If you only do five things
In this order. Every one of them is free, none of them needs us, and together they are most of the difference between a career that collects and one that does not.
1. Join a PRO and register everything
freeIncluding the back catalogue. It pays forward from the date you file, so every day this waits is money that stops being recoverable.
2. Register with The MLC
freeDifferent organisation, different cheque, same songs. An evening for a whole catalogue.
3. Register with SoundExchange, as both roles
freeFeatured artist and rights owner are two separate claims on the same play.
4. Write down every split, including the old ones
freeWho wrote what, and who owns the recording. Two separate percentages. Start with anything already released, then never leave a session without one.
5. Find out exactly what you own
freeRead every agreement you have ever signed, including the ones that were a text message. Write down, per song, who holds the master. Not knowing is functionally the same as not owning, and it becomes urgent the moment something works.
That is the whole list, and none of it is ours to sell.
Everything above this line is free, and you can do all of it alone with an evening and a strong coffee. If a company offers to do it for a permanent cut, that list is what they are charging you for. We would genuinely rather you did it yourself tonight than paid anybody, including us.
What is actually hard is not the knowing. It is the doing it every single time, for every release, forever, while also making the music. That is where people fall down, and it is not a knowledge problem, so no handbook fixes it.
That part is what ARIA is. A studio in Ormond Beach, a room of people making records who will tell you the truth about a mix, and the software we built for exactly this: a planner that emails you before a deadline instead of after, a catalogue that counts your gaps, split sheets you can hand somebody, and a tool that prices what you are not collecting from your own statements. Members of the collective get all of it, free.
Each figure was verified against at least five independent sources, and where those sources disagreed we have said so and given the wider range rather than picking the flattering end. Where a hard statutory anchor exists, such as the Copyright Royalty Board's Phonorecords IV rate, the SoundExchange distribution formula or the published PRO fees, we have used it in preference to any industry estimate. Rates move every year. If you are reading this long after that date, treat the percentages as sound and the dollar figures as indicative.
Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice, and none of it creates a professional relationship. Rates, statutory splits, platform rules and organisation fees all move, and everything above was accurate to the best of our knowledge when written. Laws differ by country and this is written from a United States starting point. For anything with real money attached, pay a lawyer for an hour: it costs far less than signing the wrong thing, and section seven has the going rate. If something here is wrong, tell us on the Board and it gets fixed.
Open the Board to read what people have asked.
All nine sections, one link each, sent now. Then one section every few days for two weeks: five short emails, and then they stop. One click stops them sooner. After that, the only email you get is if we correct something that matters.
Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice. Rates, statutory splits, platform rules and organisation fees all move, and every figure was checked in September 2026 against at least five independent sources. This is written from a United States starting point. If something is wrong, tell us on the Board and it gets fixed. A word you do not know is in the glossary.