When you stand on the precipice of something you’ve worked hard on finally seeing the light of day, the life of the project flashes before your eyes. 

In those moments the practical concerns that consumed you during the creative process fall away. Instead we retrace the emotions. The elations of discovery. The moments of doubt. The day things turned for the worse. The day things changed for the better. From the moment it first stirred in your soul to wherever you dream it might go.

As you weather the storms inside, the excitement of the impending new thing will pause. You will find yourself in the eye of the moment in a Zen state. You become the watcher. You see how it all plays out.

When I reflect on the journey of Metalabel, an immediate visual greets me: a person standing in the middle of the ocean trying to start a wave. That’s what it feels like: this totally quixotic and crazy act. 

You’re trying to push off from the free-floatingness of the ocean to start a wave that grows into something bigger than you. The only solid ground is your determination. You try everything you can to get something to break. 

There are moments when you feel like the only person in the ocean. It can be lonely. You feel foolish.

But in time a magical thing happens: other people show up. People who together can make the wave. In our case, everyone releasing with us. Everyone collecting work. Everyone who connects with the ideas and model we’re exploring. The Metalabel squad itself.

Now all of us — you, me, everyone here — are together in this same spot, looking out into the world in similar ways, here for similar purposes. 

Wow.

What once felt indulgent now feels necessary. What once felt impossible some days feels almost inevitable. What felt like loneliness starts to feel like power.

Next week we’ll share the next step in this journey. A step that’s happening thanks to the support of many people, including you. 

As we shift into this new gear, look for this email to evolve. Our own voice will still be present, but the next part of making the wave is less about us at Metalabel than the larger collective of people brought together by this dream of a new creative era. 

We can’t imagine starting a wave with a better group of peers and friends.