Community-Owned Media: How Coinage Is Reshaping the Creator Economy

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Apr 16, 2025

Zack Guzman, founder of Trustless Media and host of Coinage, discusses how Web3 technology is revolutionizing media through a community ownership model. He explains how NFT holders can actively co-own and influence content, transforming passive viewers into engaged participants. The podcast dives into the journey of Coinage, detailing how community involvement helped it amass 100,000 YouTube subscribers. Topics include new NFT uses, the rise of decentralized media, and the exciting role of AI in collaborative content creation.

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ANECDOTE

Founding Coinage as Community-Owned Media

Zack Guzman founded Coinage to create a community-owned media outlet via NFTs with real ownership and voting rights.
They became the first US DAO co-op to pay out patronage dividends to NFT holders, marking a historic milestone.

ADVICE

Involve NFT Holders in Decisions

Engage your community by letting NFT holders vote on content and guest selections.
Convert passive subscribers into engaged co-owners who actively grow your platform.

INSIGHT

Co-Ownership Drives Growth

Turning subscribers into co-owners creates powerful network effects accelerating growth.
Web3 enables communities to rally together for shared goals beyond mere speculation.

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Zack Guzman, founder of Trustless Media and host of Coinage, shares how he’s using Web3 technology to transform the relationship between creators and their audiences through a community ownership model. He shares the inner workings of the Trustless Media model, and explains how their NFT holders aren't just subscribers, but rather co-owners with voting rights on content direction and the ability to receive patronage dividends from the outlet's success.

Key Takeaways:

How Coinage helps audiences co-own the media they can consume
Ways NFT holders can vote on content direction, guest selection, and other key decisions as part of the DAO structure
How new types of NFTs and fungible tokens are being used to help influence and show milestones for different media projects
How breaking down barriers between creators and audiences created the powerful network effects that helped Coinage reach 100,000 YouTube subscribers
How community members have brought unexpected value, including one member who helped Coinage become a major validator across 40 blockchain networks

Guest Bio: Zack Guzman is the founder of the Web3 media company Trustless Media and host of Coinage, the first award-winning, community-owned outlet controlled by its NFT holders. Founded in 2022, Trustless Media has attracted the backing of Netflix’s co-founder by unlocking a new way for creators to build with their fans; in March, they launched their second community-owned media brand, Best Dish Ever. Guzman is also a former anchor and reporter with Yahoo Finance and CNBC. His work has been featured in Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, and The Washington Post. In 2023, he won a SABEW award for his mini-documentary on the collapse of the Terra blockchain.

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