Is Commerce Necessary?
Dare the question be asked? Union Recordings suffered its first series of financial hardships in the organization's nine years of existence, leading to the outage of its digital distribution and a slowdown in its physical distribution.

Speculation abounds as to the reasons behind the pause: the dismal economy, infighting, an increasingly fading sense of purpose. One insider, speaking under anonymity, said it was simply a case of the web hosting company abruptly disappearing, catching the stretched organization unawares, which led to internal discord.

A small bit of insight can be gleaned from the remarks of CEO Milton Van Hoeks, who addressed his troops at the yearly summer picnic:


We burrowed into the mud of the receding lake for a bit there. We enjoyed a bit of dormancy, cleared our collective head, and mapped out our future. Unbounded by the constraints of profit, we are able to do this without penalty.

We forged some poisonous alliances and dearly paid the price. Our web hosting contract seemed too good to be true, and ultimately it was. Some of our global distributors outright robbed us blind. We have reevaluated each and every one of our partnerships and conducted a thorough internal audit. Longtime associates have been let go. We have painfully scraped the hull of barnacles, tarred the holes, and it's full steam ahead! As ever, no commerce is necessary!



What remains to be seen of the second go-round is whether or not survival without growth is possible. Or, without revenue, is growth even possible?

A faction of employees endorsing revenue collection lost their voice on the board of directors when CIO Ted T'so announced his resignation, effective 9 August 2003. Reasons for his departure were not given.

The status quo is intact at Union Recordings. It's (no) business as usual.

--Sadie Newbanks-Dreyfuss