Next steps towards a New Creative Era

Why does Metalabel exist? What is it here to do?

This project was born out of a loneliness I felt as a creative person. Even while I had thousands of “followers” as a writer, I lacked creative peers to collaborate with in a deeper way. It made me feel unhappy, unsatisfied, and alone.

My search for ways to change that made me see the idea of a “label” in a new way. Not something that only exists for music, but a flexible container that any group of creative people could use to make something bigger than them. A structure and way of thinking that even unlocked powerful new ways of working on my own.

Metalabel started with me by myself. But everything since has been collaborators, peers, and friends working together. Metalabel is a group effort. A constant flow between the small group of us who make up the squad and the growing community of artists and creators releasing with us.

Though this work is just beginning, it’s working. Already on Metalabel, hundreds of creators have been paid upside from their releases through our Splits product. Dozens of labels and collectives are building treasuries of shared resources. The start of a New Creative Era.

New home, new era#

As the builders and stewards of Metalabel, we’ve had front row seats to everything going on. With a new homepage that we’re introducing today, we’re making it so everyone can see what a New Creative Era looks like in practice. 

Our new homepage and discovery experience are much deeper than before. You can dive into sections for trending work, new releases, thematic channels (here’s a channel of artist books, for example), and deeper context about what’s here. There are blurbs by us about what we’re finding and enjoying. We’ll soon be making room for collectors to share their picks, too, and give more of a spotlight to the people releasing and collecting in this space.

Where we’re heading #

This homepage is a step in a bigger vision of a New Creative Era that starts with the basics we all need now: making it feel more fulfilling, less lonely, and more rewarding (emotionally, socially, materially) to release creative work. That’s what the squad here at Metalabel works on everyday, building tools and directly supporting artists, creators, and collectors.

Next year we'll introduce our most ambitious ideas yet: new structures that we think could fundamentally transform how creative people organize and build wealth for centuries (no joke) to come. A future where creative people aren't on the periphery of society, but are its leaders.

The New Creative Era isn't just some future thing. It's already here, being built by creative people like us who no longer accept the status quo. People like me. People like you. Like Brian Eno. Like Shantell Martin. Like the dozens of artists and creators who make up this week’s new releases, and the hundreds of collectors who will support them. All of us, together, writing the next chapter of our collective creative history.

We invite you to join this movement. Release your work. Support others. Help build a future where creative people have the power and resources to shape culture on our own terms.