| Traditional notions of authorship and ownership are changing, spurred on by the radical technological innovations of the Internet, e-commerce, and social media. Just as technology has recently disrupted businesses in the music, film, and book industries, so too will it have a significant impact on the art market and challenge its understanding of authorship and ownership. The contemporary digital art market will be used as a case study to explore this trend, finding that many of the current commercial practices for exhibiting and selling digital art limits its creative scope, and thus its critical value and market value. This thesis will explore a novel alternative approach, arising from a new technology known as "blockchain," as a way in which to respond to these shortcomings. It will be argued that this technology has the potential to raise the marketability and commercial value of digital art but will require promotion within the industry. Marketing strategies to promote the adoption of the blockchain system will be considered. |
