📣 INTRODUCING... 📣
The MUZA Collective is a social enterprise designed by University of Bristol master's students to provide finance, legal and admin support to the growing community of creative freelancers based in Bristol and Bath. We will operate as an incubator and freelance cooperative, based on the principles of solidarity, social protection and ‘Good Work’.
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All members share the costs of the cooperative’s administrative and economic services, maintaining their autonomy as freelance creatives while benefiting from the services we offer. The output is something we are passionate about and believe could provide real, tangible benefits for the regions’ vibrant creative communities.
© Laura Charlotte Photography
We are Bristol-Bath creatives.
What makes the MUZA Collective a Cooperative?
Co-operative Principles
MUZA's Commitment to you
BE SECURE
MUZA employs our members under salaried contracts (a higher protected level of worker classification than self-employed/freelancer).
BE ACTIVE
MUZA will invoice clients and collect payments for each contracted piece of work.
BE RESPONSIBLE
MUZA is responsible for paying each member's social contributions (sick pay, pension contributions etc), national insurance and income taxes.
BE SUPPORTIVE (but not smothering!)
MUZA support you to champion your creative passion while allowing you to maintain your autonomy.
BE TRANSPARENT
MUZA will pay each member a guaranteed salary each month calculated from each member's average earnings across the year (wage smoothing).
BE THERE
MUZA pays a guaranteed monthly salary, whether or not your client has paid. In the case where there are negotiations about payment, MUZA will take over to moderate conversations.
BE CONNECTIVE
The MUZA creative network provides a local, trusted network of creative Bristol-Bath creative freelancers for you to collaborate with.
Your Commitment to MUZA
BE INDEPENDENT
You decide how you source work, your rates and when you choose to complete projects.
BE ACTIVE
You must inform us of the details and duration of projects so that we can invoice clients accordingly.
BE PROACTIVE
You are committed to finding adequate amounts of work to sustain yourself. During periods where you may be struggling, our team can support you in finding new sources of work.
BE COMMITTED
You are committed to strengthening the health and prosperity of the cooperative to support fellow creatives and fulfil our social mission.
BE CREATIVE
MUZA allows you to offload all the tasks that distract you from doing what you do best - be creative. As a MUZA member, we want you to champion your work and contributed to the thriving creative industries that are rapidly growing today.
BE TRUSTED
All MUZA members are required to sign our members charter when joining, to show commitment in supporting of our vision and sharing our values.
The future is creative.
The future is freelance.
FAQs
It's a work in progress 😅
We have worked tirelessly to incorporate key insights and feedback from our user-centred research process to design a solution that suits creative freelancers’ needs. The project is still very much a work in progress and therefore we would love to hear your thoughts and questions so you can help shape our vital enterprise.
Is the MUZA Collective just Bristol-Bath based?
At the moment - yes. We are launching our model and establishing ourselves in the vibrant Bristol-Bath creative industries. As our network grows, we envision launching MUZA hubs across cities in the UK, so we can provide the same levels of support and resources to creative freelancers.
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What do you mean by "creative"?
To us, creativity is the manifestation of any creative effort that contributes unique and positive value to the world. If you believe this describes what you do, then we welcome you to our collective.
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What additional support does the MUZA Collective provide?
On top of making social contributions, national insurance and income tax payments on behalf of our creatives, we aim to create an educational and supportive network to help freelance creatives champion their work. This includes events, workshops, and toolkits... but as a cooperative, it is for you to decide what support needs to happen and for you to drive these initiatives!
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Can I still be involved in the MUZA Collective, even if I don't want to be employed?
Yes! We hope to establish tiered levels of memberships so that all creative freelancers can be involved at the level right for them. Let us know in the comment box on the left if this interests you!
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Where do I sign up?!
Unfortunately, the MUZA collective is still in the prototyping phase. To help us get our social enterprise up off the ground, please sign an expression of interest, and share this webpage with everyone you know who could also be a part of this movement.
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