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Launching $LOL, Honestly: Why I Released an Audius Artist Coin
i've been thinking a lot about what it actually means to put work into the world right now. not how to promote it. not how to monetize it as fast as possible. but how to release it in a way that feels honest.
i’ve been thinking a lot about what it actually means to put work into the world right now.
not how to promote it. not how to monetize it as fast as possible. but how to release it in a way that feels honest, sustainable, and aligned with why i started making things in the first place.
this coin comes out of that question.
why i’m doing this
the infrastructure finally exists for artists to operate more independently.
audius makes that possible, and i’m grateful for it.
what’s been harder is figuring out how to use these tools without immediately recreating the same old dynamics. insiders and outsiders, access as leverage, scarcity as the default.
this coin is my attempt to try something simpler.
the idea
i believe artists can give the work away and still keep going.
not by pretending money doesn’t matter, and not by turning everything into a gated experience. by trusting that openness builds real connection, and that connection can be sustainable.
the music stays free.
nothing meaningful requires owning anything.
this coin isn’t a key. it doesn’t unlock access. it doesn’t promise future perks.
it’s just a way for people who believe in the work to show support and alignment.
what holding it means (and doesn’t)
holding this coin doesn’t put you inside anything.
you’re not getting something other people are denied. you’re not buying access to content.
you’re choosing to stand a little closer to the work and how i’m choosing to release it.
ownership is optional. access is universal. the art exists whether the coin does or not.
no promises, on purpose
i’m not going to promise utilities, roadmaps, gated moments.
not because those ideas are bad, but because i don’t want value to depend on things that haven’t happened yet.
anyone can make promises. proof takes time.
about money, honestly
i’m not pretending i don’t need income.
i own a large portion of this coin, and it unlocks slowly over time. i’m going to sell some of it. that’s part of how artist coins on audius work, and i’m okay saying that plainly.
when i do, it’ll be modest, predictable, and transparent. not timed to hype. not hidden.
this isn’t about extraction. it’s about being able to keep making work without closing it off.
selling isn’t betrayal. how you sell is what matters.
where this comes from
none of this is new.
it’s informed by artists who trusted their audiences, priced things fairly, let the work circulate freely, and asked directly instead of manipulating. by the idea that creative work often lives partly as a gift, even when money flows around it.
i’m not reinventing that. i’m just applying it to the tools we have now.
what i’m paying attention to
i’m not watching the price.
i’m paying attention to whether the work keeps coming, whether conversations stay thoughtful, and whether this way of doing things actually feels sustainable over time.
if the music stays free, the thinking stays open, and i’m still able to keep going, that’s success.
this might not work. i’m okay with that.
but if it does, i want it to be because trust compounded slowly, not because urgency was engineered.
if you’re here, thanks for being curious. if you’re skeptical, that’s welcome too.
the art is free. the rest is optional. this coin is just the trace.
disclosure
this coin is intended solely as a way for fans to support and engage with my creative work and community. it is not an investment, security, or financial product of any kind.
you should not expect to profit or generate a return from purchasing or holding this coin. no one is promising, planning, or undertaking efforts to increase its value or provide financial returns.
anyone who chooses to purchase this coin acknowledges that they may lose some or all of the money used to acquire it.
this coin is not available to individuals in restricted jurisdictions. for more information about artist coins on audius, please refer to audius’s terms and conditions.
