Sources and methodology
Atlas preserves graph identities and adds editorial intelligence. Facts, historical context, interpretation, illustrative models and emerging scenarios are labeled at claim level. A current page is not proof that every statistic on it is current.
Coverage
Vinyl ring names in the repository: 172. Missing from intelligence: none. Vector nodes mapped: 78 / 78.
Editorial policy
- Do not tell every band to create an LLC or promise incorporation eliminates liability.
- Do not say every songwriter automatically loses half their royalties without a publishing company. The MLC permits self-administered writers to join as individuals (U.S. digital mechanicals).
- A W-9, W-4, invoice or contract title does not determine U.S. federal employment status by itself.
- Deductible spend is not a dollar-for-dollar tax cut.
- Historical sponsorship percentages and upload volumes stay historical unless a dated primary source updates them.
- Registration, identifiers, cue sheets, fingerprints and identity checks do not prove ownership or grant a license.
- Numeric BLS wage/outlook figures are withheld until vintages are reconciled. Hourly statistics are never annualized into assumed full-time freelance income.
- Drafts are not published because a generator finished a paragraph. This layer is educational, not legal, medical, tax or investment advice.
Vector modeled scores
Modeled teaching score, not a fact about a real person or company. net = valueCreated − valueExtracted − round(EFS × 0.25). Value created is contributionAxis×100 when positive; extracted is the absolute axis when negative. EFS is a stub. Not used to rank careers or human worth.
VCI and EFS stubs remain in Vector methodology views only. They are not default career guidance and cannot rank human worth. Creator-share coloring is a position heuristic.
Glossary
- Composition vs recording
- The musical work (melody, lyrics, arrangement as a work) is distinct from a particular sound recording. Different people may own or administer each, in different territories.
- Administration vs ownership
- Owning a share of a work is not the same as being hired to register, license or account for it. Self-administered writers can join some collection systems as individuals.
- Mandate
- The documented authority a society, publisher or agent has to license or collect for specified rights, territories and periods. A listing is not automatically a worldwide mandate.
- Recoupment
- An advance or cost that is recovered from later receipts under a contract. It is not extra unencumbered earnings, and it is not a universal formula.
- Clearance
- Permission for a specific use, obtained from the parties who actually control those rights. Metadata completeness, fingerprint matches or identity verification do not grant a license.
- Provenance
- Evidence of origin, versions and contributions. Useful for credit and disputes; it is not conclusive ownership or permission to train a model.
- How people get paid
- Payment can be a fee, salary, royalty, commission, grant, settlement or a mix. Atlas shows modeled examples with assumptions. Contract, territory and use change outcomes.
- VCI / EFS
- Modeled Vector scores (value-creation and friction stubs) used only inside Vector methodology. They are not facts about a real person or company and are not used to rank careers.
- Category membership vs relationship
- Being on the same Atlas ring means a shared artist-centered category, not that those people work together or that the ring is a career ladder.
- Illustrative scenario
- A teaching model or proposed market, labeled as such. Existence of a category is not proof that a particular system is deployed.
Capability registry
- Artist discovery and catalog listening (available) — Parent site describes discovery, catalog listening, live-event information and fan following as available sign-in paths. Verified 2026-09-16. Destination
- Identity access (available) — Parent site describes identity access as an available sign-in path. This is not proof of music-rights ownership. Verified 2026-09-16. Destination
- Rights and catalog information (in development) — Parent site describes rights/catalog information as in development. Information organization is separate from adjudicating ownership. Verified 2026-09-16. Destination
- Memberships and commerce (in development) — Parent site describes memberships and commerce as in development. Verified 2026-09-16. Destination
- Licensing and sync routing (planned) — Parent site describes licensing/sync routing as planned. Verified 2026-09-16. Destination
- TRN Direct-to-Fan overlay (educational overlay) — Vector overlay node explaining a proposed direct relationship path. Educational overlay, not measured take rates. Verified 2026-09-16.
- TRN Rights Graph overlay (educational overlay) — Vector overlay for organizing rights information. Not an ownership ruling or license. Verified 2026-09-16.
- TRN AI Rights Layer overlay (educational overlay) — Proposed workflow and dependencies for AI-related rights. Not live licensing infrastructure. Verified 2026-09-16.
- Keyra Verified Trust overlay (educational overlay) — Architecture overlay for a verified identity assertion. No fraudless promise. Integration status is educational until a live adapter exists. Verified 2026-09-16.
- Keyra Consent Attestation overlay (educational overlay) — Evidence of an authorized action is distinct from proof that every underlying right exists. Verified 2026-09-16.
- Atlas education (this product) (available) — Career and industry intelligence usable without an account. Optional local plans stay on the device unless a future account path is connected. Verified 2026-09-16. Destination
Source register
- S1 Live Atlas public interface observation — The Raw Network Atlas, accessed 2026-09-16. Browser observation of rings, counts, overlays and selected-node displays. Not a backend audit. Link
- S2 The Raw Network parent site — brand and public capability statements — The Raw Network, published 2026-09-09, accessed 2026-09-16. Public marketing/status copy. Backend availability not independently tested. Link
- S3 IFPI Global Music Report 2026 announcement (2025 recorded-music market) — IFPI, published 2026-03-18, accessed 2026-09-16. Recorded-music market figures for 2025, announced 18 March 2026. Not total music-industry turnover or artist take-home income. Link
- S4 Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, Part 2 — copyrightability — U.S. Copyright Office, published 2025-01, accessed 2026-09-16. U.S. copyrightability position. Not a worldwide rule on training, likeness, contracts or infringement.
- S5 How The MLC works; individual membership for self-administered writers — The Mechanical Licensing Collective, accessed 2026-09-16. U.S. digital mechanical scope. Self-administered writers may join as individuals. Not other royalty types.
- S6 BMI Royalty Policy Manual — BMI, published 2025-08-18, accessed 2026-09-16. Society-specific context. Not universal royalty division.
- S7 Independent contractor or employee — Internal Revenue Service, accessed 2026-09-16. U.S. federal tax classification factors. Does not settle all employment-law or international questions.
- S8 DDEX Recording Information Notification (RIN) — DDEX, accessed 2026-09-16. Studio-session contributor metadata exchange. Atlas does not implement RIN solely because this guide explains it.
- S9 Music Creators FAQs — IMRO, accessed 2026-09-16. Irish creator-rights and collection context. Do not generalize to other territories.
- S10 Digital performance royalties for sound recordings — SoundExchange, accessed 2026-09-16. Defined U.S. statutory recording-performance context. Not every streaming or neighboring-rights payment worldwide.
- S11 Music Bursary Round 2 — Arts Council Ireland, accessed 2026-09-16. Inspected status Closed; maximum award shown as €20,000. Dated funding example, not an open opportunity.
- S12 Musicians and Singers occupational profile — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 2026-09-16. Conflicting 2024/2024–34 and 2025/2025–35 vintages observed. Numeric wage/outlook withheld. Variable schedules inform design only.
- S13 Managing crowds safely — Health and Safety Executive, accessed 2026-09-16. UK reference on responsibility and coordination. Not a worldwide regulatory standard or operational tactics guide.
- S14 Berklee Career Communities — Berklee College of Music, accessed 2026-09-16. Further exploration link. Not an endorsement or claimed partnership with Atlas.
- H1 Audience and merchandise (Chris Wares) — Berklee Online Music Business Digital Handbook (internal editorial source), published 2025-12, accessed 2026-09-16. Paraphrased teaching material. Not published in full. No implied Berklee affiliation.
- H2 Management and leadership (Ardie Farhadieh) — Berklee Online Music Business Digital Handbook (internal editorial source), published 2025-12, accessed 2026-09-16. Paraphrased teaching material. Not published in full.
- H3 Integrity and intellectual property — Berklee Online Music Business Digital Handbook (internal editorial source), published 2025-12, accessed 2026-09-16. Historical personal account; not proof of infringement or a current legal outcome.
- H4 Funding (Roya Hu) — Berklee Online Music Business Digital Handbook (internal editorial source), published 2025-12, accessed 2026-09-16. Paraphrased teaching material. Grant windows change; check current eligibility.
- H5 Band operations (Leah Waldo) — Berklee Online Music Business Digital Handbook (internal editorial source), published 2025-12, accessed 2026-09-16. Paraphrased with corrections: entity choice, royalty splits, employment status and tax are jurisdictional.
- H6 Branding and partnerships (John Kellogg; Jamal Dauda) — Berklee Online Music Business Digital Handbook (internal editorial source), published 2025-12, accessed 2026-09-16. Historical sponsorship examples remain labeled historical.
- H7 Media convergence (Jeanine Cowen) — Berklee Online Music Business Digital Handbook (internal editorial source), published 2025-12, accessed 2026-09-16. Paraphrased teaching material.
- H8 Career mobility (Pat Healy interview with Janet Billig Rich) — Berklee Online Music Business Digital Handbook (internal editorial source), published 2025-12, accessed 2026-09-16. Exceptional biography is not a repeatable promise. Unpaid labor is not the default route.
- H9 Learning and mentorship — Berklee Online Music Business Digital Handbook (internal editorial source), published 2025-12, accessed 2026-09-16. Paraphrased teaching material.
- E1 Atlas editorial career guidance — The Raw Network Atlas, accessed 2026-09-16. Role tasks, portfolio exercises and 7/30/90 plans are editorial recommendations, not measured hiring forecasts.
Handbook modules H1–H9 are an internal editorial source (Berklee Online Music Business Digital Handbook). Atlas does not publish the PDF, photographs, large excerpts or the Berklee logo, and does not claim affiliation.