Since the start of the generative AI wave, artists have explored different avenues to monetise AI-generated art. However, slowly, the trend is shifting from selling artworks to selling the prompts used to create them.
In February 2023, David Sandonato, an Italian digital artist, began selling Midjourney prompt catalogues on PromptBase, a marketplace for AI art prompts. Today, he is the top-ranked artist on the platform, offering a library of 4,000-5,000 prompts, with new uploads daily.
In a recent interview, Santonato said, “It began as a side hustle, but I’m convinced that this business has big space to grow when people will realise that today 50% of the images available in the top microstock agencies can be generated in full quality with a good prompt”.
Just a few months ago, a 19-year-old artist, Ashok Reddy, sold nearly 100 AI-generated art pieces in two days at Bengaluru’s Church Street. “AI art is real art, and there’s no shying away from this statement,” Reddy told AIM.
Another example is “The Portrait of Edmond de Belamy” by the French art collective Obvious. Created using AI, the artwork was auctioned for $432,500 at Christie’s in 2018—far exceeding the initial estimate of $7,000-$10,000.
The shift from selling art to selling prompts has been growing as AI artists find new ways to boost their income, with online marketplaces like PromptBase, Ai4 Prompt, and Etsy hosting prompt catalogues for Midjourney, Dall-E, and Stable Diffusion.
For instance, Justin Reckling, a notable figure in “prompt engineering,” created the popular “Block Cities” prompt, which generates isometric tiles of city skylines and became a top seller on PromptBase.
Online Marketplace for Prompt Sellers?
Etsy recently announced that sellers can now sell artwork created from their own prompts or AI tools, provided they disclose the use of these methods in the listing description.
Additionally, Etsy has explicitly prohibited the sale of AI prompt bundles. The company believes the prompts used to generate AI artwork are an integral part of the creative process and should not be sold separately from the final artwork.
While Etsy is setting policy, PromptBase has expanded its offerings since its launch. Initially, PromptBase provided prompts only for DALL-E2 and GPT-3.
Now, it also supports other AI systems such as Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and ChatGPT. For just $1.99 per prompt, users can buy the exact phrases they need to generate consistent AI images or create engaging social media posts.
Platforms like Etsy and PromptBase are also helping artists generate good revenue. For instance, in PromptBase, users can sell their own prompts and keep 80% of the revenue from each approved sale.
Sandanato mentioned that the PromptBase marketplace initially added 30-40% to his monthly income. However, this began to decline as competition from other prompt engineers increased.
AI Vs Artists
Sneha Chakraborty, one of the panellists at Cypher 2023 and a muralist, said, “It is foolish to resist AI while creating art.”
Artists face a difficult yet exciting time in the era of AI art. Today, there are many tools democratising art creation, enabling anyone to produce exceptional images from simple prompts.
However, earlier in the initial stages of AI art, the artists’ community reacted negatively towards AI-based art generation tools like Midjourney and DALL-E, even considering a boycott. The backlash intensified in August when an AI artist using Midjourney, won a digital art competition.
Since AI is on the burgeoning rise, art is also becoming a competitive field where recognition and value are highly sought after. Many artists fear that AI could create superior art, leading to resentment and job insecurity.
However, the sentiment has shifted. Artists are now embracing AI to create and monetise their work, from selling AI-generated art to profiting from AI prompts.
Source: AI Artists are Making Money from Selling Prompts Rather than Art
