Three Stories

She forms an A-Corp. She holds 80% of voting shares. Her long-time collaborator and co-producer gets 20% — both are artists under the statute, satisfying the 51% rule. She issues a separate class of economic-only shares to raise $35,000 from two supporters: a family friend puts in $20,000 and a local music investor puts in $15,000. They get a right to 15% of net revenue for 7 years. They get no vote. No creative control. No ownership of her masters.

Her masters and all recordings are assigned to the A-Corp with statutory reversionary rights. If the company ever dissolves, or if the IP is ever at risk of transfer to a non-artist, it reverts to her automatically. This isn't a contractual promise — it's Colorado law.

The A-Corp's stated artistic mission: “To create, record, and perform original music.” This mission has primacy over financial return in the company's articles.

He forms an A-Corp. He holds 70% of voting shares. His assistant, who he's been training for two years and whose glazework is becoming part of the studio's identity, gets 15% — vesting over four years. Both are artists under the statute. His spouse, who handles the books and wholesale relationships, gets 15% of economic shares (no vote on artistic decisions).

The investor gets a different deal than the one he originally proposed. The ceramicist issues economic-participation shares: $40,000 for a right to 20% of net profits until the investment is repaid at 2x ($80,000), then the participation drops to 8% for five more years. The investor gets a return. The investor gets no voting power, no board seat, and no ability to influence what gets made or how it's made. The artistic mission — “handmade functional ceramics rooted in the traditions of the American Southwest” — is protected by statute.

His designs, glaze formulas, and sculptural works are held by the A-Corp with reversionary rights. If anything goes wrong — if the company dissolves, if there's ever an attempt to transfer the IP — the work comes back to the artists.

They form an A-Corp with equal voting shares: 25% each. All four are artists under the statute, so the 51% artist-ownership rule is satisfied entirely. The artistic mission: “Collaborative, cross-disciplinary art rooted in our community.”

But economic shares aren't equal — they reflect what each person brings in. Individual client work stays individual (each artist invoices through the A-Corp and keeps 85% after a 15% overhead contribution). Collaborative projects are split by a formula they agree on per project. The 15% overhead funds rent, shared supplies, insurance, and a small reserve.

Each artist's individual IP stays theirs via reversionary rights — the muralist's murals are hers, the novelist's books are his. Collaborative work is co-owned by the A-Corp with reversionary rights to all contributing artists. If the collective ever dissolves, everyone walks away with their own work. No lawsuits about who owns the hotel piece.

As a four-person company, they now qualify for a small group health plan. Annual insurance cost drops from $39,200 to about $31,400 — saving $7,800/year. They set up a SIMPLE IRA with a 3% employer match. For the first time, all four of them are saving for retirement.