-LhIrf7Jco kohdassa 36 min). Charitybuzz (2025). https://www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/auction-1-hour-power-meeting-with-walking-dead-director-3129433  Halonen, K. (2023). NFT haastaa konserttien lippubisneksen. Metropolia AMK, LUME blogit 30.8.2023. https://blogit.metropolia.fi/lume/2023/08/30/nft-haastaa-lippubisneksen/ Kubinec, J. (2023). How MITH brought Jack Harlow fans to the blockchain. Blockworks newsletter 2.12.2023. https://blockworks.co/news/jack-harlow-mith-fan-engagement Langston, T. (2021). 15 Celebrities Who Are an Active Part of the NFT Community. NFT Now 10.11.2021. https://nftnow.com/culture/stars-active-in-nft-community/ Langstion T. (2023). Snoop Dogg Takes Fans on ad Digital Journey With New NFT Passport Series. NFT Now 14.6.2023. https://nftnow.com/news/snoop-dogg-takes-fans-on-a-digital-journey-with-new-nft-passport-series/ Smith, K. (n.d.). Kilroy was Here. Katsottu 13.3.2025. https://killroywashere.io/ Sweetio.com (n.d.). Elton John Rocket NFT Club Pass No. 1466.  https://sweet.io/listings/pgWR0ajK Syväluomi, V. (2025). Snoop Dogg vie Death Row -kataloginsa Tune.FM:ään -- Soprityn aika on ohi. Klangi 28.2.2025. https://www.klangi.fi/uutiset/snoop-dogg-musiikki-tune-fm-web3-suoratoisto/ VeeCon event (2024). Lippukauppa. https://veecon.co/tickets Katri Halonen (Metropolia AMK) toimii projektipäällikkönä Euroopan unionin osarahoittamassa LUME – Luovat web3-ajassa hankkeessa, jossa keskitytään luovan alan uusiin ansaintamalleihin.