The internet was supposed to usher in a Golden Age of media—a world of infinite abundance where anyone can create whatever they want, and everyone can find whatever they’re interested in. But while Gates’ prediction that there was money to be made online through content has proven true, much of that money has bypassed the creators that produce the content, landing instead in the pockets of the platforms that aggregate it.

This is the story of how the web2 internet broke the business model of media, and how the advent of web3 signals a disruption to that business model that tilts the scales in favor of creators. Without native monetization methods built into the web2 internet, the predominant business models were opaque, advertising-based, and dependent on closed-garden networks, which gave an outsized advantage to platforms. On the horizon, new business models and technologies hold promise to unlock the kind of economic opportunity and control that will lead to a true creative Golden Age for artists and creators.

In the past, I’ve called ownership the original system condition from which all else flows. Ownership determines incentives. It determines opportunities. It determines how wealth is created—and for whom. For the last decade, we’ve lived in a period in which ownership has been concentrated among a few centralized technology platforms, which owned the data, end-user relationships, and the means of distributing and monetizing content. While user-generated content creation exploded during this period, it also caused reliance on a handful of new gatekeepers, widespread burnout, and economic unsustainability for the vast majority of creators.

Fortunately, there are new developments on the horizon that represent a shift in the balance of power towards creators. With key new capabilities enabled by web3—digital scarcity, patronage that doubles as investment, programmable business models, and community ownership—we are on the cusp of a new creative renaissance on the internet.