The beginning of the beginning

A year ago this week I remember exactly what I was doing: obsessively rehearsing a TED talk where I was going to introduce this strange new idea to the world — a new corporate structure for creative people.

My biggest fears were twofold. That 1) I would screw up on stage, and 2) no one would understand or care about what I was talking about. I paced around NYC practicing, searching for the clearest and most welcoming points of entry to what was both an esoteric and wildly ambitious new idea.

A year later, we're in a very different position.

In the next week, the very first Artist Company Act will be proposed in Colorado — a new law drafted with some exceptional lawyers that establishes a new economic and ownership baseline for creative people. It explicitly lays out and protects creative rights, artist's rights, and collective ownership and equity for creative people. Next week we'll be in Denver to share more about the law and its impact with political leaders on both sides of the aisle.

Ahead of that, our site Acorp.co continues to grow as an R&D lab for what A-Corps look like in practice. As each new draft of the law comes through, we revise the mock registration flow to see its practical impact. We've made it so you can create a public profile of your practice and catalogue (here's mine), which feeds into an interactive calculator for valuing your work. Now you can even ask questions directly through a chatbot, with answers pulled from the draft law, the whitepaper, and the underlying research behind the project.

When we look at our inbox, we see more inbound messages than we can count from people wanting to help: lawyers, politicians, artists, labels, agents, managers, and investors following along. They know first-hand how big the gaps are. To them, this seems like a project that might actually help.

Taking it all in, reflecting on this long journey we've all been part of together, it feels surreal. So much has been going on we've barely stopped to notice. But what was once just an idea, as visible as air, has steadily hardened into a form and shape that will soon be real far beyond us, with a long journey and potential outcome of more autonomy, more wealth, and more possibility for creative people as a result.

Less than a year ago, this felt like little more than a dream. Now it feels more likely by the day. Done right, this project has generations of impact ahead of it. For Artist Corporations and creative people everywhere, this is still just the beginning of the beginning.

How can you help?#

We hear from lots of people wanting to help out. We're working on creating the infrastructure to start letting that happen. The main meeting point is our new shared space in DFOS. If you want to learn more about A-Corps, bring it to where you live, or be part of the movement, this is where to go.

If you're based in Colorado, we'd love to hear from you. Email us by responding to this message or sign up in DFOS and raise your hand.

Want to see what this looks like in practice? That's what Acorp.co is for. Use it to imagine with your collaborators: what kind of structure are we going to create together?