Board Meeting Minutes #5 — December 3, 2025
Title: Board Meeting Minutes #5 — December 3, 2025
Date: December 3, 2025 Time: 3:00 PM ET Board Capacity: Co-op Board
Attendees
- Austin Robey (Worker-Member)
- Sean Adams (Worker-Member)
- Freya Yamamoto (Label-Member)
- Iz (Artist-Member)
- Haana (Artist-Member)
- Nick Austin (Supporter-Member)
- John Garry (Observer)
Community Pulse
Forum:
- Discussed feedback and concerns from the forum, plus engagement strategies.
- Haana shared comments on language and inclusivity in forum discussions.
- Iz emphasized that as leaders, the board should keep this responsibility in mind.
- Austin set up an automatic forum summary delivered to the team's Slack channel.
- Discussed strategies for direct channels between members and their representative board members:
- "Ask Me Anything" threads from each board member (resolved to post by Friday).
- Designated office hours (to try in the next calendar year).
- Sean to start posting platform updates when features are ready.
- One theme: the contrast between member expectations and reality. Direct channels should help productive conversations and humanize the small team behind the project.
Core Agenda Items
Paid Work
- Drafting Subvert's initial AI policy.
- Iz and Haana, as artist representatives, will take on drafting the initial policy.
- Will incorporate forum input.
- Define everything from reporting processes to AI in music vs. images.
- Communicate policy through multiple channels (IG, blog post).
Managing Core Team Burnout
- Currently only two full-time employees with extensive responsibilities.
- Most platforms have multiple engineers who rotate critical alerts; Sean has no relief.
- Considering fundraising in early 2026 to bring on more help.
Subvert Timeline Review and Updates from Alpha Launch
Revenue:
- Alpha Artists have made $2,565.
- Optional Support Contributions: $1,445 (56.34% of Artist Revenue).
Next Steps for Launch:
- More artists will be able to make pages.
- Label info being turned into metadata.
- Discoverability in development.
- Holiday break ahead — some changes may slip to next year.
Trust & Safety / Moderation:
- Need to define what happens when something or someone is flagged or reported.
- Who decides outcomes?
- Austin suggested inviting users to help.
- Iz raised concern about people overexerting power.
- Open question: are moderators paid or volunteer? What's the SOW?
Subvert Financials Revenue and Future Funding
- Another month over $40,000, slightly down from the previous month.
- Re-upped legal retainer; back-end expansion increases expenses.
- Open question: what does getting more help sooner look like?
- Should Subvert raise money for future needs? (Future fundraising decisions will sit with the Corp Board.)
- John Garry and Austin are drafting a fundraising document with legal counsel.
Action Items
- All board members will create AMA pages by end of week.
- Iz, Austin, and Haana will meet to discuss Subvert's AI policy on Friday.
Votes & Decisions
No formal votes this meeting.