About
Metalabel is a growing universe of tools, knowledge, and resources for metalabels and cultural collectives.
Our purpose is to establish the metalabel as key infrastructure for creative collectives and to inspire a new culture of creative collaboration and mutual support.
Metalabel is built by a small egalitarian team scattered around the world. We operate as a heterarchy, rotating leadership and decision-making among our squad members depending on the context and the drop.
We’re supported by a wider group of partners, contributors, and community members who share our belief in the power of metalabels and creative collaboration.
Our Squad
Anna Bulbrook (A&R)
Austin Robey (A&R)
Brandon Valosek (Engineering)
Ilya Yudanov (Design)
Lauren Dorman (Engineering)
Rob Kalin (Board)
Yancey Strickler (Director)
Origins
Creativity in multiplayer mode (video)
First presentation of Metalabel at ETH Denver 2022
Rethinking labels: the origins of Metalabel
Post explaining how it began
The internet culture era
The original essay that led to metalabels
What DAOs and coops can learn from each other
Essay by Austin before Metalabel that was big
What’s after the creator economy?
Essay expanding on ideas in our zine
Reinventing the Record
The origins of our new format
On metalabels
How culture is made
The historical view of metalabels
Evolution of the solopreneur
How solo creators have evolved to become collaborators
Five creative lessons from Factory Records
What all a label can be
Spotted
Library of quick dives into dozens of real-life metalabels, what they’ve released, and how they work
How we work
Metablogging
A core practice for how we work together, since adopted by other teams and squads
Progressive productization
Our strategy for manifesting and supporting metalabels
Heterarchy: A structure for DAOs
Yancey on the Seed Club podcast explaining how Metalabel works
Podcasts
On the other side: Rebundling the Creator Economy
An early conversation with Chase Chapman
Interdependence: Post-individualism, metalabels, and web3
Conversation with artists Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst
The Culture Journalist: what’s a metalabel
Austin and Yancey discuss metalabels
Creating onchain records with Metalabel
Anna and Yancey discuss records
Heterarchy: A structure for DAOs
Yancey on the Seed Club podcast explaining how Metalabel works
Video
Creativity in multiplayer mode (video)
First presentation of Metalabel at ETH Denver 2022
Releases
R:01: Introducing Metalabel
Debut essay/drop
R:02: Elements of a metalabel
An RPG-like experience to explore the form
R:03: Assembly
Cohort-based learning experience for 40 metalabels with speakers and programming
R:04: Chorus
An open source bot that lets groups of people in Discord vote on what to tweet together
R:05: Public Record
An online publication exploring metalabels and creative collaboration
R:06: After the Creator Economy
A physical and digital 90-page zine and the first onchain record
R.07: Quality Drops
A series of releases by metalabels and creators using onchain records
On blockchains
After crypto
Why cryptocurrencies are not the point
The onchain era
A new era for blockchains
Thing we think about