A New Era of Creativity Starts Now
“This is an inflection point. By the end of this century, creative people are going to be the wealthiest and most powerful group of all.”
Yancey Strickler believes that creative individuals can achieve more by working together than in isolation. It also happens to be a lot more fun.
As a writer and entrepreneur, Yancy explores new forms for creative people. Most recently as the cofounder of Metalabel, a new space where creative people cooperate rather than compete. And also as the cofounder and former CEO of Kickstarter.
In his rousing talk for the New York chapter of CreativeMornings, he shared an inspiring take on the evolving landscape of creativity, the challenges faced by creative individuals, and new ways to empower creators in the modern economy.
Yancy began by identifying with the pervasive sense of doom that many creatives feel today. After leaving Kickstarter, he enjoyed several creative pursuits and building an audience for them, yet felt let down by a lack of genuine connections with his community.
Inspired by the book Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerad, Yancy noted that punk bands rejected by record labels often created their own labels which fostered a culture of collaboration and support. He wondered how similar structures could be applied to other creative fields, which led to the concept for Metalabel; a collaborative framework for creators to work together towards shared goals.
Despite the growing recognition of creativity as a vital component of the economy, many creatives operate as freelancers or independent contractors, navigating a landscape that does not adequately distribute the benefits of capitalism or collective wealth creation.
Yancy challenged our ingrained acceptance of this inequity, by introducing the idea of Artist Corporations; a new legal structure designed to empower creative people to build wealth, pool resources, and maintain control of their work in ways that traditional corporate structures do not enable. Using this framework, creative individuals can more effectively harness their talents into profitable ventures.
An artist corporation (aka A-Corp) would enable creative groups such as bands, collectives, or independent studios, to operate as a unified legal entity in a structure that allows them to:
- Manage finances collectively
- Access both nonprofit funding and commercial revenue
- Own their intellectual property
- Issue shares and create equity, which would enhance their bargaining power with larger institutions
Yancy emphasized that this model is not just about protecting artists but about enabling them to thrive and build real wealth from their creative endeavors.
Even more exciting than this bold thinking, is Yancy’s optimism about the potential for creativity to shape the 21st century. We share his belief that as AI and technology continue to evolve, the unique voices of creative individuals will become increasingly valuable.
Yancy Strickler’s CreativeMornings talk is a proclamation that today’s challenges are not the end of creativity; this is the beginning of a new era filled with possibilities for collaboration and growth.
