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Don’t Call It a Side Hustle: Why Creators Deserve Ownership

Being a creator isn’t a phase. It’s a profession — and Web3 finally gives it the infrastructure it deserves.

Author

Scott Kasten
July 25, 2025

When someone calls themself a “creator,” a response of a side-eye (or rolled eyes) is not uncommon.

To some people, it conjures an image of someone filming dances on TikTok or unboxing skincare products or toys on YouTube. It sounds unserious — like a phase, a hustle, or something people do until they grow up and get a “real job.”

But here’s the thing: creators are the new economy. Writers, artists, educators, musicians, filmmakers, poets, curators — these are the people driving online culture, building communities, and shaping taste.

And too often, they’re still treated like replaceable parts in someone else’s machine.

It doesn’t matter if you have a viral podcast, a thoughtful essay in The Atlantic, a six-figure following on Instagram, or a poetry zine with 200 loyal readers — the point is the same: you are the product unless you own the platform.

That’s where Web3 comes in. This isn’t about hype, tokens, or trading JPEGs. It’s about infrastructure — giving creators tools to own their content, connect with their audience directly, and build income streams that don’t rely on platform benevolence.

Want to publish an essay and sell 25 collector editions? Want to reward your 100 true fans with early access, invites, or creative input? Want to raise money for your next project and let your backers share in the journey — or even the upside?

You can do all of that now. Not next year. Not when your subscriber count hits a milestone. Now.

And you don’t need to be “tech-savvy” or “crypto-native” to try. All you need is a willingness to experiment — and a belief that your work is worth owning.

Need some real life proof or inspiration?

Latasha (Musician & Poet)

From underpaid artist to Web3 music pioneer

Latasha, a Los Angeles-based rapper and poet, went from struggling for attention on traditional platforms to becoming one of the most successful music artists on Web3 platforms like Zora and Catalog. She began minting music videos as NFTs, earning thousands of dollars per release — far more than she ever made from Spotify streams or YouTube views.

She also built a loyal collector base and used Web3 tools to create immersive experiences and workshops for other women in the space. Latasha has since been a community leader at Zora and launched her own initiatives around creative freedom and financial empowerment for Black women artists.

Read more in Latasha’s Zora Interview

Rae Sremmurd + Sound.xyz (Musicians)

Testing Web3 drops as an alternative to streaming platforms

The chart-topping hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd launched a music NFT drop on Sound.xyz, where fans could purchase limited digital editions of their track “Denial.” These sold out quickly and brought in tens of thousands of dollars in direct revenue — for just one song. That’s equivalent to millions of Spotify streams, without giving up a percentage to a label or streaming platform.

The drop also created a closer relationship between artists and fans, with perks like gated access and community participation.

Sasha Stiles (Poet + AI Researcher)

Carving out a new space for poetry as fine art

Sasha has arguably done more than anyone to pioneer “crypto poetry.” Her NFT-based poems — many written in collaboration with an AI persona she calls Technelegy — have sold for thousands of dollars per piece on platforms like Foundation and Quantum Art. Her work bridges conceptual art, digital scarcity, and literary expression in a way that feels native to the Web3 space.

She has also built new publishing and exhibition models — releasing NFTs that come with signed physical editions, limited chapbooks, and performance rights. Sasha’s success has opened the door for other poets and writers to rethink the value of their words in the digital era.

Jonathan Mann (Song-a-Day + Mirror.xyz)

Using Mirror and Web3 to fund a creative archive

Jonathan Mann has written a song every day since 2009. In 2021, he used Mirror.xyz to launch a crowdfunded NFT project called "Song A Day." He sold tokenized rights to individual songs and raised over $200,000 — monetizing his back catalog in a way never before possible.

Supporters could collect individual songs, and some now use them as digital identity markers. His experiment showed how Web3 can unlock long-term value from deep creative archives — not just new releases.

The “So What?”

These examples share some key themes:

  • Creators are earning more from fewer fans

  • Ownership = longevity + optionality

  • Community is not just social — it’s economic

Even if your audience isn’t quite ready to mint, these stories prove the model is real — and evolving quickly.

So no, it’s not a side hustle. It’s a body of work. A community. A livelihood.

And it’s time creators stopped being the last ones to benefit from what they build.

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