Artyfile Own 100% of Your Masters.
Share Up to 20% With Your Fans.
Your master rights stay 100% yours — plain-language contract, non-exclusive, leave anytime. And when you choose to, you can offer up to 20 numbered shares of a track (1% each, €69.90 per share) to the fans who already love your music. You receive 85% of every sale upfront — up to €1,188.30 per track — with nothing to recoup, ever. One-time €9.90 per track. Never a subscription.
What does “owning your masters” actually mean?
Your master is the original recording of your song — the asset every stream, sync placement, and licence pays out from. Labels traditionally take it in exchange for an advance; many artists never get it back. With Artyfile, ownership never moves: you keep 100% of your master rights, on a plain-language contract that is non-exclusive — you can license your music elsewhere, sample it, or leave whenever you want. Only the streaming distribution itself runs exclusively through Artyfile while a track is active, which is how our flat 15% commission is collected at source. Your songwriting and publishing are never touched. And because you own the whole master, you can decide to share a slice of it: up to 20% per track, offered to your fans as numbered Fan Limited Edition shares recorded in the Artyfile ownership register.
How the ownership register works
Three steps from submission to a master you fully own — with fans as co-owners only if, and when, you say so.
- 01
Get accepted, then release
Apply with your track — free, you pay only if accepted. After our A&R review you submit a studio-quality WAV and pay a one-time €9.90 (or €39 for an album of up to 10 tracks). Your music goes live on the channels you choose, and 100% of the master stays yours.
- 02
Activate a Fan Limited Edition — if you want
Editions are off by default; only you can switch one on, and activation is free. Up to 20 numbered shares of a track — 1% of the master each, at €69.90 per share — go on offer on artyfile.com. Every share is entered in the Artyfile ownership register, the way a fine-art publisher keeps the register of a numbered print run: numbered share, personal PDF certificate, no wallet, no crypto.
- 03
Get paid upfront — fans earn alongside you
You receive 85% of every share sale immediately — up to €1,188.30 for a fully sold edition — with no recoupment, ever. Your fans receive quarterly payouts on their share of the track’s revenue: an honest bonus of ownership, never a promised return — it may be zero. You always keep at least 80% of the master and every decision.
A label advance vs. a fan edition
Labels buy your masters and lend you your own money. A Fan Limited Edition brings capital from the people who want you to win.
| Label advance | Artyfile Fan Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns your masters? | The label — often forever | You — 100%, or at least 80% if you sell a full edition |
| Upfront money | An advance you pay back before earning a cent | Up to €1,188.30 per track — nothing to recoup, ever |
| Who decides? | The label controls releases and direction | You keep every creative and business decision |
| Who shares the upside? | The label and its shareholders | The fans who already love your music |
| Can you leave? | Locked in for years | Ownership is non-exclusive — leave anytime |
Turn fans into co-owners — without losing control
Merch monetises attention. Crowdfunding sells promises. A Fan Limited Edition offers something real: registered co-ownership of a master recording, in an edition of at most 20. Your most dedicated fans get a numbered share, a personal certificate, and quarterly payouts on the track’s revenue — while you collect 85% of every sale upfront and stay fully in charge. It is patronage with substance, not a financial product.
- ✓You always keep at least 80% of the master — and every decision
- ✓Fans get numbered shares, personal PDF certificates, and quarterly payouts on their share
- ✓Payouts are a bonus of ownership, never a promised return — they may be zero
- ✓Entirely optional: off by default, free to activate, only you switch it on
One fair price — editions included
Distribution is a one-time payment. Fan Limited Editions cost nothing to activate — Artyfile simply takes its flat 15% commission on each share sold, like on every other revenue stream.
Single €9.90 per track, one-time · Album €39 for up to 10 tracks (€3.90 per track). Fan Limited Editions are optional and free to activate: up to 20 numbered shares per track at €69.90 each, 85% of every sale to you — up to €1,188.30 per track, upfront, with no recoupment.
Music-ownership FAQ
Do I really own 100% of my masters with Artyfile?
Yes. Your master rights stay entirely yours, on a plain-language contract — Artyfile never takes ownership of your recordings. The agreement is non-exclusive on ownership: you can license your music elsewhere, sample it, or leave whenever you want. Only the streaming distribution runs exclusively through Artyfile while your track is active, which is how our flat 15% commission is collected at source. Your songwriting and publishing are never touched.
How does the Artyfile ownership register work?
The register is maintained by Artyfile the way a fine-art publisher keeps the edition register of a numbered print run. When you activate a Fan Limited Edition, each sold share — 1% of the master, numbered from an edition of at most 20 — is entered in the register, and the buyer receives a personal PDF ownership certificate. Holders get quarterly payouts on their share, and transfers are handled through Artyfile support. No wallet, no crypto, no tokens — just a clear, authoritative record of who owns what.
Why a maximum of 20 shares per track?
Two reasons. Scarcity: an edition of 20 makes each numbered share genuinely rare — like a limited fine-art print run. And responsibility: the cap keeps every edition inside the small-offering exemptions of German investment law, so fan editions stay a simple, transparent product instead of a regulated financial instrument. Fan payouts are an honest bonus of ownership, never a promised return.
What do fans actually get when they buy a share?
A registered 1% co-ownership share of that specific master recording, for €69.90: a numbered entry in the Artyfile ownership register, a personal PDF certificate, and quarterly payouts on that share of the track’s revenue. What they do not get is control — creative rights, release decisions, and your catalogue stay entirely with you. And payouts are a bonus of ownership, not a promised return: they may be zero.
What happens if I leave Artyfile?
You take your music with you — your masters were never ours, and ownership is non-exclusive, so there is nothing to buy back and no notice period drama. If you sold Fan Limited Edition shares, those remain valid: your fans’ registered co-ownership of that master continues, along with their quarterly payouts on it. Everything you did not sell — always at least 80% — stays 100% yours, wherever you go.
Is this “GEMA-frei” music?
No. Artyfile music is registered with GEMA and other collecting societies for worldwide monitoring. Sync and master rights are managed directly by Artyfile, so licensees pay no additional GEMA fees — but composers remain GEMA members and writer royalties keep flowing through your society. This is not “GEMA-frei” music.
Didn’t Artyfile use NFTs and blockchain?
We used to — and we replaced it. Artyfile’s ownership model now runs on a plain, legally robust ownership register maintained by Artyfile, with numbered shares and personal certificates: the same fan co-ownership, zero crypto. No wallets, no gas fees, no tokens. Shares recorded on a blockchain under the earlier model remain valid and are fully mirrored in the register, which is authoritative.
Keep everything. Share what you choose.
Apply free, pass our A&R review, and release a master that is 100% yours — with the option to turn your most dedicated fans into co-owners, on your terms, for a one-time €9.90.