The last couple of months have marked an important time in the world. Suddenly, we were asked to stop... and wait. At the same time, Outland Entertainment crossed a threshold from an era of damage control and healing. And we are as busy as ever, which means it’s crucial to take a look at what is important and how we want Outland Entertainment to move forward.
So we have taken this opportunity to reflect and focus. We felt it was important to ensure we know exactly who we are, why we do what we do, and why we do it in the way in which we do it. We felt we needed to clarify and document our core values.
And because we value these things, we want to ensure you know who you are supporting when you buy our publications, share with your friends and on social media, and even when you consider working with us.
But then, George Floyd was murdered before our eyes. The Black Lives Matter movement took their banner, flew it higher than ever, and for the first time in history, the world gave them the attention they deserve.
More than ever, we believe it's important to set a standard for the publishing industry to find, honor, promote, and amplify voices from People of Color. We made it one of our core values because we believe it. And we can prove it by the work we do to find these voices.
We love what we publish. But we aren't the only ones in the industry who go out of their way to find underrepresented voices in our creations and our creators. We hope you make a commitment to set your own standards for the publishers, artists, and creations you support to include not only quality but also concerted efforts to promote underrepresented voices.
So here they are. Outland Entertainment’s Core Values.
Core Value #1- We set the standard for quality transmedia worldsmithing of artist-owned IP.
We are first and foremost an independent publisher of transmedia. And we want to set a standard of quality, honoring our creators, and creating transmedia experiences for our audience. Our audience will look for “worlds” outside of OE and find that we are better and more holistic in our approach.
Our worlds consist of multiple transmedia iterations that align in content and format. They are not merely collections of multimedia reiterations of the same story over and over, but artifacts that tell new stories or enhance one another.
We are also intentional about the types of media used so that the format itself will add to the experience. Artifacts will be developed with intention and creativity.
Core Value #2- We support and facilitate the arts, creativity, and creators.
Rather than amassing coffers of intellectual property, we empower our artists to achieve their dreams for their worlds. We provide project management for our creators, taking the business part of bringing a story to the public, and ensure the creator has ownership and authority on building their worlds.
We collaborate with and support our creatives and their brand, understanding this is their livelihood, their calling, and their service to the global community.
Core Value #3- We advocate and pursue creative and professional opportunity for underrepresented and misrepresented voices.
In the publishing industry, there is a vast underrepresentation and misrepresentation of individuals from specific groups in both the people who help create and the characters in the creations.
We believe worlds, stories, and lives are built by a variety of perspectives and experiences and that all people should have a voice in the arts.
Therefore, we seek out opportunities to promote diversity in age, sex, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, and perspective in our creators and collaborators and in our characters, stories, and worlds.
Core Value #4- We uphold ethical and profitable business standards.
We are a business. And we want to keep doing what we are doing. And we want others to be able to do what they are doing without having to compromise their value..
We publish quality, interesting, innovative products at a professional price in order to fairly compensate our creators and collaborators.
This is our livelihood. This is the livelihood of our creators and collaborators.
But most importantly, this is our passion. We are making something really awesome and making it available to awesome readers. It’s a symbiotic relationship that allows us all to create and experience the beauty and adventure that is storytelling.
We promote our business and products creatively and aggressively, according to the expectations and interests of our audience, through social media, in-person events, and other platforms. We give our readers the opportunity to buy, buy again, and effectively recommend to others to buy. We want to share what we’ve created to those who will most appreciate it!
We also strive to maintain healthy, positive relationships with our customers and collaborators. In the past there have been some obstacles we’ve had to overcome, but now that we are on solid footing, we are able to ensure we do things the right way, a way that honors all involved.
Thank you for taking the time out to hear the values we have chosen to direct our business and our art. We have a great responsibility to our collaborators and our readers, and we don’t take it lightly.