About Mythos Media

In a world where enormous budgets are used to cram the entertainment flavor-of-the-month down your throat, it can be easy to forget to take the time to actually read a book, or plug into an album, tune out the world, and go on a journey.

We exist for those of us who still savor these things, and don't require a celebrity to tell us what underwear to put on in the morning.

Mythos Media takes the ancient arts of storytelling and myth-making, and brings them to the present through modern media. We seek out the edgy and iconoclastic mavericks that exist off the beaten path, pump them full of our patented, secret super-drugs, and help them reach your eyes and ears. (We also enjoy a good fib, if it entertains or serves the plot.)

Rather than avoiding the unsettling, the unusual, the intense, we embrace it. There is nothing "cookie-cutter" about any of our products: they are all home-grown and independently produced. There are no focus groups. There is no formula aside from pushing our boundaries. You will find yourself entertained, edified, horrified, aroused and even possibly disgusted. In other words, everything you hoped to get out of college, for a fraction of the price. Take a trip with us.

(Image from the cover of Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning. Design by James Curcio. Photo by Jeff Cohn. Model: Key.)

F.A.Q.

What kind of media do you publish?

The physical products that we presently sell are books, graphic novels, and CDs. The digital products that we sell or give away for free are mostly mp3s and PDFs. However, provided the right circumstances- and the right myth- we see no reason that we may not expand into animation, film, or even role playing games. The key here is creating myths, which oftentimes relate to each other. The issue is not the container. In fact, we are in early pre-production on a film at this time, which we cannot yet speak about publicly.

Why not just publish books? (Or albums. Or...)

It is no big secret that the old approaches to publishing are dying. In fact the only thing staving it off in many cases is a couple flagship titles, and a big pool of money to draw on. At the same time, the tools for media production have become increasingly accessible to the public. The very approach to publishing media in different "containers" (DVDs, CDs, paper books, PDFs for hand-held readers, etc) has changed so that it is unnecessary to have a separate company managing these markets based on the "container." Instead, we focus on the content being contained. If we consider it is a myth worth sharing, why not produce it in the "container" that best suits the message?

What is "living myth?" / What is mythic content? / What is a myth? / What is "modern myth"?

These questions require a full-length book to answer, and as a matter of fact that is under way. But as they say "brevity is next to Godliness." In the sense that we're using it, a myth is a narrative that has certain characteristics- they are works that generally have self-contained worlds, that are informed directly by the authors experience, which can reach back and enrich all of our experience, or give us a new perspective. The use of metaphor takes on a different function than mere literary device- the metaphors are used to reach inside the readers head.

Still confused? We don't blame you. It is one of those things that you know when you see. An example: in literature, the Lord of the Rings is mythic, however, many fantasy novels are not. Stories can even have a mythic quality, and then lose it, as was the case with the Matrix as opposed to its sequels. This is not simply a matter of something being good, and then it being not so good. There is a dimension and depth to myth in its metaphors that carry far beyond the story itself. You can feel when that quality is lost, and so can the audience, even if they can't exactly put their finger on what's missing.

What about music?

Music is a medium that emotes more than it denotes. It can nebulously refer to many things at once, and so it can be a great medium to build myths in.

When we look at a music submission, we're not only looking to see if it is well done, it also has to represent a self-sufficient mythology. Obviously, concept albums fit into this vein (like The Wall), but so do albums that do the same thing in a more abstract way (e.g. David Bowie's Outside.) An album centered around a fictitious or pseudonymous character could also work with the brand, depending on how it is handled. In the mainstream, the works of artists like Alice Cooper, Eminem and Marilyn Manson's would all fall into this latter category.

Do you look for a specific genre of music / literature / etc ?

No. It is true that our tastes probably bias our choices, but the Mythos Media brand is not arranged around a specific genre.

Why do you give away a lot of your digital products for free? / Why use a Creative Commons license?

PDF versions of books, on the whole, serve as advertisements of them. For free, you can read some of the book, and if you like it, you can order the physical book, or make a donation. Are there going to be people who just squint and read the book on their screen? Sure. But we don't think those are people who would have bought the book in the first place. The same goes for other digital content. We just got a listener or reader for free. Remember, duplicating digital content is free for us as well. What costs money is printing books, CDs, DVDs, etc. The bottom line with all this RIAA lawsuit nonsense is that not one cent of those hundreds of millions won in lawsuits for "pirating music" has gone back to the artists. We're artists too, and that kind of nonsense makes us sick. By all means share our products, in digital format, or with your friends in print format. Just give the artists who produced that work their just due.

We use a Creative Commons 3.0 license for these releases because it represents how we want those materials to be used: you can share them with anyone, so long as you credit, don't change the contents of the work, and don't claim you're the author. The only exception to this is that, in the future, we will release some Mythos Media music along with "remix packs" online. These components can be freely utilized in your own works, even commercial works, so long as you give credit to Mythos Media, the original artists, and link back to our site.

I am an artist/author/film-maker. Why publish with Mythos Media?

For one, we are a group of artists, of authors, or producers ourselves. We understand the creative process and the difficulties of bringing that product to the market, as well as the conflicts that can be created between being true to the work, and trying to put food on your table. We work directly with our artists, and if you join us, it is a like joining the team. We will help you get your work in publishable form, help you market it, and as more of our artists market their work, through them new fans can be introduced to your work as well. You can expect us to be honest with you, and to put in our effort as you put in yours.

Notice, however, that we do not say "we will single-handedly market your work." We can help you with promotional tools, utilize our growing contacts, and help consult with you on marketing your work, but at the end of the day in this marketplace you have to take some of those steps, and you have to keep on it. Most publishers take the exact same stance: they just won't be honest with you about it. It is rare indeed for an author without tens of thousands of units sold on a past title to be able to sell off their manuscript, and then walk out, never to worry about it, thinking: "the publisher will market it for me." Think again. If your work isn't worth struggling to get into people's hands and hearts, it probably wasn't worth publishing in the first place.

An added benefit of joining the team is that we have a client-side subsidiary in the works called Synchronicity Studios. The artists, musicians, etc. in our stable are the first that we will turn to when outsourcing client work.

Some of your titles are POD (print on demand). Those aren't real books (CDs, etc).

Though this isn't a question, we've heard it many times - 99% of the time as a sneer from the press. The books and CDs we release are every bit as "real" as any others. They also have ISBNs and UPC codes, and are available through major online vendors. Not of all of our items are POD. For those that are, however, it is our current policy to primarily do large print runs on titles when the sales of print on demand versions of the title show that there is a demand for it. There is also a very strong ecological element to this stance - imagine the colossal waste of the paper and ink used in printing, the gas used in shipping from the printer to a warehouse, and from the warehouse to the store where the cover will then be stripped off and the book destroyed if it doesn't sell within a relatively short span of time. Most importantly, this policy - when used - is just common sense for any small-medium press to test the waters with certain genre and niche titles that might not otherwise see the light of day.