# Best of metalabel.substack.com on Kiwi News

Page: https://news.kiwistand.com/source/metalabel.substack.com

24 stories from metalabel.substack.com have been shared on Kiwi News since 30 April 2024, with 42 upvotes and 13 comments in total. The latest was shared on 31 July 2025. They are listed below, most upvoted first.

Summaries are AI summaries of the linked article.

## 1. We're not for everyone — and that's the truth

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Were-not-for-everyone-and-thats-the-truth?index=0x66d0264230d45b63455ab2b494450cd39b11dbbc0d419356fad2eef3b18f246dc248b5a3
- Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/metalabel/p/were-not-for-everyone-and-thats-the?r=16nwyb
- Shared 29 August 2024, 6 upvotes, 3 comments

Metalabel's leadership writes that the company is not for everyone, and that embracing this pushes it toward being more itself. The newsletter-style post describes the team as deep in an unfinished creative project due this fall, with its outcome still unknown. It also highlights new releases: Molly Soda's limited run of 100 postcard editions tied to her play Trivial Pursuit, and Do Not Research's two annual publications, 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, now on Metalabel.

## 2. How to use New Media to revive existing work

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/How-to-use-New-Media-to-revive-existing-work?index=0x66ab29c4aaafa861a340945c6106b834884bb91b839ce4692d7f773eafa310d3646a24d6
- Source: https://metalabel.substack.com/p/how-to-use-new-media-to-revive-existing
- Shared 1 August 2024, 4 upvotes, 4 comments

Metalabel reissued three of its past works as a New Media experiment, reframing older work with new context and forms instead of letting it stay on platforms it does not control. The three pieces are Introducing Metalabel, its first manifesto released with the unpublished essay that inspired it; After the Creator Economy, a sold-out zine co-published with co—matter and preserved as an editioned digital download; and The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet trilogy, which includes the private email sent to a small audience five years ago. The reissues are free to collect as handmade download packages with the original work and credits for early supporters, and collectors can optionally financially support the creators. The team used the Chrome extension GoFullPage to save webpages as images and PDFs, then uploaded them to Metalabel release pages with release notes.

## 3. What we talk about when we talk about release

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/What-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-release?index=0x66eb23c159a57803fbb35806617cd4464558be8839eea5b5c12587ec32e682a61671b058
- Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/metalabel/p/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about?r=16nwyb
- Shared 18 September 2024, 3 upvotes, 0 comments

Metalabel argues that creative people should "release" their work rather than simply posting it, because a release places a piece within an artist's canon and context and invites audiences to engage, purchase or attend. Tyler the Creator is cited as saying that releasing honors the time and effort behind creative work, and the post says too many people treat their output like fast fashion. Metalabel says it will introduce a new universe for creators to release work in October, and it highlights The Creative Independent's reissue of "On Dealing With Creative Anxiety," a 52-page zine with 50 physical copies plus an open digital edition.

## 4. The artist and the inner retreat

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/The-artist-and-the-inner-retreat?index=0x667c358a6dd841f27cbaabc8a5156682d1542685a69448b43dde50b5a4bdd7a0e9290807
- Source: https://metalabel.substack.com/p/the-artist-and-the-inner-retreat
- Shared 26 June 2024, 2 upvotes, 3 comments

The article argues that artists feel stuck between modern pressure to self-promote and ancient wisdom about retreat, and proposes a personal "artist retreat" as a regular practice of creating privately without sharing publicly. It cites Joseph Campbell's 1949 book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which describes "willed introversion" as a classic tool of creative genius, and Agnes Martin's statement "I paint with my back to the world." The author's framing holds that artists need periods of turning inward alternated with periods of sharing, and that social media platforms push creators toward constant output. The piece is also a Metalabel newsletter, with product listings, a promotional principles survey, and job openings.

## 5. How to talk about your creative work at a party

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/How-to-talk-about-your-creative-work-at-a-party?index=0x668455e587c31bd0d24c1b1736856b395a61ca9950892fd877184bf68b5b51111195e264
- Source: https://metalabel.substack.com/p/how-to-talk-about-your-creative-work
- Shared 2 July 2024, 2 upvotes, 2 comments

The article, from the Metalabel newsletter, argues that creative people can make a party introduction more memorable by giving a short, structured context: an establishing statement, specific details, and what is new or unusual about the project. The author describes a failed first conversation at a party, where a bare description of Metalabel as "a new space to release and collective creative work" ended the exchange, and a second conversation with a famous acquaintance, where adding those three elements led to interest and a plan to talk again. The piece also offers sample introductions for a documentary filmmaker, a painter and a designer, and it closes with a newsletter featuring the artist Rui Nakamura's CROQUIS art book, priced at $25 in an edition of 20.

## 6. What we talk about when we talk about release

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/What-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-release?index=0x66ebe4d48ef695e6f3cce1b991553dd72594c67d48a3a33a6b33d68d24055ba41740805d
- Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/metalabel/p/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about?r=6d366
- Shared 19 September 2024, 2 upvotes, 0 comments

Metalabel argues that creative people should "release" their work rather than simply post it, because a release places a work in an artist's canon and gives it context. The text says a release is not passive but invites an audience to engage, watch, purchase, or attend, and that releases are established ways for creators to monetize and be rewarded for their work. It adds that Metalabel will introduce a new universe for releasing in October, and it highlights The Creative Independent's reissue of the zine "On Dealing With Creative Anxiety," with 50 physical copies and an open digital edition.

## 7. This zine could change your life

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/This-zine-could-change-your-life?index=0x66d8b9e033bbc12147186fe8aa4090252d1e13f8577b847d28158d3301aa685895a3ad08
- Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/metalabel/p/this-zine-could-change-your-life?r=16nwyb
- Shared 4 September 2024, 2 upvotes, 0 comments

The article argues that the modern world began with a zine, pointing to Philosophical Transactions, a handmade publication first released in 1664 by a London group of academics who wanted facts proven by evidence rather than decreed by church or king. It states that Newton's writings, Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment, and the Scientific Method were first published in its pages. The piece also cites zines that became major cultural forces, including Sub Pop, Touch & Go, Matador Records, Riot Grrrl, Vice, Giant Robot, and Bust, and describes John R. Davis's archive of punk zines, which includes more than 1,000 issues donated by Ian MacKaye.

## 8. Small is more meaningful than big

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Small-is-more-meaningful-than-big?index=0x668fa15cf4ebfeac501083eb3157e8f4c5dc8b4c6def92b87384d9e227584178b5fbb0d2
- Source: https://metalabel.substack.com/p/small-is-more-meaningful-than-big
- Shared 11 July 2024, 2 upvotes, 0 comments

The essay argues that small beginnings are more meaningful than big success, and that people tend to rush past early smallness even though it is the part they miss most later. It compares success to a party that starts with a few close friends, becomes overwhelming once everyone arrives, and can make creators more protective, distance them from core fans, and make them feel obligated. The writer cites Kurt Cobain, who said that if he could relive his career, he would return to the van-touring days before things became big. The piece is excerpted from Nine Creative Meditations, a release by Yancey, Ilya Yudanov and the Metalabel squad.

## 9. Psychic infrastructure

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Psychic-infrastructure?index=0x66451dec049b87698df752d975289c3ca989a19d16a7a290b59ee88e0ea2d4b6521d863c
- Source: https://metalabel.substack.com/p/psychic-infrastructure
- Shared 15 May 2024, 2 upvotes, 0 comments

Metalabel, a platform for creative people to publish work through "labels," presents its "psychic infrastructure" concept, which it says lets creators share audiences, credit and economics around common worldviews. The featured release is Issue 003 of The Whitney Review of New Writing, edited by Whitney Mallett, which Anika Jade Levy praises for covering political topics such as Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza while keeping a playful edge. The Review's full back catalogue of issues 001 to 003 has also arrived on the platform.

## 10. Legitimize yourself

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Legitimize-yourself?index=0x66451d2307a9e3198b2d2fa8dee5be311ae4ae28dcaafb9d1fbbd2f61b9ab8fd2c7bc97d
- Source: https://metalabel.substack.com/p/legitimize-yourself
- Shared 15 May 2024, 2 upvotes, 0 comments

The article argues that creative people should build their own legitimacy through grassroots labels rather than chase approval from institutions, gatekeepers or social media. It points to early punk bands, who started their own labels when existing ones ignored them, as an example, quoting Mike Watt of the Minutemen: "It was about starting a label. It was about taking control." It then cites Metalabel collectives such as Hard Art, a group of more than 150 artists and leaders that includes Brian Eno, and FKMM, a label started by photographer Francis Kanai, and promotes the book Autonomous Worlds N1 as an example of collaborative work.

## 11. The arc of change

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/The-arc-of-change?index=0x663119814ba0a062f834552e0d293c3ad635c53e55b8adfdd3fd2295fee3bffd90ab0fff
- Source: https://metalabel.substack.com/p/the-arc-of-change
- Shared 30 April 2024, 2 upvotes, 0 comments

Metalabel argues that creators should shift from building individual channels and personal brands toward forming collaborative "labels," co-promoting work, and joining larger creative communities. The article contrasts these ideas with creator-economy advice to start a channel, gain subscribers, and be the star, which it says is driven by platform growth rather than creative fulfillment. It highlights recent Metalabel releases as examples, including Rebecca Clark's free "Book of Hours" PDF, a cassette and zine by Korean Magpie Tapes and Elevator Teeth, and Yancey Strickler's "The Post Individual," a ZIP package of essay, audio and video.

## 12. The continuing need for new media

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/The-continuing-need-for-new-media?index=0x688b770e6aa75dd29997771e6e2ee926b912619561a963e097723ff4442729d299ccd800
- Source: https://metalabel.substack.com/p/the-continuing-need-for-new-media?action=share&isFreemail=true&post_id=169669586&publication_id=895255&r=6d366&triedRedirect=true&triggerShare=true
- Shared 31 July 2025, 1 upvote, 1 comment

Metalabel argues that digital creators can still make valuable, experimental work by building outside platform constraints, and it highlights this week's new releases as examples. The newsletter features musician VÉRITÉ, whose project The Archive gave away digital music for free while offering USBs and merch as optional support. Other releases include Alex McLeod's looping digital landscape Flower Window and Spillover, a project on lithium mining in northern Portugal delivered on a custom USB embedded in stone.

## 13. Creation feels like standing in the middle of the ocean trying to start a wave

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Creation-feels-like-standing-in-the-middle-of-the-ocean-trying-to-start-a-wave?index=0x66f44029c78db479cebf0a28e543c0b05c7f33ddee506d9c7a12d327a2cbaffad2156a1f
- Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/metalabel/p/creation-feels-like-standing-in-the?r=16nwyb
- Shared 25 September 2024, 1 upvote, 0 comments

Metalabel's newsletter argues that starting a creative project feels like trying to start a wave alone in the ocean until others join in to build it. It highlights the zine Train Songz, whose fourth edition, launched on a Friday, reached more than 1,000 collectors within 28 hours, the fastest-collected release in Metalabel's history. The creator, known as The Conductor, credits Billy Strings' fanbase and daily posting for the growth of the account, which reached 20,000 Instagram followers, and says the account succeeded through specificity and consistency.

## 14. Meet the curator: Joshua Citarella

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Meet-the-curator-Joshua-Citarella?index=0x66e214f43586862d351714df3d0e857576705826da1325e225c1a5b8897fab16f3024ff6
- Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/metalabel/p/meet-the-curator-joshua-citarella?r=16nwyb
- Shared 11 September 2024, 1 upvote, 0 comments

Josh Citarella is joining Metalabel as a curator to support more artists, arguing that the creative world is stagnating because artists have become financially precarious and risk averse. He writes that artists increasingly depend on big donors and must cater to a small group of elites, and he wants a scene built on new support and distribution methods aimed at peers rather than billionaire collectors. To open his fall curatorial program, he features Eva & Franco Mattes, whose 2024 work Deep Fried Half Cat has 28 signed, numbered editions available on Metalabel, and Evan Roth, whose Skyscapes series has 8 of 10 editions remaining.

## 15. This zine could change your life

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/This-zine-could-change-your-life?index=0x66d9a43844ec3290574b205c30df9b64ced476a26671a1ae60c0303a8df0121a909f0e27
- Source: https://metalabel.substack.com/p/this-zine-could-change-your-life?isFreemail=true&post_id=148488425&publication_id=895255&r=6d366&triedRedirect=true&triggerShare=true
- Shared 5 September 2024, 1 upvote, 0 comments

The article argues that zines, small handmade self-published works, have shaped culture, and it proposes that the modern world began with one. It cites Sub Pop, Touch & Go, Matador Records, Riot Grrrl, Vice, Giant Robot and Bust as projects that started as zines. It also describes Philosophical Transactions, a handmade publication first released in 1664 by a London group of academics that published experiment details and later carried writings by Isaac Newton and Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment.

## 16. Do you post or do you RELEASE?

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Do-you-post-or-do-you-RELEASE?index=0x66c667e0b8ef327d0de46ff8f4a87cd6e866204702501082215f0351ce7475e6e961b988
- Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/metalabel/p/do-you-post-or-do-you-release?r=16nwyb
- Shared 21 August 2024, 1 upvote, 0 comments

Metalabel argues that creative work should be "released" rather than simply posted to social media, describing a release as a richer, deeper offering with exclusive access, collaboration, context, and lasting value. The article contrasts posts, which are free, spontaneous, single-format and fleeting, with releases, which are planned, often monetized, and aim for meaningful participation. It cites The Daniels' tweet announcing Everything Everywhere All at Once as an example of a post, and A24's rollout of the film, including a trailer, theatrical opening, hardcover book, soundtrack and Oscar campaign, as an example of a release. The piece says posts and releases are complementary and that Metalabel aims to be the best place online to release creative work.

## 17. Practices and cathedrals

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Practices-and-cathedrals?index=0x66b3d553a740dd0906a37a5a4d3e0fc7aae219f908daf996fdfc0a27c5b7b451ba7fa259
- Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/metalabel/p/practices-and-cathedrals?r=16nwyb
- Shared 7 August 2024, 1 upvote, 0 comments

The essay argues that creative work is better served by releasing it early as a practice than by hiding it until it is finished as a cathedral. It draws on Eric S. Raymond's "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" (1997), which describes closed, carefully planned software versus open, collaborative development, and quotes Raymond saying that one can test, debug and improve in bazaar style but would find it very hard to originate a project that way. The author notes a book called This Could Be Our Future as their own cathedral, while the Bento Society living-room project proved more personally meaningful. The piece concludes that releasing work, even in parts, is the most important step.

## 18. New Media IRL: "New Release" by Yacht

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/New-Media-IRL-New-Release-by-Yacht?index=0x66a16a2eeed04d0c4777b8c555456bc259ade965691dd09d911144892d1616511ea4219e
- Source: https://metalabel.substack.com/p/new-media-irl-new-release-by-yacht
- Shared 24 July 2024, 1 upvote, 0 comments

YACHT, a Los Angeles trio, has released New Release, a physical-first album package sold exclusively on Metalabel that combines vinyl, a password-protected zip file, an audio commentary and other digital material unlocked by a physical key in the vinyl package. Yesterday the first 100 editions sold out in 90 minutes, and a "Second Wave" of 200 more editions has since been added. Vocalist Claire L. Evans and Jona discuss in a Metalabel interview the idea of a "reverse preorder," which lets fans live with the physical record before the digital release, and the band's view that everyday life is increasingly turned into products.

## 19. Formulary for New Media

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Formulary-for-New-Media?index=0x669a2997dc6c81ee0efdc71b7d46ec811ebbf4c28dda69ee0fd42bd56f9fae319305a1c3
- Source: https://metalabel.substack.com/p/formulary-for-new-media?publication_id=895255
- Shared 19 July 2024, 1 upvote, 0 comments

This manifesto argues that the internet has become boring and exhausting because platforms optimize for algorithms and advertising, and that a "New Media" built on a new spirit is needed to replace it. It contrasts the open frontier of 1990s and 2000s new media with today's formats like Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, which it describes as limited canvases that flatten self-expression. Examples offered of the movement include Cindy Lee's album Diamond Jubilee, released as a pay-what-you-want .zip file kept off streaming services, and Gary Hustwit's generative ENO documentary, whose versions differ for each screening. The piece is published by Metalabel, which presents itself as a hub for this movement.

## 20. Formulary for New Media

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Formulary-for-New-Media?index=0x669819eb7a94f1034311e35708f0402132e64880fc6d2e5d5056cfa4ba12f75d3fccb960
- Source: https://metalabel.substack.com/p/formulary-for-new-media
- Shared 17 July 2024, 1 upvote, 0 comments

Metalabel argues that the internet has made media feel stale and commercial, and that a "New Media" built on a new spirit, rather than new technology, is needed to restore wonder and truthfulness. The essay says New Media breaks out of platform formats, invites audience participation, and may embrace limited, handmade, or small-group distribution. It cites examples including Cindy Lee's album Diamond Jubillee, sold as a .zip download that listeners pay what they want for, and Gary Hustwit's generative ENO documentary, whose every screening is a different edit. It presents the movement as only beginning on the fringes.

## 21. Promotional principles for creative people 

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Promotional-principles-for-creative-people?index=0x66743eda0745296df1f77ed9a3b7842923004c3efd9ce763d8dd7de5da2cd091d51b255c
- Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/metalabel/p/promotional-principles-for-creative?r=16nwyb
- Shared 20 June 2024, 1 upvote, 0 comments

Metalabel is drafting a work-in-progress guide of twelve promotional principles for creative people, and it is inviting comments and survey responses from readers before a final version is released later this summer. The article's author, Yancey, says the guide addresses both those who embrace promotion and those who are uncomfortable with it. Contributors whose input is used will be credited, invited to the drop, and placed on the split if the guide is sold. The same newsletter announces that The Creative Independent's zine On Making a Living as an Artist has been reissued for $5 in 50 editions, and that Metalabel has added category browsing and is hiring three roles.

## 22. Rethinking the unbearable weight of self-promotion

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Rethinking-the-unbearable-weight-of-self-promotion?index=0x666b04f6866cbccd9bfa9da9a96647bbf537075c18441a87de61adbeaf9b1b8cdfc4ce0d
- Source: https://metalabel.substack.com/p/rethinking-the-unbearable-weight
- Shared 13 June 2024, 1 upvote, 0 comments

Self-promotion is presented as a way to honor creative work rather than a burden, in a newsletter from Metalabel. The writer, who spent 18 months on a book from a major publisher, says promoting it took as much time as writing it, through short videos, podcasts and live events. Rapper Tyler, the Creator is quoted urging creators to stand proudly by their projects instead of posting once and moving on. The issue also covers artist Shantell Martin's free Shantell Sans font, based on her handwriting, and the history of the Odd Future collective, which began as a Tumblr.

## 23. An iconic digital artist debuts stunning new work - Molly Soda - mollysstuff

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/An-iconic-digital-artist-debuts-stunning-new-work-Molly-Soda-mollysstuff?index=0x66609ca3c64b2ab37cc71795d9739329cdf5388aacd78eaa400ac53ed24e101ba6e3a166
- Source: https://metalabel.substack.com/p/an-iconic-digital-artist-debuts-stunning
- Shared 5 June 2024, 1 upvote, 0 comments

Metalabel is launching "mollysstuff," a new work by digital artist Molly Soda, as a series of twenty one-of-a-kind artist books, each made from a .zip folder containing 100 files. Soda says she hand-selected 2000 files from her hard drives, computers and online accounts and distributed them among the 20 folders. The project evolved from Desktop Dumps, a digital dox of files she had saved to her desktop, and it debuts on Metalabel with just twenty editions available. In 2023, three of her videos were acquired by the permanent collection at Centre Pompidou.

## 24. Creative courage and letting your guts out

- Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Creative-courage-and-letting-your-guts-out?index=0x6657863f16dbb03612c38b787cd91d6a10a2328b8a732da93934462a8ea048f6b0395bef
- Source: https://metalabel.substack.com/p/the-courage-to-let-your-guts-out
- Shared 29 May 2024, 1 upvote, 0 comments

Painters Paul Waters and Jamie Nami Kim argue that making and releasing art takes courage, and that each release helps others do the same. They describe "comaglacia," a Wachapreague word Waters learned from his grandmother, as meaning "let your guts out." The newsletter also cites Kim Gordon's 1981 Art Forum observation that "People pay to see others believe in themselves," and highlights recent releases, including Hard Art's book Drawn Without Looking, limited to 100 editions and currently available to UK collectors.