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Cover image for CRWNMAG Digital — Grant Report #01
Nkrumah Farrar
Nkrumah Farrar

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CRWNMAG Digital — Grant Report #01

Mec.Dfz for CRWNMAG
Our project is a case study on how an existing media brand can divest from advertising as a primary monetization strategy. CRWNMAG as a business, has been built on the sale of physical goods (periodicals, books, merch) specifically because practices common in digital advertising are antithetical to our values. Working with Interledger has given us new context and a broader view for how we can monetize our digital content.

This project is has three components, content production, research, publishing and advocacy. Here’s a bit about where we stand with each.

Content Production: We are currently in post-production 80% of the feature editorials with the remaining content being in active production to be completed by September. One of the greatest challenges in this work has been the increase in labor costs overall and production costs related to covid safety in particular.

  • We are in production on an education series focused on maternal health.
  • We’ve produced four of the six editorial features originally scoped and shifted focus to education.
  • Added a suite of content specific to Web3 onboarding. We’ve learned that our audience is going to need an introduction to Web3/blockchain fundamentals to participate fully.
  • We’ve digitized our print catalog and building an audio experience around it.

Research: We have been curating conversations with Black creatives about how they are monetizing their work and what challenges they face in doing so. Almost none of them were aware of the Web Monetization protocol or the concept of streaming micro payments. The majority of creators we spoke with like the idea but don’t see a clear path for using the technology to supplement their work because of the long adoption curve. This is something that we hope to positively affect through our advocacy and use of the technology.

Publishing & Advocacy: We are working on a relaunch of our digital platform and are holding all of the works in this project accept for one. We published a zine, and digital teaser focused entirely on Black creators in Web3. This particular work is an important early step in establishing our voice in the space. This editorial will provide a basis for our advocacy of WM and ILP as we begin to publish again in the fall.

CRWNMAG The Revolution Will Be Tokenized

Key activities

Our work on this project has been multifaceted spanning all of the creative disciplines. We have engaged talented writers, photographers, filmmakers, editors, and stylists to chip away at this mountain of original content. We are not ready to publish yet but are excited to share with this community in the fall.

Communications and marketing

We’re not talking about our project until our official site launch but we did publish a Web3 specific zine and distribute it at NFTNYC as an entry point in this new era of internet blockchain culture.

What’s next?

Over the next two months we will be completing and packaging content, relaunching our website, and doing a press run to talk about the great work that Interledger has empowered us to produce.

Latest comments (1)

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victoriac profile image
Victoria Coker

Im definitly following your journey and supporting. Congrats on all the great work