--- title: The Story Behind TIME and Beeple's Future of Business Cover description: For TIME's cover on the digitized future of business, we turned to an artist at the forefront of the digital art movement. canonical: https://time.com/5958756/story-behind-time-beeple-future-of-business-cover/ author: D.W. Pine article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-04-27T10:24:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:43:25.533Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Story Behind TIME and Beeple's Future of Business Cover og:description: Why TIME turned to an artist at the forefront of the digital art movement. og:url: https://time.com/5958756/story-behind-time-beeple-future-of-business-cover/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c8aad48972b4cb8/698a19184ee262fd3c3189cb/future-of-business-behind-the-cover-beeple.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2738 og:image:height: 1540 og:image:alt: future-of-business-behind-the-cover-beeple og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Story Behind TIME and Beeple's Future of Business Cover twitter:description: Why TIME turned to an artist at the forefront of the digital art movement. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c8aad48972b4cb8/698a19184ee262fd3c3189cb/future-of-business-behind-the-cover-beeple.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Story Behind TIME and Beeple's Future of Business Cover > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent.  by [D.W. Pine](https://time.com/author/d-w-pine/)  ## D.W. Pine Pine is the Creative Director at TIME. Apr 27, 2021 10:24 AM UTC  Cover: Artwork by Beeple for TIME  by [D.W. Pine](https://time.com/author/d-w-pine/)  ## D.W. Pine Pine is the Creative Director at TIME. Apr 27, 2021 10:24 AM UTC For TIME’s cover story on the future of business and the digitization of everything—which accompanies [our list of the 100 most influential companies](https://time.com/collection/time100-companies/)—we turned the space over to an artist who’s been at the forefront of the digital art movement for more than a decade. Artist Mike Winkelmann (aka Beeple) wanted to take our readers inside his “canvas” to depict the stratospheric acceleration of the digitization of our world by creating an image that focused on his artistic process. The cover image depicts his actual computer interface mid design, complete with a wireframe render of a figure interacting on the left and a more complete version on right. He created this digital world using Cinema 4D and OctaneRender software that is powered by nearly a dozen Nvidia graphics cards. (Nvidia was just named one of TIME’s 100 most influential companies.) “With this artwork I wanted to show how everyone is becoming more digital as more and more of our interests and identity are moving online,” said the artist, who is based in Charleston, S.C. “People’s sense of self is quickly becoming a mix of real and virtual.” The artist’s work often includes [elements of dystopian](https://www.instagram.com/p/CNHAWYggAN5/) and post-apocalyptic worlds featuring political leaders and current events.  Artwork by Beeple for TIME Winkelmann, who spent more than a decade creating digital works of art every day and posting them online to [his millions of social followers](https://www.instagram.com/beeple%5Fcrap/), famously sold a collection of those titled [_Everydays: 5000 Days_](https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/beeple-first-5000-days/beeple-b-1981-1/112924) for a record-setting $69 million as a non-fungible token (NFT) at auction house Christie’s on March 11\. It was the third most expensive piece of art sold by a living artist, after Jeff Koons and David Hockney. As writer Andrew R. Chow [wrote in TIME this March](https://time.com/5947720/nft-art/): NFTs are best understood as computer files combined with proof of ownership and authenticity, like a deed. Like cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, they exist on a blockchain—a tamper-resistant digital public ledger. But like dollars, cryptocurrencies are “fungible,” meaning one bitcoin is always worth the same as any other bitcoin. By contrast, NFTs have unique valuations set by the highest bidder, just like a Rembrandt or a Picasso. Artists who want to sell their work as NFTs have to sign up with a marketplace, then “mint” digital tokens by uploading and validating their information on a blockchain (typically the Ethereum blockchain, a rival platform to Bitcoin). Doing so usually costs anywhere from $40 to $200\. They can then list their piece for auction on an NFT marketplace, similar to eBay. _TIME is now accepting cryptocurrency for subscriptions to_ [_time.com_](http://time.com/)_._ [_Learn more_](https://time.com/subscribe/primary-crypto/?utm%5Fmedium=&utm%5Fsource=time&utm%5Fcampaign=hodl+default+al&utm%5Fcontent=+++20210419+++edit-tout)_._ “People have been creating digital artwork for the last 20 years and it has just as much craft, message, intent, as anything made on a canvas and has just as much ability to affect people emotionally and intellectually,” Winkelmann says. “It has been exciting through NFT’s to see people start to realize the value of this type of work and I think we’re just at the beginning of the next chapter of art history.” In addition to his digital _Everydays_ work, he has also created a variety of digital artwork including short films, Creative Commons VJ loops and virtual and augmented reality work. He has created concert visuals for Imagine Dragons, Justin Bieber, One Direction, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and Eminem. His commercial clients include Louis Vuitton, SpaceX, Apple, Samsung, Nike, Coca-Cola and Sony Pictures. To follow up his Christie’s NFT drop, Winkelmann is releasing a Spring Collection on Friday, April 30 on the NFT site Nifty Gateway. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5958756/story-behind-time-beeple-future-of-business-cover/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5958756/story-behind-time-beeple-future-of-business-cover/"},"headline":"The Story Behind TIME and Beeple's Future of Business Cover","datePublished":"2021-04-27T10:24:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:43:25.533Z","description":"For TIME's cover on the digitized future of business, we turned to an artist at the forefront of the digital art movement.","url":"https://time.com/5958756/story-behind-time-beeple-future-of-business-cover/","keywords":["Tech"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c8aad48972b4cb8/698a19184ee262fd3c3189cb/future-of-business-behind-the-cover-beeple.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"D.W. 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