Last week our TED Talk introduced Artist Corporations (A-Corps) — a legal and economic structure for creative work. So far there have been:

* 200k+ views of the TED video

* 600+ artists and creators joining the waitlist

Listen

On a special episode of New Creative Era (embedded above), Josh Citarella grills me on the nuts and bolts:

* How A-Corps would work

* What doesn’t work about the status quo

* What solo practitioners would gain on day one

Play the episode above.

Help us shape the law

Your challenges and desires will help shape the law we take to legislators. Support this work by sharing more about your own practices here:

Squads paving the way

While we work towards manifesting Artist Corporations, it’s important to recognize the squads, groups, and artists out there doing the work right now.

Just in our universe there is:

* Concept — An ironic network state collective that released a sold out zine earlier this year.

* Do Not Research — A collective Discord that drops work and publishes material together.

* Elysian Collective — Writers pooling reach and profit around themed anthologies.

* Future Commerce Press — A new media publishing empire releasing work across formats.

* Hard Art — A collective of artists across disciplines led by Brian Eno.

* Network Archives — Dozens of musicians come together to share their experiences releasing work online.

* Other Internet — One of the most influential web-based collectives of the past decade.

* Play — An award-winning food-themed, LGBTQ+ zine and collective.

* Serving the People — A global creative network.

* The Dark Forest Collective — Sixteen internet writers who collectively publish work and share profits together.

* TIAT — An SF-based new media + tech collective.

* Underground Art and Design — An art + tech collective in Brooklyn.

* Wondaland — A creative collective led by Janelle Monae.

* Worst Generation — A hip-hop and digital collective out of South Carolina.

These are all collections of people releasing work under a shared umbrella, using splits and shared economics to distribute the rewards.

This path is available to any creative person right now.

Artist Corporations will let those groups go even farther together.

Join the waitlist

Want the A badge the moment filings open?

Your early interest will help us make the case to lawmakers:

Questions?

What do you want to know?

Thoughts? Questions?

Leave a comment and let’s chat.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metalabel.substack.com

This week marks the final episode of the first season of New Creative Era, as well as the release of a new book that collects all our conversations into printed form: On the Creative Life: Conversations Towards a New Creative Era.

In this episode, Josh and Yancey discuss why even have conversations like ours? What is this moment in our collective creative journey?

Though this is the last episode of this season, we’re interested in continuing these conversations. Want more New Creative Era? Let us know by picking up a copy of the book, or by reaching out: [email protected].

Peace and love, y’all.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metalabel.substack.com

In the penultimate episode of the first season of New Creative Era, Josh and Yancey each come to the table with their list of seven things they most want in a new status quo.

These are our answers. What about yours? What do you want in a New Creative Era?

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metalabel.substack.com

What lessons do we keep with us from our creative journeys so far?

This week Josh and Yancey turn back the clock and take turns sharing seven things they know now but wish they knew then.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metalabel.substack.com

What does it mean to build a creative life — especially when the rules keep changing?

In this episode, Josh and Yancey reflect on the nonlinear paths of creative careers, from publishing forgotten essays that suddenly go viral to jumping formats, industries, and identities. We talk about true norths, timestamping your work, outsider paths, and the strange long game where your weirdest traits become your biggest strengths.

This is an episode about navigating the shifting terrain of creative work — and what it really takes to find your way.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metalabel.substack.com

This week Josh and Yancey dive into the question of formats.

How do we as artists find the right format for our work? What if we work well in one format but not another? Is there such a thing as artist-format fit?

Listen in as we discuss.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metalabel.substack.com

Many creative conversations are more ethereal and emotional. What a work references, what it feels like to experience it.

In this week’s episode of New Creative Era, we do the opposite and deal strictly with the numbers. How much does it cost to print a book, to run a community, to make and produce work? How much does someone make? How do those economics actually work out?

Josh and Yancey walk through the economic structures of two of their own projects: Do Not Research and the Dark Forest Collective.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metalabel.substack.com

In this week’s episode of New Creative Era, we answer a listener question.

Jamie Reddington (Sound of Fractures) writes:

“Creators struggle to choose a place to focus on — it would be good to hear from someone like Josh or you how you make the combination of platforms out side of traditional social media ones work, what you use them for. So for Josh for example: patreon, Substack, Metalabel — I think for me for example I’m looking at Patreon, because although Substack has been a good step I find people more likely to pay for information there. While patreon is more of an established language normal people understand. The fear is… not more platform 😭😩 how do you provide enough value to make these things work?”

Listen in an as Josh and Yancey spend thirty minutes discussing where, how, and when we choose to post our work and why.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metalabel.substack.com

Labels: the out-dated horse-and-buggy of the cultural sphere, or a still-underexplored structure that could lead to greater resource sharing and collective liberation among creative people ?

In this episode of New Creative Era, Josh and Yancey talk through the idea of labels. What were they before? What are they now? How are they being reimagined as new tools of the future?

Listen to Josh and Yancey explore.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metalabel.substack.com

This week on New Creative Era, Josh and Yancey open up the topic of platforms. Are they good? Are they bad? What does it mean to depend on one? What are the risks and what are the upsides? We talk through our personal experiences posting work on platforms, the political and economic theories behind them, and how platforms themselves see the world.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metalabel.substack.com