No Commission

No Commission is a concept originated by super producer, art collector, and Harvard Business School graduate Kaseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean. He and wife, Alicia Keys, are the owners of an expansive art collection that includes paintings, photographs, and sculptures from across the globe. One of the unfortunate realities in the lucrative high-end art world ($63.7 billion dollars of art sold in 2017 according to the 2018 “The Art Market” report) is that its often the creatives excluded from the wealth.

A part of the issue is that there isn’t any new creative energy being introduced to the museums and galleries. Of the top 20 most exhibited artists in 2007, 14 of them remain on the list in 2017. Thus, in a space driven by creatives and new ideas, only six new artists have gained top 20 popularity in the last decade. For the art industry to continue to thrive, new exhibition methods and new industry practices must be implemented.

For additional perspective, only 0.2% of all artists have work valued above $10 million, yet 32% of all sales were for pieces valued above $10 million. Twenty-five artists accounted for 50% of all auction sales last year. The most expensive pieces sold were a Jean Michel Basquiat that sold for $110,500,000 followed by an Andy Warhol photograph that sold for $7.7 million. Basquiat and Warhol are both deceased and are in not benefiting from the value of their work.

The art and culture industry on the whole is a $760 billion industry and Swizz has been heavily involved as a creative, an influencer, and a disrusptive force in the business of art, fashion, and all things culture. From his line of watches with Zenith to his shoe deal with Reebok, Swizz has given a voice to the creatives and a new concept to the business world. The idea is to “Collaborate with and compensate the creatives or risk becoming obsolete.”

No Commission is not only a part of Swizz’s evolution as a disruptor but the evolution of the world. With the advent of blockchain technology, every industry is evolving into more decentralized, community-driven business models. From supply chain to renewable energy to real estate, blockchain in on course to be the most transformative technology since the internet.

No Commission will utilize blockchain technology to track several key data points including the creative responsible for the work, the appraised art value, physical location of the work, and digital financial records of the art. As the art is sold over its life, the blockchain will automatically compensate the artist a percentage of the value. As the work grows in popularity, artist commissions will increase.

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