Metalabel 2022 Review
Our recent year of releases and writing ↓
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R.06: After The Creator Economy out now ↓
collect.metalabel.xyzJoined November 2021
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Labels don’t have to stay in one lane. They can define their world and catalog however they wish, and keep building on it – creating a cultural legacy that stands the test of time, release by release.
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#5: Labels can be anything we want them to be.
Factory Records challenges the idea of a label itself: it’s more than a vehicle for selling music, it’s a multimedia vehicle for cultural influence.
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Taken altogether, the music, the venue, the show flyers, the casket, and even the lawsuit tell a larger story. This story about the world Factory created is captured by the film, 24 Hour Party People, whose theatrical run, soundtrack, and website were each Factory releases.
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#4: Releases are a form of worldbuilding.
The legacy of Factory Records continues to live on in part because of the cultural impact of individual releases from notable artists, but also because of the narrative created through a holistic view of the entire catalog.
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Factory Records also created a release number for an album released on another record label. The album, Uncle Dysfunktional by Happy Mondays, was released on Sequel Records, not Factory. Still, Factory listed it in their catalog (FACT 500).
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#3: Releases can be created by a community.
In 1990, a Factory Records collector named Jim created a fanzine titled Halcyon Daze #2 and requested for it to be categorized as an official release. Tony Wilson agreed, giving Halcyon Daze a release number (FAC 239).
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Releases weren’t always chronological — some numbers were saved for special releases — and some release numbers were issued more than once, while others aren’t associated with any release at all.
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#2: Catalogs are bespoke classification systems.
Factory developed a unique classification system to organize all of their releases.
The result is a catalog sorted into a color-coded periodic table that shows all of their releases together in one unified system.
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Other releases included a cat that lived at the Hacienda (FAC 191), a lawsuit against the label (FAC 61), and even founder Tony Wilson’s coffin (FAC 501).
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#1: Anything can be a release.
Factory didn't just release albums by groups like Joy Division and New Order. They also released things like posters, objects, parties, ideas, and concepts.
As an example, Factory released their own nightclub, the Hacienda (FAC 51).
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5 creative lessons from Factory Records
How world-building, lore-making, and creative releasing shaped a legendary label ↓
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some releases are never finished
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What would Fugazi do?
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The case for heterarchy in DAOs, via of
Hear what the former Kickstarter cofounder believes is the most promising coordinating principle for decentralized organizations in the latest episode of Building At The Edges👇
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anyone going to eth denver who is interested in chatting about metalabels?
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There’s no greater energy to harness than a shared purpose
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What's after the creator economy?
The past decade of creating online has left many of us feeling worn out and burnt out
A visual in a recent zine we dropped proposes a new direction where we might go next
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“What if artists and designers word organize into worker-led, self-organized, and self-managed organizations — organizations that are small and local, but networked internationally using shared digital infrastructure?”
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creator economy is sooo 2022
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This is the future we're building with Metalabel
We want to build that future with and for you
Want a ticket out of the Creator Economy?
Want to be a part of a larger movement?
Want to drop work with us?
Say what's up:
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Real social value is determined by who a person squads with, who they release with, and what larger purposes their work speaks to and is a part of
These traits — not how many individual followers someone has — is a truer reflection of value
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The creator economy model convinced us we had no choice but to compete against each other for eyeballs and attention — an assumption only the platforms themselves truly benefit from
More and more of us are seeing that extractive model for what it really is
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So what’s after the creator economy?
Metalabels: groups of creative people who share the same vision or taste coming together to contribute to larger cultural goals
Metalabels point to a new era of creativity built on collaboration and mutual support
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5) Metalabels are a proven model for creating world-changing and long-lasting impact
The metalabel structure is how groups ranging from the Whole Earth Catalog to Dischord Records to the Royal Society made lasting impacts across eras and history
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4) The metalabel model is a sustainable engine for cultural and economic growth
A metalabel's iterative structure of drops can sustain and grow cultural movements and resources over time, as this visual illustrates
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3) It’s an economically better experience to drop work as a metalabel
The "After the Creator Economy" record paid more than two dozen people seamlessly, and allowed hard costs to be automatically recouped using Metalabel's record format
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2) It’s emotionally more fulfilling to release work as a metalabel
By releasing work with a group of peers, you feel less anxious because you know you’re not alone
This is a massive improvement to the anxiety and dread of releasing work on your own
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1) In a metalabel, your skills contribute to something bigger than just you
Each individual contributor adds their voice and skills to a bigger vision and goal everyone shares
This match of skill and meaning is personally very rewarding
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We've spent the past year starting and operating our own metalabel with the purpose of promoting creativity in multiplayer mode
We've learned first-hand benefits of the model:
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A metalabel is a release club where groups of people who share the same vision or cultural goals agree to drop and support work together
Metalabels are like indie record labels for all forms of creative output
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This visual isn’t an idle dream or overly optimistic fantasy
This is what happens when people start and join metalabels
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What's after the creator economy?
The past decade of creating online has left many of us feeling worn out and burnt out
A visual in a recent zine we dropped proposes a new direction where we might go next
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start a label
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Chainpilled not cryptopilled
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"It makes it so that every creator doesn't have to design their own brand, build their own audience, and run their own sponsorship strategy to make money. Multiple creators can share those resources — brand, audience, sponsorships — together."
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"The creator economy is very individualistic and lonely, which is completely opposite of how humans naturally behave. Working together as a metalabel opens up the opportunity for collaboration and breaks open the isolation into a more natural formation of groups."
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metalabels publish together
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