Just like a smartphone or a smart car or TV, a smart contract is just a way of saying that it is digital. Just like a physical contract, it cannot be tampered with, it is available for everyone to see, and contains the agreement information. For EQ Exchange the agreement information is located inside an NFT and sets the mutual agreement (MEG) between the artist and the fans.
Smart contracts are programmed into the blockchain and can automatically exchange gifts based on the conditions of the contract: “Basically, the deal. Here’s my piece of art, you want to buy a portion/fractional ownership of my piece of art, it gets put into an NFT (MEG) and gets programmed onto the blockchain (which, again, hurts our environment if not careful).” – Janice Taylor
Think of a mailman and a COD shipment (Cash On Deliver). Just without a mailman! No middleman! Smart contracts can even contain unique digital signatures.