What happens when creators help own the infrastructure behind their work?
- Creative independence requires more than the ability to produce. It requires access to financing, professional support, distribution and audiences.
Why is a new system needed?
- Report from DS Media Wisdom
- The central question: Can creators build lasting institutions that support their work across multiple projects?
What does it look like?
- A connected network of production teams sharing selected capabilities:
- Equipment and production facilities.
- Editing and post-production.
- Accounting and legal support.
- Training and mentorship.
- Licensing, distribution and audience development.
- Individual teams retain their creative identities. Written agreements determine ownership of each project.
How does it work?
- Creators own or participate in a shared service organization with accountable leadership.
- Member contributions, service fees and distribution commissions support common operations. Revenue can come from commissioned productions, educational licensing, subscriptions and screenings.
- Agreements establish rights, expenses, repayment priorities and revenue sharing before production begins.
What are the benefits to creators?
- Potential benefits include lower shared overhead, stronger bargaining power, reliable collaborators, clearer financial reporting and greater control over distribution.
- The reporting must establish whether those advantages outweigh membership costs and administrative responsibilities.
What are the public benefits?
More pathways for locally relevant and underrepresented stories to reach audiences.
Libraries, schools and community organizations could become ongoing distribution partners, connecting productions with people who can use them.
What steps are needed for success?
- Define an audience; recruit a small founding group; secure paying partners; establish governance and rights agreements; budget fair compensation; pilot a limited production slate.
- Measure creator earnings, payment speed, repeat commissions and audience access before expanding.
Living examples
- New Day Films, United States: Founded in 1971, this filmmaker cooperative shares distribution, operations and leadership, demonstrating a durable alternative route to educational and community audiences. New Day Films
- Means TV, United States: Its published cooperative structure gives employee, contractor and royalty membership classes economic and democratic rights. It demonstrates that creators can participate in owning distribution infrastructure. means.tv
Mobilized action pathway: Invite creators and institutional buyers to identify one shared service and one production they could support together.