Artist Guide

Navigate the music industry with our Artist Guide. Get essential educational resources on streaming strategies, music laws, royalties, and business rules for creators.

Artist Guide

Gary The Creator Oct 29, 2026

Megan Thee Stallion Rented Interscope's Pipeline and Kept the Masters: The Artist's Guide to Distribution and Label Services Deals.

Megan Thee Stallion's Interscope partnership is the cleanest live example of a distribution deal. Here is what that structure buys, what it bills back, and the data question regulators forced into the open.

Artist Guide

Gary The Creator Oct 23, 2026

Bruno Mars Kept His Songs and Rented Out the Paperwork: Publishing Administration Deals and the Value of Control

An admin deal collects your publishing money for a fee and a fixed term without taking the copyright. Here is how the fees, terms and fine print work before you sign one.

Artist Guide

Gary The Creator Oct 23, 2026

Drake Lawsuit Shows Why Split Sheets Must Come First

A songwriter's suit over Drake's "Janice STFU" and Chad Hugo's Neptunes fight turn on the same missing paperwork. Here is how split sheets, ASCAP and BMI registration, and copyright timing protect a working artist.

Artist Guide

Gary The Creator Oct 12, 2026

J. Cole Sold The Fall-Off Out of a Honda Civic. The Pre-Order Behind It Is Now a Product Any Artist Can Run.

EVEN STUDIO puts the pre-order engine behind J. Cole's No. 1 on an artist's own domain. Here is how the direct-to-fan playbook works, what it pays, and how to run it without a major.

Artist Guide

Gary The Creator Oct 2, 2026

The Merch Table Is the Paycheck: A Developing Artist's Guide to How Tour Money Moves

Guarantees, door deals, versus deals, merch cuts and commissions decide whether a first tour pays. Here is how the money moves, with the numbers on the record.

Artist Guide

Gary The Creator Sep 28, 2026

Every Sample Has Two Owners: The Artist's Guide to Clearing One Before Release

Anderson .Paak and Cordae built "A Good Day" on a Bill Withers master and a Withers and Scarborough composition. Here is how artists clear both sides, what owners ask for, and when a replay beats the original.

Artist Guide

Gary The Creator Sep 23, 2026

Phonorecords V: The Judges Want to Know Why a New Deal Starts Songwriters at 12 Cents

The major labels and publisher groups agreed on what songwriters earn from vinyl, downloads and ringtones through 2032. The Copyright Royalty Judges sent back ten questions, and the answers are due October 2.

Artist Guide

Gary The Creator Sep 17, 2026

Sync Grew 18.2 Percent This Year: Supervisors Cleared the Records That Had Two Signatures Ready

Synchronization licensing was the fastest-growing line in the U.S. music business through June, reaching $232 million. Here is what a working artist has to control, sign and register before a music supervisor can spend any of it.

Artist Guide

Gary The Creator Sep 17, 2026

Spotify Announces Fresh Finds Forward to Support 10,000 Emerging Artists

Spotify's new program gives Fresh Finds artists a year of studio time, software and therapy. Here is how editors pick records and how to use the twelve months.

Artist Guide

Gary The Creator Sep 17, 2026

T.I. Skipped the AI Lawsuit Line and Bought Into the Training Data

T.I. has put money into pocstock, a Newark company that licenses rights-cleared images and video for AI training, while the music business is still settling its AI fights in court.

Artist Guide

Gary The Creator Sep 10, 2026

The Isley Brothers Formed in 1954: The Trademark Application Came in 2021, With One Name on It

A three-year fight over the most valuable name in soul music ended in August with the registration unchanged. Here is what filing an artist name actually costs, which classes decide what you own, and where applications die.

Artist Guide

Gary The Creator Sep 3, 2026

You Bought the Beat for Thirty Dollars: Here Is Everything You Did Not Buy

BeatStars has paid creators more than $450 million and standardized almost none of the contracts behind it. A working artist's guide to what a beat lease actually grants, where the publishing goes, and who gets sued over the sample.