Hey Yancey, thanks for sharing this. It's really useful info, especially as I prepare for Zyla's first Metalabel release. One question: how do you automatically recoup costs before splitting profits between collaborators? I emailed ML about this and was told that it's not possible to do it automatically and I'd have to manually change the splits once we reach the threshold. Has there been an update or is that how you did it?
Thank you for sharing this! I love the idea of collaborating with other people and developing those splits up front - as a way to share audiences but also introduce to new people that are not a part of your audience and spreads the workload of marketing out a bit.
Sounds like a lot of your time hands-on actively moving through the process even after you've got a final manuscript which surprises me. I assume that there would be some broker in the middle connecting all of these pieces because it's the same for you as it is for every other self-publisher. As a new author don't know a book graphic designer (etc.) but yours sure looks great.
I'm confident we'll learn how to skip some steps with time.
What was very motivating was that by doing it myself, 85% of the returns would be ours. If we were doing it with a major publisher, for example, 12% of the returns would be ours.
Have you written about the details of the financial splitting? This seems like a huge barrier to many projects. Would love to hear if there’s an easy way people can do this.
Hi Paul! Thanks for your enthusiasm. We have not done an in-depth dive into splits and how they work. The video farther down this page shows them in action:
This is fabulous information Yancey - thank you. The musicto community is embarking on its first collective project (outside of playlists) where we're asking people "What Are You Afraid Of? Why?" We're planning on using a similar model as you did here except the project will be "published" by the musicto foundation - so costs and revenues handled at a non-profit level. I was looking for some basic cost breakdowns and this was exactly what I needed. Thank you.
Hey Yancey, thanks for sharing this. It's really useful info, especially as I prepare for Zyla's first Metalabel release. One question: how do you automatically recoup costs before splitting profits between collaborators? I emailed ML about this and was told that it's not possible to do it automatically and I'd have to manually change the splits once we reach the threshold. Has there been an update or is that how you did it?
This will be making its way into the product in the next few months!
Thank you for sharing this! I love the idea of collaborating with other people and developing those splits up front - as a way to share audiences but also introduce to new people that are not a part of your audience and spreads the workload of marketing out a bit.
Yes! The shift to split makes the whole thing much emotionally cleaner and more fun.
Sounds like a lot of your time hands-on actively moving through the process even after you've got a final manuscript which surprises me. I assume that there would be some broker in the middle connecting all of these pieces because it's the same for you as it is for every other self-publisher. As a new author don't know a book graphic designer (etc.) but yours sure looks great.
Yes, the process is the process.
I'm confident we'll learn how to skip some steps with time.
What was very motivating was that by doing it myself, 85% of the returns would be ours. If we were doing it with a major publisher, for example, 12% of the returns would be ours.
Worth the effort!
damn you are doing the good work - thank you for sharing the details/lessons/bts
Thank you Courtney. We always appreciate seeing specifics from others. We should do the same!
what is the legal entity that holds the Dark Forest Collective treasure for future projects?
Right now it has no entity. We hope it will soon be the first A-Corp.
Good insight 😌 Can i translate part of this article into Spanish with links to you and a description of your newsletter?
Have you written about the details of the financial splitting? This seems like a huge barrier to many projects. Would love to hear if there’s an easy way people can do this.
Hi Paul! Thanks for your enthusiasm. We have not done an in-depth dive into splits and how they work. The video farther down this page shows them in action:
https://www.metalabel.com/start
It's a whole architecture we created in-house!
Hey, I am still waiting for my hardcopy. :/ What can I do? Thanks
Hey Lars -- email us. darkforestcollective@gmail.com
Really this, thanks for sharing, Yancey!
Glad it hits, Vienna! Thank you for saying so <3
This transparency is so helpful and inspiring -- thank you!
Yes! Transparency is a communal good <3
This is fabulous information Yancey - thank you. The musicto community is embarking on its first collective project (outside of playlists) where we're asking people "What Are You Afraid Of? Why?" We're planning on using a similar model as you did here except the project will be "published" by the musicto foundation - so costs and revenues handled at a non-profit level. I was looking for some basic cost breakdowns and this was exactly what I needed. Thank you.
Absolutely Andrew. This is the best way to learn: through the experiences (and pains) of others