In December, an artist on Metalabel sold out an entire collection of NYC garbage — literal trash from the streets of NYC packaged in glass cubes for $100 each — in under an hour.
shooting from the hip here but I wish there was more of a culture to show of your collections without it feeling like carguy bragging. make it the point of the evening to pull everything out and have people be able to spend time w/ things in the collection, “open studio”ish
I feel like this is something that can be modeled and become something that people can self organize in their communities (and its the kind of thing that one begets another, you could kill a whole winter going around your friend group for collections-viewing)
would also be good to support the culture metalabel is promoting
Lowkey obsessed with the “release vs. post” distinction, but also... Gen Z thrives on moments, not just drops. A sold-out garbage cube is cool, but the real flex is cultural impact. Posting isn’t just feeding the algo—it’s how movements, aesthetics, and discourse actually spread. If you’re not in the right niche, dropping without momentum is just shouting into the void.
So interesting, I love the idea of releases and it gives the artist work the respect it deserves. However, how are you able go gain an audience by releases only?
I wonder if its a combination, playing the game of churn to grow an audience then you are allowed the freedom to batch your work into releases 🤔
i love this breakdown, subsequent idea, and execution! i might have to get on metalabel. as a creative person with several outlets (videography + editing, writing, etc), it is so obvious the world is relentless when it comes to demanding work. i saw that at my internships. i want my art and WORK to get the respect they deserve. thank you!
Side note: i post a letter not release it. And i mean a physical letter in the actual post box. Secondly: it doesn’t matter how you package it, i will never buy a well packaged rubbish, ever! People can of course express themselves creating what they want, but don’t expect do get money or in my case, even attention. That in my opinion is not art, it’s an experiment that belongs in a lab somewhere. Like i said, it’s my opinion. Maybe is rubbish for someone else as well! 😂
I love everything you do but I am not sure to follow here. You are saying "start releasing stop posting", but the last two points (6 & 7) involve posting on social media? isn't this contradictory?
Yes, in the immediate term it's not saying completely abandon where you have built your audiences. But it's saying don't treat posting as the act of releasing your work, which is what people do now. So use that channel strategically to pull your audience out of it and to directly engage with you. Each person who does that lessens your dependence on the feed.
Pace Verso sold 195/500 Ghost Forest Seeds from Maya Lin since launch in Sep 23. How to relate those facts? How do the "release" Metalable model and the traditional online art distribution model articulate themselves?
Hi Yancey, sorry for being confusing, I am rhetorically asking how these release models compare. At first sight they share a lot of similarities which triggers the question of why one worked better than the other? Is it internal to the model or due to exogenous factors (NFT market distrust?). Besides, taking the opportunity to thank you for Metalabel. Much needed oxygen for the mind.
shooting from the hip here but I wish there was more of a culture to show of your collections without it feeling like carguy bragging. make it the point of the evening to pull everything out and have people be able to spend time w/ things in the collection, “open studio”ish
Feel so seen by this. Give us old school Soulseek, but for all things we collect
I feel like this is something that can be modeled and become something that people can self organize in their communities (and its the kind of thing that one begets another, you could kill a whole winter going around your friend group for collections-viewing)
would also be good to support the culture metalabel is promoting
also hi! I’m abbey, a friend of Josh C’s
Lowkey obsessed with the “release vs. post” distinction, but also... Gen Z thrives on moments, not just drops. A sold-out garbage cube is cool, but the real flex is cultural impact. Posting isn’t just feeding the algo—it’s how movements, aesthetics, and discourse actually spread. If you’re not in the right niche, dropping without momentum is just shouting into the void.
Love this perspective <3
So interesting, I love the idea of releases and it gives the artist work the respect it deserves. However, how are you able go gain an audience by releases only?
I wonder if its a combination, playing the game of churn to grow an audience then you are allowed the freedom to batch your work into releases 🤔
i love this breakdown, subsequent idea, and execution! i might have to get on metalabel. as a creative person with several outlets (videography + editing, writing, etc), it is so obvious the world is relentless when it comes to demanding work. i saw that at my internships. i want my art and WORK to get the respect they deserve. thank you!
Nice. Sound thinking. Great Ideas. Reminds me of Broome St Ping Pong!!!
This is really cool
Side note: i post a letter not release it. And i mean a physical letter in the actual post box. Secondly: it doesn’t matter how you package it, i will never buy a well packaged rubbish, ever! People can of course express themselves creating what they want, but don’t expect do get money or in my case, even attention. That in my opinion is not art, it’s an experiment that belongs in a lab somewhere. Like i said, it’s my opinion. Maybe is rubbish for someone else as well! 😂
generous and important! Thank you for this. Really worth rethinking and reimagining art and culture in the attention economy. thank you. thank you.
Good insight 😌 Can i translate part of this article into Spanish with links to you and a description of your newsletter?
Go for it :)
I love everything you do but I am not sure to follow here. You are saying "start releasing stop posting", but the last two points (6 & 7) involve posting on social media? isn't this contradictory?
Yes, in the immediate term it's not saying completely abandon where you have built your audiences. But it's saying don't treat posting as the act of releasing your work, which is what people do now. So use that channel strategically to pull your audience out of it and to directly engage with you. Each person who does that lessens your dependence on the feed.
Pace Verso sold 195/500 Ghost Forest Seeds from Maya Lin since launch in Sep 23. How to relate those facts? How do the "release" Metalable model and the traditional online art distribution model articulate themselves?
Hi Marc -- I'm aware of that project by Maya Lin. Is the question why it hasn't done more?
Can you talk about what you mean by how the release model articulates itself?
Hi Yancey, sorry for being confusing, I am rhetorically asking how these release models compare. At first sight they share a lot of similarities which triggers the question of why one worked better than the other? Is it internal to the model or due to exogenous factors (NFT market distrust?). Besides, taking the opportunity to thank you for Metalabel. Much needed oxygen for the mind.
Looking forward to getting access