austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 12/09/2026if you want to start a platform co-op, nobody tells you: you will be held to the same consumer expectations as any venture-backed platform. functional, beautiful, well-resourced, every feature at launch, every email answered immediately. 1/ 2443
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 25/08/2026Spoke in Berlin tonight. Asked the audience how many were Subvert co-op members and 75% raised their hands 1141
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 25/08/2026Subvert co-op (@subvert.fm) will become the best vehicle for music/tech companies to exit-to-community We’re going to be buying companies and buildings and convert them to community ownership 2255
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 07/08/2026Berlin Aug 25 Who Owns The Platform? www.pop-kultur.berlin/en/event/who... 061
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 02/08/2026Subvert members have self-organized meetups in Melbourne, Mumbai, Toronto, and LA DIY flyers in even more cities 0 direction from the team 030
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 02/08/2026Tech culture won’t care about co-ops until one dominates an incumbent 010
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 02/08/2026Co-ops make perfect sense in this moment Cost of building software going to zero Value capture increasingly concentrated in fewer hands 020
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 24/07/2026That’s cool how the nba has transparent salaries and a players union 020
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 24/07/2026the world's largest worker cooperative was founded by a priest he saw cooperatives as the best way to organize businesses and our economy a way to create dignity and benefit for workers now pragmatic steps towards heaven on earth, not just in the afterlife 020
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 23/07/2026AI is a technology that allows founders to build the wrong thing faster 020
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 20/07/2026Im enjoying Cantilever A streaming app with 13 curated albums and I read a story about each one 010
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 17/07/2026Two types of co-op members Cooperators: “It’s taking awhile to get an email response. Our resources must be constrained” Consumers: “Let me speak to the manager” 010
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 14/07/2026The credibility of the platform co-op movement is harmed by its association with awful branding and product 030
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 10/07/2026This is just a setting on Cloudflare AI virtue pandering 100
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 10/07/2026If you sold a music platform to private equity, you need to tithe by investing some of that into Subvert 020
Reposted by austin robeySubvert @subvert.fm · 07/07/2026Our first Annual General Meeting is set for September 19, 2026. This is the co-op’s main moment for collective decision-making. Read in full on our blog here: www.subvert.fm/blog/subvert... RSVP at luma.com/subvert2026 Not a member? Join the co-op at subvert.fmluma.comSubvert Annual General Meeting 2026 · LumaJoin Subvert's first (online) Annual General Meeting. This is our cooperative's hallmark annual event. A preview of our AGM Agenda: State of Subvert: A… 14714
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 05/07/2026I guess the Spirit Air 2.0 guy has to figure out how to make the idea real now 000
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 30/06/2026being the customer support agent is the hardest part of my job 120
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 25/06/2026My mayor socialist My congresswoman socialist My bandcamp socialist (@subvert.fm) 1231
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 14/06/2026Spurs will always be my team 🖤 And it’s great to see New York and my mayor get a win 010
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 14/06/2026In Canada, artists have health insurance and access to grants In the US, artists have neither We just have a trillionaire that worked to destroy arts funding 041
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 05/06/2026There’s going to be an aesthetic correction against the age of AI music Less pitch correction and quantized drums The new American Football album has intentional off notes 130
Reposted by austin robeyjulien demoulin @juliendemoulin.bsky.social · 02/06/2026I've been working on a massive collection (a playlist of sorts) of #ambient on @subvert.fm! Currently sitting at 110+ tracks, all different artists, feat @phxsys.bsky.social, @exitchamber.bsky.social, @onidyl.bsky.social, @saapato.bsky.social, @arbeemonkey.bsky.social, & many more! please repost 🙏 4248
Reposted by austin robeySubvert @subvert.fm · 12/05/2026We’re live. Two years ago, we released a plan. Today, our collectively owned music platform is open. Explore. Support artists directly. Join the co-op. It’s only the beginning. Sincerely Ours, Subvert 12505239
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 09/05/2026500 new co-op members yesterday @subvert.fm is launching on tuesday 0110
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 24/04/2026Artist-owned platforms are a threat to “artist friendly” platforms 080
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 23/04/2026On day 1, @subvert.fm will have over 20,000 releases Cooperative platforms are inevitable 090
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 22/04/2026Subvert had a meetup in Melbourne, Australia last weekend No central planning, no sign off - just a member taking the initiative to organize They made an unofficial smaller staple-bound zine to culture jam around Melbourne 292
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 21/04/2026"Direct-to-artist" platforms take 15% off the top. That's not direct! That's a middleman. On Subvert, artists and labels pay 0% platform fees. At checkout, buyers can choose to contribute to the co-op. Across our first 1,000 transactions, the average contribution is 45.3% (!) 1265
Reposted by austin robeyAlex Silver @halfvivid.bsky.social · 14/04/2026I contributed to these long discussions. Impressive how well Iz and Hannah synthesized it all. 093
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 14/04/2026@subvert.fm published the most comprehensive and well-considered AI policy for a music platform. It was written by 68 artists. If you think that artists aren't capable of self-governance, it's your paternalism and lack of imagination that we are fighting against 0113
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 12/04/2026Subvert just hit 20,000 co-op members and co-owners I wrote a newsletter about some personal inspirations for building a cooperative: a punk, a priest, and an anarchist open.substack.com/pub/cultures...open.substack.comThe punk, the anarchist, and the priestInspiration for building a co-op 051
Reposted by austin robeySubvert @subvert.fm · 31/03/2026Soon: we launch together. Artists - set up your Subvert pages now. Then, wait for the signal. At that time, the platform will be open to the public. We’ll then give you share-ready images, a heads up, and a hard date. That's when we launch together. Not yet a member? Join the co-op at subvert.fm 15921
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 25/03/2026excited to see these 1000 album upload days keep happening weeks before the platform opens publicly economic democracy and shared ownership ftw 031
Reposted by austin robeySubvert @subvert.fm · 24/03/2026Artist pages are now unlocked on Subvert for all Artist-Members. If you are an Artist-Member and have been waiting for access - you can sign in today, set up your profile, upload your tracks, and get your presence live on the platform - right now, ahead of our public launch in the coming weeks. 37120
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 20/03/2026most artists on @subvert.fm offer discounted or free music to fellow co-op members a reciprocal gift economy built into the platform 030
Reposted by austin robeyKat Five @katfive.bsky.social · 15/03/2026“This year, @subvert.fm will become the largest cooperative of artists/creative workers in history” - @austinrobey.xyz So great to be a member and testing out the artist page! 0257
austin robey @austinrobey.xyz · 15/03/2026Building @subvert.fm, I encounter a lot of a particular kind of person - the person who has given up on the idea that anything better is possible It weighs on me emotionally everyday. This cynicism is what we are fighting against. 070
