Over the past six months, Dirt has been pioneering how to run a newsletter media company based on NFTs alone. We raised $30,000 / 10 ETH for Season 1 with an initial crowdfund of Dirty S1 Pea Green, Pearl Pink, and Rainbow Wave NFT editions. Then we raised $9,000 / 3 ETH with our upgrade drop, the Dirty S1 Holo, and energized the secondary market. We also sent a free NFT to our writers.
Over that time, we’ve grown to over 5,700 subscribers, launched a Discord, created an OpenSea collection, and published great work like W. David Marx on NFTs as status symbols, Sophie Haigney on Dark Academia, and Jason Stewart on podcast ads. Our posts are all over Twitter and we’re informing more people about the cutting edge of digital culture.
Now, we’re funding Season 2 of Dirt with a new NFT edition, the Dirty S2 Summer Vibe, designed by our in-house artist Mark Costello. It’s an edition of 100, for .1 ETH each (~$300). You can buy it only on OpenSea here:
After the sale, Dirty S2 Summer Vibe buyers will be airdropped 20 $DIRT-S1 tokens per NFT, which will factor in to the forthcoming Dirt DAO (see below).
Why buy?
Well, the art is great. This is only Dirt’s third original design, and we’ve developed a style of Studio Ghibli-inspired detailed scenes and animations. Our mascot Dirty appears as different characters: here, a seasonal ice cream salesman selling entertainment-themed popsicles. (Look for the crypto easter eggs!) These early pieces will be a foundational part of the overall Dirt Collection. Check out our newsletter today for more info on the art.
As some collectors did with the Dirty S1 Pea Green, there’s a chance you could resell it down the line for more than you bought it. We’ll also release future rewards to holders of multiple Dirty Summer Vibe NFTs, as we did with the Holo.
Just as important, the 10 ETH we want to raise with this sale will pay for writers and editors to create Season 2 of Dirt newsletters, which will run through February. That’s four more months of memes, streaming, and insightful essays. That content will grow our subscriber base, reach more readers, and build the Dirt brand.
Dirt is doing a lot of work to figure out how NFTs and crypto apply to media. The funding will help us continue that work and publicize our discoveries for everyone else. Dirt is developing a scalable model. Our team is fully doxxed (Kyle Chayka is publisher, Daisy Alioto is editor, and Mark Costello is art director) and committed to the project long-term.
Plans for Season 2
— Developing more coverage of NFT projects and culture from established writers, building on the success of the author and scholar W. David Marx’s essay on NFTs. That includes an interview with Glam Beckett, the artist behind Sad Girls Bar.
— In-depth coverage of the hyped slate of fall / winter TV shows returning after quarantine, like Succession and Brian Ng on Squid Games.
— A series of new NFT drops already in development, including collaborations with other publications and clothing and design companies.
— During Season 2, all past Dirt NFTs will be re-minted on OpenSea and airdropped to collectors in order to centralize the Dirt Collection and secondary market.
Dirt DAO Roadmap
- Our next step for Dirt after Season 2 will be to launch DirtDAO, which will be a fully crypto-native digital media company. All $DIRT-S1 token holders will be airdropped double their current tokens in final $DIRT DAO tokens.
- The DAO will have governance of Dirt as a publication, deciding which editorial subject areas to cover and how to grow, as well as where to invest funding. It’s like being a member of a fan club or creating a think tank. We expect to launch the DAO in early 2022 with a large-scale avatar project-style drop.
- DirtDAO will also control a Dirt Gallery NFT collection, deciding which pieces to acquire to build a community-driven institution.
- Plans for Dirt in the future include livestreamed digital events via Discord, IRL readings, and a physical studio / hangout space for Dirt in Brooklyn, where we’ll record podcasts and produce TikTok video essays.
- All Dirt development is directed toward the growth of Dirt as an authoritative brand for digital media and for NFTs and crypto culture.
Keep Dirt running by buying the Dirty S2 Summer Vibe NFT here.