Metalabel lore

Behind Metalabel is a long history of ideas and inspiration that stretches back centuries. Looking to go further down the rabbit hole? Jump in:

Founding ideas

• “Introducing Metalabel” — The initial manifesto that introduced the idea.
• “Rethinking labels” — An essay exploring the origins behind Metalabel.
• “Creativity in multiplayer mode” — The first public talk introducing Metalabel
• “Culture labels V1” — The original Google Doc where the ideas behind Metalabel were first sketched

Cultural foundations

• “How culture is made” — How the histories of Dischord Records, The Royal Society, and the Guerrilla Girls show a model for cultural production.
• “Interdependence: Post-individuals and metalabels” — A conversation with Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst about the ideas behind Metalabel.
• “Five creative lessons from Factory Records” — How the label behind Joy Division and New Order paved our path.

Creative inspiration

• “Rethinking the unbearable weight of self-promotion” — Finding inspiration from Tyler the Creator.
• “The artist and the inner retreat” — Why it’s important for artists to periodically withdraw from society.
• “Formulary for new media” — A call for a new spirit of experimentation in how we release.

Our releases

• 001: Introducing Metalabel — Our debut manifesto (Feb 2022).
• 002: Elements of a metalabel — An RPG-like experience to explore the form (April 2022).
• 003: Assembly — Cohort-based learning experience for 40 creative groups featuring guest speakers Holly Herndon, Nabil Ayers, and more (May 2022).
• 004: Chorus — An open source bot that let groups of people in Discord vote on what to tweet together (August 2022).
• 005: Public Record — An online publication exploring creative collaboration (October 2022).
• 006: After the Creator Economy — A physical and digital 90-page zine featuring interviews and perspectives on the future of creativity (December 2022).
• 007: Quality Drops — A series of releases using onchain records that generated $1 million in support (February 2023).
• 008: New Creative Era — A zine released through a physical newsstand in downtown NYC (June 2023).
• 009: Lonely Writers Club — An experimental club for writers looking to connect with others (July 2023).
• 010: Collaboration Cookbook — A zine featuring artists like Mindy Seu and leaders of Extinction Rebellion offering recipes for how they work (August 2023).
• 011: Canvas — A living moodboard of artwork and inspiration that reflects where we’re coming from (December 2023).
• 012: Metalabel.com — A curated platform for artists and creators to release, sell, and split proceeds from their creative work (February 2024).
• 013: Nine creative meditations — A short digital book and video essay exploring how we as artists can manifest our visions and feel grounded in our work (July 2024).
• 014: Fall/Winter 2024 Collection — A curated set of releases from remarkable artists and creators across creative fields (October 2024).

Podcasts

• The Dark Forest of Creative Capital — Yancey Strickler on Future Commerce (December 2024).
• Is online life heading into dark forests? — Yancey Strickler on the Looks Like New podcast (December 2024).
• Metalabel and post-individualism — Yancey Strickler in conversation with Josh Citarella (August 2023).
• Post-individuals and metalabels — Yancey Strickler in conversation with Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst about the ideas behind Metalabel (July 2023).

About Metalabel

• “Metablogging” — Documenting one of the unique ways the Metalabel squad collaborates using a culture of internal blogging.

Want to keep following along?