2/27/2026

Future Tense

Publishers as Music Labels: Addressing the Transaction Costs of the Solo Creator

The "solo-creator" model in digital publishing is reaching its limits due to prohibitive transaction costs. To survive and thrive, publishers must evolve into "Media Labels," providing risk-sharing, bundling, and curated access to talent. This shift is essential for operational leverage and sustainability in an increasingly volatile media landscape.

The current digital publishing landscape is suffering from a structural fracture that classical economic theory can explain with clinical precision. We are caught between “Journalism Boutiques” (high-quality but isolated and burdened by high marginal costs) and the “Information Stalls” of the commentary economy (Substack, Ghost), where the signal is increasingly drowned out by noise.

The “solo-creator” model is hitting its physiological limit. As suggested by Ronald Coase’s Theory of the Firm, an organization exists when the internal cost of coordination is lower than the transaction cost on the open market. Today, for an independent journalist, the “transaction costs”—legal management, tech stack maintenance, distribution, and advertising—have become prohibitive.

The Rebirth of the “Firm”: The Label Model

To overcome this crisis, publishers must evolve into Media Labels. This isn’t a romantic intuition; it’s a necessity for Operational Leverage. Drawing inspiration from collectives like Puck, Defector, or Every, the new publisher acts as a “Producer” and guarantor:

1. Risk-Sharing & Protection: The Label absorbs systemic risk. In an age of strategic lawsuits (SLAPPs) and algorithmic volatility, the Label provides the “legal shield” and the infrastructure, allowing talent to focus on primary value: investigation and analysis.
2. The Bundle Logic: Applying Ben Thompson’s Aggregation Theory, we understand that users aren’t looking for a hundred $5 subscriptions; they seek an ecosystem of trust. The Label aggregates vertical niches into a resilient “bundle,” increasing Lifetime Value (LTV) while significantly reducing churn.
3. Semi-Open Meritocracy: Unlike the “Wild West” of open social platforms, a Label operates on a semi-open threshold. Access is earned through reputation and editorial curation (the “Demo Tape”), rebuilding the authority that indiscriminate self-publishing has eroded.

Information doesn’t need new “packaging”; it needs a new economy of scale that protects the producer and respects the reader.