New Creative Era Labels: creative support structures of the past and future?
Mar 19, 2025
Dive into the transformative power of labels in the creative landscape. Explore how they evolved from outdated concepts to vital collaborative structures. Discover the role of early DIY labels in shaping cultural scenes and supporting burnout creators. The conversation highlights how modern tooling makes collective projects more viable. Learn about the balance between individuality and collaboration, plus how labels can enhance the creative ecosystem by facilitating revenue sharing and cultural memory.
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Labels As Cultural Network Effects
- Labels are collective taste-makers that create cultural network effects by publishing work together.
- Yancey argues labels counteract individual burnout and misaligned incentives on the platform era web.
Platform Design Favors Solo Creators
- Platform design enforces solitary creator economics by default and discourages revenue sharing.
- Joshua says revenue-split primitives are ideological choices missing from major platforms.
Recoup Costs Then Split Revenue
- Structure revenue so fixed costs are recouped first, then split proceeds to contributors and a label treasury.
- Yancey describes a 70% artist / 30% treasury split as a repeatable model for sustainable label publishing.