SXSW NFTs Takeover and the Future of the Creator Economy

If you were in Austin, Texas this year for the South by Southwest festival you saw the massive display of various different brands jumping into the NFT game. Naturally, SXSW would become fertile ground for NFT conversation with creators looking for new ways to monetize their art and blockchain technology’s potential in assisting artists and creators with receiving stronger ownership and overall monetization from their work. When SXSW announced their blockchain related panels for 2022 and their plans to mint their first SXSW NFT, I had a feeling the festival giant might go mega hard on the new tech.

And holy woah did they go hard! SXSW partnered with various blockchain companies for NFT themed brand activations and events spread out across the city of Austin. Most notably being one of SX’s title sponsors FOX Entertainment Blockchain Creative Labs. Many of these NFT programs were tailored towards the general public while some were exclusive to the brand’s NFT holders (Doodles) while others were aimed at the Creators holding official SXSW badges.  

As a creator sifting through the 17 or so (I lost count after 11) NFT related activations at SXSW this year, it could at times feel rather overwhelming, and finding the ultimate value and education for the artist/entrepreneur regarding blockchain technology and NFTs required focus and discipline in order to know which brands at SXSW were truly delivering valuable nuggets of information and insights into what the future holds for NFTs as a tool for creators and which activations were just there to promote the company’s brand.

Blockchain Creative Labs at SXSW

FOX Entertainment’s NFT studio, Blockchain Creative Labs arrived in Austin as South by Southwest’s inaugural Blockchain category sponsor launching the SXSW x BCL NFT marketplace.  Open until March 20the the marketplace features original song NFTs and film poster NFTs from official SXSW artists and film premieres. SXSW conference attendees can purchase and claim collectible, one-of-one, rare and other limited NFTs while they were at the conference in Austin.

Dolly Parton Mints NFT With First SXSW Appearance

Dolly Parton showed up to SXSW for the first time on last night to celebrate the launch of Dollyverse, a audience-centric Web3 experience Dolly in a partnership with Fox Entertainment’s Blockchain Creative Labs. Dolly Parton will soon release her original novel, ‘Run, Rose, Run’, co-written with bestselling author James Patterson. The Dolly Parton partnership with BCL reveals a major shift in Hollywood studios’ investments and shows that studios are taking NFTs and blockchain technology very seriously.

SXSW Blockchain and NFT Focused Panels, Workshops and Meetups

Attendees of SXSW conference had plenty of NFT focused panels to check out. Some panels focused on the simple 101 of NFTs and how creators including musicians and filmmakers can get started with NFTs. Sandy Carter from Unstoppable Domains broke down NFTs and Web3 and how NFTs disrupt the market. At the “Music NFTs: Finding Post-Gold Rush Sustainability” panel on Wednesday, music artists and creators learned how to demystify the mysterious technology and incorporate it into your music business strategy moving forward. 

Top NFT Experience Goes to Doodles and Fluf World

It seemed that the two blockchain companies that truly delivered a remarkably immersive experience was Doodles and Fluf World. The FLUF Haus: SXSW Edition was the third installment of live activations from NFT Project FLUF World. Fluf fused the metaverse and physical world together and hosted dozens of events at the FLUF Dome village along with partners Altered State Machine, Beyond, and Sylo to name a few.