What’s Metalabel?
Metalabel is a release platform for creative work, built to help people build and share value together.
This project is built on ideas and inspirations that stretch from centuries ago to today.
Founding ideas
“Introducing Metalabel” — The initial manifesto that introduced the idea.
“Rethinking labels” — An essay exploring the origins behind Metalabel.
“Creativity in multiplayer mode” — The first public talk introducing Metalabel
“Culture labels V1” — The original Google Doc where the ideas behind Metalabel were first sketched
Cultural foundations
“How culture is made” — How the histories of Dischord Records, The Royal Society, and the Guerrilla Girls show a model for cultural production.
“Interdependence: Post-individuals and metalabels” — A conversation with Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst about the ideas behind Metalabel.
“Five creative lessons from Factory Records” — How the label behind Joy Division and New Order paved our path.
Creative inspiration
“Rethinking the unbearable weight of self-promotion” — Finding inspiration from Tyler the Creator.
“The artist and the inner retreat” — Why it’s important for artists to periodically withdraw from society.
“Formulary for new media” — A call for a new spirit of experimentation in how we release.
Metalabel releases
001: Introducing Metalabel — Our debut manifesto (Feb 2022).
002: Elements of a metalabel — An RPG-like experience to explore the form (April 2022).
003: Assembly — Cohort-based learning experience for 40 creative groups featuring guest speakers Holly Herndon, Nabil Ayers, and more (May 2022).
004: Chorus — An open source bot that let groups of people in Discord vote on what to tweet together (August 2022).
005: Public Record — An online publication exploring creative collaboration (October 2022).
006: After the Creator Economy — A physical and digital 90-page zine featuring interviews and perspectives on the future of creativity (December 2022).
007: Quality Drops — A series of releases using onchain records that generated $1 million in support (February 2023).
008: New Creative Era — A zine released through a physical newsstand in downtown NYC (June 2023).
009: Lonely Writers Club — An experimental club for writers looking to connect with others (July 2023).
010: Collaboration Cookbook — A zine featuring artists like Mindy Seu and leaders of Extinction Rebellion offering recipes for how they work (August 2023).
011: Canvas — A living moodboard of artwork and inspiration that reflects where we’re coming from (December 2023).
012: Metalabel.com — A curated platform for artists and creators to release, sell, and split proceeds from their creative work (February 2024).
013: Nine creative meditations — A short digital book and video essay exploring how we as artists can manifest our visions and feel grounded in our work (July 2024).
014: Fall/Winter 2024 Collection — A curated set of releases from remarkable artists and creators across creative fields (October 2024).
Podcasts
The Dark Forest of Creative Capital — Yancey Strickler on Future Commerce (December 2024).
Is online life heading into dark forests? — Yancey Strickler on the Looks Like New podcast (December 2024).
Metalabel and post-individualism — Yancey Strickler in conversation with Josh Citarella (August 2023).
Post-individuals and metalabels — Yancey Strickler in conversation with Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst about the ideas behind Metalabel (July 2023).
About Metalabel
“Metablogging” — One of the unique ways the Metalabel squad collaborates using a culture of internal blogging.
