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Artist & Label Co-op Acceptance Criteria

Application Process

Artists and Labels may apply for admission approval using the application available at subvert.fm. Applications are reviewed by Worker-Members and the Co-op Curator(s) based on the definitions and criteria in this policy. New members are notified of acceptance by email and rejected applicants are offered limited guidance on how to improve their applications.

Definitions

Definition of (Music) Artist

One of the Cooperative’s purposes is to provide and operate an online platform for the sale and/or purchase of music, merch, and other physical or digital goods. For the purposes of approval/denial of applications, it is necessary to define a music artist (“Artist”). An approved Artist will meet the following criteria:

  • Produces original recorded music that may be presented in a compatible format on the Subvert platform.
  • Creates works consistent with Subvert’s principles of human creative authorship, as outlined in the AI Policy.

While Subvert operates in solidarity with all artists, membership is exclusive to music artists. The following is a non-exhaustive list of artistic formats that will not be considered for approval as an Artist:

  • Narration, podcasts, audiobooks, ASMR, guided meditation, spoken word, poetry recitation, theater, comedy.

Definition of (Music) Label

The term “label” is used in a variety of ways, but in the context of Subvert’s online platform, an approved music label (“Label”) will meet the following criteria:

  • A label may be the project of an individual, collective, or business, but its operations must extend beyond the work of an individual artist.
  • A label must maintain a roster of artists (at least two) and publish original recorded music by those artists under the label’s imprint.
  • The format of the label’s releases must be compatible with the Subvert platform - specifically, artists on its roster must meet the basic definition of an Artist (see above).

Again, while Subvert operates in solidarity with many different organizations and businesses, membership is exclusive to music labels. The following types of entity will not be considered for approval as a Label:

  • Recording studios, multimedia studios, artist management agencies, advertising agencies, sync agencies, digital service providers, public relations agencies, playlists, music publications, social media accounts.
  • Any of the above entity types may be accepted if they additionally meet the criteria for approval as a music label (for example, a record shop with an in-house label).

Co-op Curator(s)

Subvert will appoint a Co-op Curator (“Curator”) or a team of curators to approve or deny applications. The Curator(s) will:

  • Be recruited from the cooperative’s membership;
  • Be compensated for their time;
  • Operate using the Artist and Label Approval Criteria in this policy;
  • Serve as a first line of review concerning prohibited AI-generated content, using the Assessment Criteria rubric in Subvert’s AI Policy.
  • Process applications with no reference to personal taste or judgement of artistic merit, nor to the size of an artist’s audience or following.

Artist Approval Criteria

Any Artist Member of the Cooperative must upload and maintain original content releases to remain in good standing. An applicant seeking admission approval, as an Artist Member, from the Cooperative must therefore provide evidence of ability to fully participate as a member, before acceptance. Applicants may demonstrate ability by sharing previously published work and/or work samples in digital form.

Work Samples

Artists may include a link to their work available online. This may include, but is not limited to, a link to an online file sharing service hosting original audio or video files, a personal or professional website, or a service that hosts works-in-progress for sharing and collaboration. The intent of the work sample is to demonstrate an applicant’s human creative authorship of music and the work’s suitability for upload to the platform. The work sample option is available in order to offer flexibility to new artists, bands, and projects who have not yet published work but intend to do so using Subvert.

Previously Published Work

Applicants may choose to share links to previously published work that is accessible online. Sites of publication may include, but are not limited to, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Mirlo, Nina, streaming services, or artists and label websites. Evidence of previously published work need not be restricted to audio or video material with available online playback. An artist may also reference sources such as Discogs or Wikipedia, for example, to identify their previously published work. As a rule, the Cooperative strongly prefers evidence of previously published work to work samples, because it demonstrates previous motivation to publish.

Label Approval Criteria

Any Artist Member of the Cooperative must upload and maintain original content releases to remain in good standing. An applicant seeking admission approval, as a Label Member, from the Cooperative must therefore provide evidence of ability to fully participate as a member, before acceptance. Applicants may demonstrate ability by sharing evidence of operations as a label, as defined above.

Evidence of Label Operations

Labels are subject to more restrictive evidence requirements than artists. Since labels publish and support multiple artists, they must show evidence beyond a work sample from a single release or work-in-progress. The Co-op Curator(s) must be able to determine whether the label is active and publishes releases by multiple musical artists, as defined above.

In the application, labels may include a link to the label’s catalogue available online. Sites of publication may include, but are not limited to, official label websites, Bandcamp, Mirlo, or Nina. Evidence of previously published work need not be restricted to audio or video material with available online playback. However, unlike for an artist applicant, it is not acceptable to reference an archival source such as Discogs or Wikipedia. A label must include a source that shows a current catalogue available for purchase, specifically. This is to show that the label’s form is suitable for the Subvert platform.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of sources that will not be accepted as evidence for label applicants:

  • SoundCloud accounts, playlists, single-artist profiles, Discogs pages, Wikipedia articles, social media accounts, press mentions, record shop websites. 

Denied Applications

After a first rejection, Subvert will contact the applicant with instructions for improving their application to be in compliance with the Approval Criteria. After a second rejection, the applicant will be guided to an “appeals” process where they can provide a written or verbal explanation of their circumstances to the Co-op Curator(s) and/or the Worker-Member team. It is at the discretion of the Co-op Curator(s) to approve or reject an application after processing the appeal. An applicant may re-apply at any time, but must ameliorate the deficiencies of the application, to the satisfaction of the Co-op Curator(s), to expect a different outcome.