What if we met at the intersection of art and creativity?

This past weekend your two friendly writers, along with the help of two friends (thanks T and L!), spent two days representing Metalabel at a book and record fair at the great cultural institution (and our friends) Pioneer Works in NYC.

To represent Metalabel, we decked our folding table with some of our favorite releases — Maya Man, Cutout Flipbook, Zarina Nares, Warpmode, Train Songz, Lizzie Klein, Gilded Popcorn, Josh Citarella, the Dark Forest Anthology, and more — plus a mouse, keyboard, and monitor so people could check out the site.

We spoke with hundreds of people over the weekend, including many newsletter subscribers (sup y’all!), as well as people coming across Metalabel for the first time.

So, what did we learn?

People who follow us don’t know Metalabel is a tool

Among the people who already followed us, there was a common refrain: “I love what you all write about and the projects you put out. But I don’t really know what Metalabel does?”

Our bad! We’ve been so careful in not over-promising we haven’t shown you the goods.

That’s why we brought the keyboard and monitor. Over the weekend we repeatedly walked people through how a release is built, how splits work, and let people grab the wheel and build something themselves. Here’s a historical re-creation of the demo:

More than once someone said something like, “Oh, I didn’t realize you were a tool. You mean I could use this?” Absolutely. We haven’t talked enough about this. Lesson learned.

Creative people don’t want to feel alone

Many people asked why we started Metalabel. Where did this project come from? Numerous times your author got emo and shared their journey as a lonely creator looking for connection who became inspired by a new way to think of the concept of a “label” as a new path forward. This story resonated. We had several long discussions with people about similar feelings. Those of us who feel alone are not alone.

Creators need collaboration tools

Some of the things people told us they use to do what Metalabel helps you do: Venmo each other; intense Excel sheets; using Notion to track collaborations; building custom sites and tools to make something like our catalogue page. Creative people today have to work very hard, against the grain, to collaborate and care for their work. Our approach felt simpler.

People love flipping through releases

When people held the Cutout Flipbook, they felt joy. People were drawn to the Aksioma titles and Lizzie Klein’s Virtual Memorials. We sold many editions of Warpmode and sold out of The Dark Forest Anthology of the Internet (the only releases we sold on site). Very cool for the work to be in the flesh with real people.

Treating digital work as valuable matters

Some of the most inspiring conversations came with creators who primarily make digital work and who were amazed to see a product like ours that took it seriously. After one inspiring conversation with an artist whose work felt very in line, we heard her tell a friend as she walked away: “I’ve got goosebumps.” We felt them too. 🙂

This creative universe is thriving

Looking around the packed Pioneer Works hall, it was hard not to be impressed by what people are doing. More people are making stuff than ever before, and so many people are coming out to support them. Spotted several people who have released with us already, like the Whitney Review, Cristine Brache, Inpatient Press, 29 Speedway, and more. We were impressed by what we saw.

People are hungry for collecting to be chill

A number of people mentioned how intimidating “collecting” feels sometimes; so formal, expensive, a luxury they shouldn’t try to have access to. But when we focus on collecting as just a loving exchange — the act of adding a creative work you admire to your possession to share with friends or bring joy when you see it in your apartment — anything is collectible, and collecting is fun.

The best compliment we received all weekend

At one point a ten-year-old boy spent a good 15 minutes browsing the site. We watched him warily, not sure what he was doing. But he systematically looked all around the site, checking out projects as he went. When he stopped on the NYC Garbage project we told him about what it was. “I know,” he said. “I read the description.” He continued to browse for another five minutes, then turned to us:

“Your website is awesome,” he said, giving us a thumbs up. “Awesome!”

What could be better?