AIP-169: Beyond the SWAMP: Bimonthly ApeCoin & Yuga Labs Focused Magazine + NFT

PROPOSAL BY: AllCityBAYC
PROPOSAL NAME: BeyondTheSWAMP
PROPOSAL CATEGORY: EcosystemFundAllocation

ABSTRACT:

Beyond the SWAMP aims to produce a vibrant, high-quality collectible bimonthly magazine claimed through the sale of accompanying NFTs displaying each issue’s cover art—similar to Punks comic but with varying rarity and added rewards. Aside from columns featuring news and difference makers from outside of our ecosystem, content will focus on the ApeCoinDAO, ApeCoinDAO-led initiatives, successful ApeCoinDAO AIPs, and ApeCoin use cases; Yuga Labs and the growing number of projects under their umbrella; brands utilizing holder IP; diversity within regional meetup groups; female collectors; augmented reality through a sponsorship with Art House; gaming; art, tech and blockchain. All primary sales will be conducted in APE, contributors will be paid in APE and any future revenue raised from in-magazine advertising will be received in APE.

Our mission is to create an onramp into the ApeCoin and Yuga Labs ecosystems while strengthening ties between existing communities. We will take an ethical approach to journalism, provide culture-driven meaningful content, and act as a springboard for existing and up-and-coming artists. Our team is made up by a creative director with a history in bookmaking alongside a team of illustrators and graphic designers.

beyond the swamp.-2

We also want to further-facilitate artists by providing interview space and fair compensation for cover art. Additional features include spotlights on active community members; regional BAYC groups like Bored Club Canada, TaiwanDAO, FrenchApeYC and associations like PinkDAO; women in the space; Blender tips and tech talk; metaverse; memes; music and photography; generative artwork; Meebin with the Meebits; Mutants are INSANE; Mutant Cartel and the Mutant Hounds; Cryptopunks and Cryptopunks history; 10ktf; interviews; features on ApeCoinDAO Special Council members and Stewards; discussions with founders; security tips; advertisements from brands utilizing holder IP (ApeWater, ForeverApes etc); gaming; as well as articles written by contributors sourced from projects like Nouns, Doodles, Gutter Cat Gang, Moonbirds, CloneX, and Deadfellaz. We will also be including advanced in-magazine AR capabilities to bring artwork, advertising and otherwise static NFTs to life triggered by QR codes.

Also important to note that as marketing in the NFT space shifts away from macro influencers we believe that providing community-driven content packaged in a collectible physical form will initiate broader trust from outsiders and better prepare them for onboarding. It should also be said that for some collectors, tangible products often feel longer lasting or more real than digital; particularly to those just entering the space. That being said many others prefer tokens, so keeping those community members in mind we want to include additional NFT packs based on Beyond the SWAMP NFT rarity.

Beyond the SWAMP is seeking a one-time grant for company development and first issue production. The layout of our magazine will be completed by a team of career creatives specializing in layout, illustration and graphic design. Beginning with an initial rollout of 350 copies, we will create an economy of scale increasing to 500 copies for our second issue and 750 copies from issues three to six totalling 3850 magazines in our first year at an average production cost of $13.63 per copy. Taking this approach will allow us to grow our readership cautiously during tumultuous market conditions while lowering the overall grant request and cost to the community. External services and service providers include advisors, legal, website builders, smart contract developer, audit team, printing and promotion.

MOTIVATION:

Apart from our physical presence, what motivated us to create Beyond the SWAMP was recognizing the need for a reoccurring collectible publication featuring evergreen content that can be enjoyed for longer periods of time than important day-to-day digital news sources like The Bored Ape Gazette and ApeCoin Newsletter.

RATIONALE:

We are passionate about combating negativity in the space and aim to focus on empowering content backed by ethical journalism. It should also be noted that our Publishing Manager is an experienced bookmaker with extensive history providing creative direction and project management where among other things, has overseen the conceptualization, design, production and distribution of three successful graffiti-focused sketchbooks. He is also a holder of sixteen Yuga Labs assets and currently max-staking BAYC/MAYC/BAKC. Additionally, our team of advisors will include the founder of Red Lion Eye Gazette, the first industry focused NFT periodical founded in 2020.

DROP MECHANICS & RARITY:

Physical magazines will be available through the purchase of NFTs displaying variations of each issue’s cover art made claimable two weeks after the sellout of each drop. NFTs will have different tiers of rarity enabling immediate and future utility. Examples include having your tokens drawn by one of our featured artists in a future issue, additional claimable NFTs, physical works like custom shoes from FRESHESTKICKS.ETH, prizes, and more. Price per token will be the equivalent of $150.00 USD paid in APE.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Aside from internal workings, external services and service providers will include legal, website builders, smart contract developer, printing and promotion.

Advertisements in the first issue will be offered to community-led brands utilizing holder IP (Ape Water, Forever Apes, etc) at no cost and paid in APE after that. Any external service providers will be offered to Yuga Labs NFT holders through community servers and upcoming DAO sponsored platforms like ApeTalent and outsourced from there.

Our budget includes purchasing two Otherdeeds to be given away. One for Twitter growth and the other as part of our top-rarity package awarded to the person holding a golden NFT. We will also set aside the equivalent of $5000.00 USD in APE for contingency plans should we require any additional marketing post-launch. Anything leftover will be rolled into our second issue. All NFT minting and physical claims will go through our website.

STEPS TO IMPLEMENT & TIMELINE:

Given additional startup tasks, we anticipate 10-12 weeks for our first issue to drop once funding has been received. Steps to implement are as follows, with many duties being worked on concurrently:

Phase 1 (2 weeks)

  • Finalize advisory board
  • Assemble columnists and contributors
  • Determine feature artist

Phase 2 (4-6 weeks)

  • Branding and logo design
  • Hire service providers
  • Content creation
  • Finalize artwork

Phase 3 (3-4 Weeks)

  • Finalize content and layout
  • Website creation
  • Smart contract development
  • Launch Twitter and Twitter promotions
  • Magazine production

Phase 4 (2+ Weeks)

  • Mint
  • Magazine claim
  • Shipping

OVERALL COST: $52,500.00 USD

APE ($30,600.00)

  • $4000.00 Advisors
  • $3200.00 Columnists and contributors
  • $3000.00 Cover/featured artist
  • $7500.00 Publishing manager (3 months x $2500.00)
  • $1700.00 Otherdeed golden cover
  • $1700.00 Otherdeed Twitter
  • $2000.00 Additional NFTs (for rarity tiers created by artists for Beyond the SWAMP)
  • $2500.00 Marketing
  • $5000.00 Contingency planning & additional marketing (as needed)

USDC ($21,900.00)

  • $5000.00 Legal (NDAs, releases, copyright review, etc)
  • $4500.00 Logo and graphic design
  • $3500.00 Website w/Web3 + smart contract development
  • $1500.00 Third party website and smart contract audit
  • $3500.00 Printing
  • $525.00 Packaging
  • $500.00 Promo (stickers, posters, etc)
  • $1800.00 Dedicated iMac
  • $600.00 Adobe Create Cloud
  • $225.00 Ledger 3 Pack (funds, deployer, giveaway NFTs)
  • $250.00 Converted to ETH - deploy contract (gas)

TWITTER THREAD

PITCH DECK: 3 MINUTE READ









FULL PRESENTATION: TEN MINUTE VIDEO

AIP-169 BEYOND THE SWAMP

21 Likes

I love this idea and could image the magazine displayed in barber shops, co-working lobbies, etc.

Could you share more background on why only 350 and 500 for the first two issues? Punks Comic and others sold thousands. The low supply and comment on rarity gives rarity vibes versus an onboarding tool for non-holders.

For follow-on issues will there be a supply cap?

Finally, do you have any early thoughts on drop mechanics?

Cheers & good luck!

7 Likes

Hi NFTC,

Appreciate your interest in the magazine… Great questions; happy to provide some scope.

I’ve been a graffiti writer for a little over 25 years and made a living being able to provide creative direction, brand strategy and project management in the Canadian cannabis industry. I also operated a small book publishing company that specialized in graffiti sketchbooks; designing three in total and selling over 2500 copies throughout Canada and the United States. I’ve also done official street wear collaborations with Dickies clothing and similar custom work for private clients. There should be two pictures attached (hopefully–first time trying) showing three books. Two are sketchbooks I created and one is a magazine that did a feature on me where I was given creative control on the front and back covers as well as the internal layout where I was interviewed.

As for supply, I would love nothing more than to get Beyond the SWAMP into as many hands as possible. The small roll out was projected out of caution more than anything else. 350 but increasing to 500 on the second drop and continuing to grow from there. But keeping all of that in mind, if we can get more of the Yugaverse behind the project I am all for bigger numbers sooner; and the only additional costs for that would be printing and shipping.

With drop mechanics, this is where I would like to consult with advisors to get things just right. Certainly having different tiers of cover art created that bring additional utility and/or benefits is something we want to explore but I’d also love to do some outside-the-box thinking to come up with some really special stuff to reward holders. Maybe teaming up with other brands in the community?

Hope this helps! Also, if you like what you read please pass this proposal along to anyone else that you think may have feedback so we can fine-tune things and get it just right :slight_smile:

AC


8 Likes

This is cool. It is different than the newsletters or Gazette, and I think it will serve a lot of communities like Punks, regional BAYC groups, 10ktf, Meebits, etc etc. The DAO helping to power this through a grant makes sense. Having the primary sales conducted in $APE is great, paying the content contributors in $APE is awesome, and I like that you’ve incorporated a use for an Otherdeed!

A couple of fine details for when you’re moving ahead:

  • Abstract area is what is shown on Snapshot. You have more space that could be used there.
  • Maybe some of the Motivation details could be moved to Specifications

I think this could be a really good thing & it also is a great opportunity Ape Water, Forever Apes, etc to get more exposure for what they are doing. All around, seems like a winning grant proposal. Good job!

4 Likes

Great initiative. Looking forward to it All City!

4 Likes

Thanks for bringing this proposal to the forum! I had a quick question about the cover art.

The text above mentions it will feature Yuga NFTs. Are there ones you have pre-selected? Or will it be a bracket challenge like Punks Comic had to allow people to submit NFTs they own and have the community choose which ones they want featured? That could be a cool wrinkle to add.

6 Likes

Great question Vulkan… And what an awesome way to get the community involved with the process. Maybe this could even be a part of the drop mechanics/rarity topic I was speaking with @NFTC about in an earlier post.

Perhaps we provide holders of the rarest NFTs from each drop the option to have one of their Yuga Labs assets drawn on the cover of a future issue. How does that sound?

7 Likes

Thanks Sword! Great feedback!! And really appreciate the Snapshot tip… Learning. Also appreciate the RT on Twitter!!!

Let me know if anything else crosses your mind; always around!!

3 Likes

Interesting. Cool idea!

4 Likes

Thanks! Happy chatting!!

3 Likes

Love this idea. I think the more ways that we can continue to highlight the community in new and different ways, the better. Would be cool to do “spotlight profile” type sections of members of the community, as well as we deepen the ties to the community.

Would be fun to show all of the regional parties and meetups are happening in the physical form as well as learning more about community members.

7 Likes

Hi AllCity,

I love the idea to produce content about the greater Yugaverse – there are a million stories to be told. Your graffiti books look very cool.

With your project’s focus on Yuga holders and ecosystem advertisers along with a small print run how do you anticipate engaging people outside of our small but growing world?

Also, the deeper I get into NFTs the less I desire physical collectibles – for the price you’re suggesting it would be nice to integrate some exclusive art NFTs from each issue’s artist contributors as part of the drop. This could incentivize purchasers and play into the rarity mechanics.

Speaking of which, I didn’t see anything specific to the mint expenses in your budget. Are those costs included – do you have a dev on board?

Thanks!

5 Likes

Love the idea and think the graffiti book looks dope. The question I keep asking myself however is: does anyone who isn’t already a Yuga fan even care? I feel at times we tend to operate in a bubble and while we all love seeing the universe of our assets expand, I’m not clear the outside world sees it the same way.

How might this help get new, non-Yuga holders into ApeCoin?

4 Likes

Absolutely… I also feel like this may encourage community members to get more active, or help them gain a little extra courage to build something that they’ve always wanted to; after seeing their peers highlighted.

Appreciate the feedback Phibacka. Hope to gain your vote when time comes :+1:

4 Likes

Great feedback Badteeth…

And truth be told I have been considering adding additional features on projects outside of the Yugaverse. My notes show an idea for a GCG column that could be offered to someone like Stoni (one of their community managers) and another idea for Moonbirds. But wouldn’t necessarily stop there. Good thinking on this.

And yes… Additional NFTs per issue will definitely be a thing. This should have been put into the draft but wasn’t quite sure how I wanted to distribute them; or if they would just be editions by the cover artist etc. But given all of the great rarity talk/ideas we’ve been generating since posting this last night, one idea might be to include a few 1/1 items that could be an added benefit for the rare NFTs. And editions for the more common. A lot of options to be considered; but this will undoubtedly make things fun and help with marketing.

Great feedback… Our final draft will be edited to reflect both topics. Let us know if anything else pops into your mind :+1:

4 Likes

Great points CL… And you’re right, it is easy to get caught up with our own tastes and the projects we’re already a part of. Badteeth had similar thoughts which reminded me of my earlier notes that included columns from prominent members in other communities as well; like GCG and Moonbirds. CloneX may also be another good one to consider. Ideally, I think the more intermingling we can have in the space the better; and given that Yuga Labs has such a diverse ecosystem with multiple projects for people to choose from, I think it would really help grow our holder count.

Looking forward to adding these revisions to the final draft and appreciate you taking the time to reach out :slightly_smiling_face:

AC

4 Likes

Hey AllCity,

I would love to know if there is a magazine you might model it after? As I read through this WIRED came to my mind a bit where there’s an ability to highlight people, companies, and driving forces within the space.

The Second Question I had was what is your definition of “Bi-Monthly”? When I googled, it said it meant every 2 weeks OR every 2 months. My guess is every 2 months, but wanted to ask what you were thinking.

4 Likes

Hey Anaroth… Thanks for reaching out.

As far as which magazine Beyond the SWAMP may be modelled after, picture the energy and readability of a skateboard magazine crossed with the content of Juxtapose and Wired. The goal is to make it super fun to read packed with colour and a little humour.

And as for frequency, definitely every two months! We want to give our team enough time to make great things while giving everyone something to look forward to without losing interest :slight_smile:

5 Likes

Also, just realized I didn’t follow up on the mint expenses @badteeth. Good eye… It’s been a little while for me deploying a contract but given that we’re aiming for a smaller initial run and how gas-optimized things are nowadays, I don’t anticipate too much of a bill. Nonetheless, an added cost either way. Will be sure to include this in our final draft. And we do have a dev in mind who is a fellow holder and friend in the space that I’ve worked closely with in the past :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Got it. With respect to the AIP, you mentioned it possibly “really help grow our holder count” but said it in the same breath as the vast universe of Yuga assets. Are you aiming to expand the Yuga asset holder count, or the ApeCoin asset holder count?

I for one don’t particularly care to see the NFTs as the focus here, and again prefer to see how we can bring totally new users who may not even particularly like NFTs, let alone hold any of these relatively expensive Yuga ones.

Again, not to shut the idea down as I appreciate the sentiment and would love more real-world manifestations of our beloved Yuga goods. But I still struggle to see how this significantly pushes ApeCoin forward with respect to wider-spread adoption if we remain catering to the existing fan base.

4 Likes