Who We Are

Make It New Media is a group of publishers, editors, writers, musicians, and artists. We are well-versed in media reproduction of all types, and are plugged into a vast network of artisans and professionals who can help the modern publisher reproduce their work and distribute it to those who want it most. Our goal is to be a single firm that artists and publishers trust with media reproduction, marketing, distribution, and direct sales.

Why We Exist

Art is not created in isolation from its society. The cultural and economic forces active in the United States not only determine which American artists can make a living, but the medium of dissemination, the locations of distribution, and the method of marketing. People do judge books by their covers, just as they judge movies by their trailers. And when we live with the sort of impersonal, venal corporations that control Twenty-First Century industry, literature suffers. The so-called “publishers” that currently produce the majority of America’s books don’t understand or care about literature that does not immediately make a clear profit. They put fiction and poetry next to blockbuster movies and celebrity tell-alls, and do not see the point. And they haven’t just purchased our printing presses—they’ve purchased the names of the publishers of yesteryear, and attempt to harness the goodwill once generated by these publishers, portraying themselves as the continuing keepers of culture while pushing books down the eternal spiral of the lowest common denominator.

Many choose another path. American counterculture sprung up alongside the mainstream. Nonconformist veterans took their GI Bill education and bought printing presses, bookstores, music stores, and theatres, dotting the U.S. with a vibrant network of diverse viewpoints and artistic approaches: the avant-garde. As the technology of media production improved (and became cheaper), the network of publishers who deviated from the mainstream grew. Photocopying allowed individuals to turn any information into a pamphlet or chapbook. Cassette recorders, followed by CD writers, allowed musicians to distribute and market their music as they saw most appropriate. An ever-more-inexpensive succession of videocameras allowed small groups of friends to make feature-length films, and video editing software for home computers increased their sophistication. This movement in art production mirrors a larger movement in the Western world—the “Do-It-Yourself,” or DIY, movement.

The Tools We Use

The newest technology available to DIY publishers is Print-On-Demand: the process by which single copies of books can be rapidly made from a computer file. Unfortunately, it has not caught on in DIY circles. The simple methodology of POD (print, fold, bind, and trim) is not widely understood. Corporations arose to market POD, and surrounded it with industry buzz and meaningless jargon that is naturally mistrusted by individual micro-publishers. These corporations were purchased by larger corporations such as Amazon and Ingram, and many individual publishers working with POD have lost control of distribution and marketing. Small publishers of art and literature, with a smaller profit margin, are now easily ignored, and squeezed into an inappropriate business model. Literary publishers who pre-date POD technology seek to disassociate themselves from this debacle. POD could be something passionate and joyful, an ecstatic extension of the DIY movement; instead, it is mired in the stink of vanity publishing. But the technology is solid, effective, and easily personalized. It has the potential to assist artists and publishers of every stripe in taking control of their of their work in a way previously impossible. It is what we wish to make new.

Where We’re Coming From

We have a profound conviction: that art makes the world a better place, and that the effective reproduction and distribution of art is necessary for the improvement of our society. It is this reason that we have formed Make It New Media: to offer an alternative to the current corporate approach towards media reproduction and distribution.

We want to work with artists and publishers to create media which truly reflects their vision, and distribute it to those who truly desire it, in a way that creates goodwill among consumers. Products should be unique and recognizable, carrying a branding appropriate for the artist and/or publishers involved. We want to produce books for our clients which emphasize the creativity of our clients, not ourselves. That’s why we want to spend time with each individual client and give each project personal attention. We know that the goal is to fill people’s bookshelves, not on-line catalogues.

We recognize that artists, editors, and publishers are busy people who wish to spend their time on their art, not media production and distribution. POD is cheaper and easier to perform at the individual level than most corporations are willing to admit. Knowing this, we want to be the print fulfillment company that publishers trust with their media: a logical progression from “Do-It-Yourself” to “Do-It-Ourselves.”

What We’re Doing Now

Make It New Media is not prepared to accept new clients at this time. We’re still in the development stages, building the infrastructure by which we can rapidly serve the artistic community. Currently, we’re only working with Ahadada Books, Unlikely Books and Vernon Frazer to realize some specialized projects.

If you’d like more information or would like to get involved, please drop us a line at info@makeitnewmedia.com.