A new model for creative work

Introducing Metalabel

Many of us publishing creative work today carry a growing sense of anxiety. We have more tools than ever to operationalize and monetize our work, but the available options rarely match how we naturally create.

We want to make work because it’s meaningful to us, not to please an algorithm.

We want to share work in ways that feel natural to us, not to compete for attention.

We want to feel less isolated and alone in what we do.

As creative people, we want a new model. We want a greater sense of emotional support. We want out of individualistic single-player games. We want to be more connected to the bigger picture our work is contributing to.

Today we’re releasing a new model for creative work. Metalabel is a new space where creative people can come together to release, sell, and exhibit creative work in groups we call labels. Inspired by grassroots indie labels, Metalabel makes it so any group of creative people can co-release work, support one another, and realize the visions and goals they share.

Why we built this

The nine of us behind Metalabel are creative people and technologists with a long history working on creative projects.

We cofounded Kickstarter and The Creative Independent (Yancey), Etsy (Rob), and Ampled (Austin). We designed products, clothing, show flyers, and web experiences (Ilya and Erin) and built robust technology products (Brandon). We collaborated with Ableton and the Berghain (Lauren); worked with Opening Ceremony and BDDW (Gina); and the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art and Red Bull Music (Clayton).

Metalabel brought us together around a shared vision to create a new model for creative work that speaks to the isolation and burnout we’ve personally felt. Our experience collaborating as Metalabel has shown us the emotional, creative, and practical benefits of releasing work using this form.

What we built and are building

Metalabel is a new space for releasing, selling, and exhibiting creative work. A platform where people can release digital work, physical work, music, art, videos, publications, podcasts, performances, and combinations of all of the above.

Powering this output is a reimagining of the label — our term for a creative group of people who co-release work together. Labels allow collections of individuals to share funding, support, and co-release and co-legitimize creative work together.

To make this possible, Metalabel introduces:

• New ways to release and monetize digital and physical work

• Infrastructure for shared finances among creative people

• A post-platform architecture that makes work durable and portable

• A new operating system for groups of people to co-publish and sell work together

Today’s release reveals some of these features, but not all. In the weeks and months to come, more of this universe will be unveiled.

A new creative era

As a creative person it can feel hard to be optimistic about where things are going. Competition for attention is fierce. The old ways don’t work anymore. We’re all looking for steady footing in a time when the culture and tools keep changing.

In the weeks and months to come, Metalabel will slowly open its doors for creative people to join this new model. We’re starting intentionally as an invite-only, curated space — choosing to prioritize hands-on support and celebration of quality creative work. As we make the experience smoother, Metalabel will become more open.

The first release is a new book called The Dark Forest Anthology of the Internet that explores the challenges of living, creating, and co-existing in an increasingly hostile internet.

The book was co-authored by some of the most insightful voices and communities on the web, including Do Not Research, New Models, The Stoa, Trust Support, Venkatesh Rao, Maggie Appleton, and Yancey Strickler. Collectors receive one of 1,000 physical copies of the first edition, a digital edition, and an invitation to a roundtable with the authors.

This drop is the start. More releases will come on a weekly-ish basis. Stay tuned.

In Metalabel’s first release we paid tribute to several creative groups of people who inspired us along this path — everyone from the Royal Society to MSCHF to Dischord Records and the Wide Awakes. The piece closed with two sentences that feel more true to us than ever:

As individuals our powers are limited. In groups we become exponentially stronger.

Welcome to Metalabel.

✌🏽❤️

Yancey
Rob
Ilya
Austin
Lauren
Brandon
Gina
Erin
Clayton