Billions in royalties were systematically stripped from Black artists during Jim Crow. BLK Music uses copyright law, publishing technology, and legal advocacy to recover what was stolen — and build what the industry never gave you.
"They took our music and gave us pennies. We built this platform so that never happens again." — Founder, BLK Music
During Jim Crow, Black artists — the inventors of jazz, blues, R&B, and rock 'n' roll — were locked into predatory contracts that stripped them of publishing rights, master ownership, and ongoing royalties. Labels signed them for pennies and collected fortunes.
This wasn't incidental. ASCAP formally excluded Black composers from membership for 26 years. Standard "race record" contracts paid flat session fees with zero royalty rights. Work-for-hire language buried deep in agreements permanently severed artists from their own creation.
That extraction continues today — through unmatched digital royalties, unregistered estates, and an industry that profits from Black music while Black artists remain locked out of the publishing and licensing infrastructure that generates wealth.
BLK Music exists to close that gap — permanently. Through copyright technology, legal advocacy, direct distribution, and financial infrastructure built specifically for artists who've been systematically excluded from the system.
These cases and statistics are drawn from court records, investigative journalism, academic research, and industry reports. This is not ancient history — the mechanisms that enable this theft remain operational today.
Wrote and recorded "Hound Dog" in 1952 — #1 R&B for 7 weeks. Thornton received a reported flat fee. Elvis Presley's 1956 cover sold over 10 million copies. Royalties from Leiber & Stoller's composition flowed to RCA and their publishers for decades — none to Thornton.
"Maybellene" (1955) was credited to Leonard Chess and DJ Alan Freed as co-writers — neither contributed creatively. Berry lost approximately one-third of publishing royalties for decades on one of rock's most covered songs. He eventually sued and reclaimed rights, but lost years of income.
Signed to Specialty Records at $0.005 per record — below statutory mechanical rate. Signed away all publishing rights. "Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally," and "Good Golly Miss Molly" generated hundreds of millions in licensing over 60 years. Richard stated publicly he received under $10,000 in his first decade.
Johnson's 29 recordings for Vocalion Records were sold, reissued, and licensed by Columbia Records for decades. The 1961 LP introduced Johnson to millions. His descendants received no royalties for over 40 years. Columbia earned millions from catalog reissues before any estate settlement was reached.
Widely credited with inventing the electric guitar technique that became rock 'n' roll, Tharpe signed standard "race music" contracts giving Decca full publishing rights for flat session fees. Her recordings generated licensing revenue for decades. She died in 1973 with medical debt.
Signed with Imperial Records with all publishing rights surrendered. "Blueberry Hill," "Ain't That a Shame," and 35 top-10 hits generated enormous licensing revenue. Domino received performance royalties only — no publishing share. Imperial's Lew Chudd retained all publishing until the label's sale.
Without copyright registration, you cannot sue for statutory damages. Without PRO registration, your performance royalties disappear. Without MLC and SoundExchange registration, your digital royalties go unmatched — into a pool that may never reach you.
Registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is the single most important step a musician can take. It must happen before or within 3 months of publication to preserve your right to statutory damages and attorney's fees — making enforcement against major labels practically possible.
You need four separate registrations to capture all revenue streams: the Copyright Office for legal enforcement, a PRO (ASCAP or BMI) for performance royalties, The MLC for streaming mechanicals, and SoundExchange for digital radio. Most artists lose at least two of these income streams entirely.
For artists or families with pre-1989 catalog, termination rights under §203 allow reclaiming ownership regardless of what the original contract said. This right cannot be contracted away — but fewer than 5% of eligible artists file the notice.
Protects the recorded master audio. The copyright labels historically stripped from Black artists. Register every master. Required for streaming and sync protection.
Protects the underlying song — melody and lyrics. Register separately from the recording. Covers covers, samples, and sync licenses for the composition itself.
Protects original album and single artwork. Required for full IP portfolio protection, especially for merchandise and commercial licensing.
If you signed away rights before 1978, reclaim them 35 years after transfer. Cannot be waived by any contract. File a Notice of Termination. This is how you get your masters back.
File at copyright.gov. Upload a deposit copy of the master audio. Fee: $65. Registration is retroactive to filing date. File immediately after completing a master — statutory damages require registration before or within 3 months of first publication.
File a separate "Performing Arts" claim for the composition. List all co-writers with exact percentage splits. This is what protects you when others cover, sample, or license your song for film, TV, or ads. copyright.gov/registration/performing-arts
Choose one PRO. ASCAP ($50 one-time, writer-owned cooperative) or BMI (free for songwriters). Register every song by title, ISWC, co-writers, and splits. Without this, performance royalties from streaming, radio, TV, and venues disappear entirely.
themlc.com collects digital mechanical royalties from Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube Music, and every interactive streaming service. Free to register. Without it, your mechanical royalties join the $424M unmatched pool. Claim your share before others do.
SoundExchange collects digital performance royalties from Pandora, SiriusXM, iHeart, and internet radio. Register as both Artist AND Rights Owner if you own your masters. Free. $300M+ currently unclaimed annually.
The International Standard Recording Code uniquely identifies each master across all platforms. Self-assign free at usisrc.org, or get them through your distributor. Without an ISRC, royalty systems cannot match streams to your recording — your plays go unattributed.
Every co-writer, producer, and featured artist must sign a written split sheet before release. Verbal agreements are unenforceable. Use Songspace or a formal written agreement. The moment a song earns revenue, undocumented collaborators can claim retroactive rights in court.
If you or a family member signed away rights before 1989, you may reclaim them. File a Notice of Termination at copyright.gov/termination-of-transfers. This right cannot be waived by any contract language whatsoever. Many entertainment attorneys handle estate cases on contingency.
Writer-owned, non-profit cooperative. Distributes performance royalties from radio, TV, live venues, streaming. $50 one-time fee. Publishes full royalty rate schedule. Best for artists who want transparency and co-op ownership.
ascap.com →Free for songwriters. Founded in 1939 partly to serve artists excluded by ASCAP. Distributes performance royalties. Historically more accessible to independent and Black artists. Cannot belong to both ASCAP and BMI as a writer.
bmi.com →Collects digital audio performance royalties from Pandora, SiriusXM, internet radio, and cable TV music channels. Pays both the sound recording rights owner and featured artists directly. Register separately as each. Free.
soundexchange.com →Collects mechanical royalties from all interactive streaming and downloads — Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube Music. Created by the Music Modernization Act (2018). $424M currently unmatched. Free to register.
themlc.com →Collects mechanical royalties from physical sales (CDs, vinyl), digital downloads, and ringtones. Now part of SESAC. Essential if your music is on physical formats or older download platforms.
harryfox.com →Third major US PRO. Invite-only but known for higher per-play rates and aggressive licensing. Owns Harry Fox. Worth pursuing for artists with significant catalog. Distributes from broadcast, streaming, and digital use.
sesac.com →Before Spotify gets your music, you should own it, protect it, and deliver it on your terms. Every DSP has specific technical, metadata, and legal requirements. Failures are rejected without explanation. This is the full spec.
| Specification | Minimum Required | Recommended | Critical Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| File Format | WAV, AIFF | FLAC (lossless) | Never MP3 source files. Distributors transcode for delivery. |
| Sample Rate | 44,100 Hz | 48,000 Hz | Never upsample from a lower rate. Use original session rate. |
| Bit Depth | 16-bit | 24-bit | Apple Music Lossless requires 24-bit. Higher dynamic range. |
| Integrated Loudness | No minimum | –14 LUFS | Spotify, Apple, TIDAL normalize to –14 LUFS. Louder is turned down. |
| True Peak Ceiling | –1.0 dBFS | –1.0 dBFS hard ceiling | Exceeding causes clipping during AAC/Ogg codec conversion. |
| Cover Art Size | 3000×3000 px | 4000×4000 px | Square only. JPEG or PNG. RGB color space — never CMYK. |
| Cover Art Content | Original artwork | No text, URLs, or logos | Apple and Spotify reject art containing website URLs or social handles. |
| ISRC | Required by all DSPs | Self-register at USISRC.org | One ISRC per master. Never reuse for a new recording. |
| UPC Barcode | Required per release | Via distributor or GS1 | One UPC per album or single. Each release needs its own UPC. |
| ℗-Line | Required | ℗ [Year] [Rights Owner] | Sound recording copyright. Must match SoundExchange registration name. |
| ©-Line | Required | © [Year] [Publisher/Writer] | Composition copyright. Must match PRO and MLC registration name. |
| Title Metadata | Match registered copyright | No all-caps or symbols | Inconsistent titles cause royalty matching failures across systems. |
Track copyrights, royalty streams, compliance tasks, and platform distribution — all connected live to your account through Supabase.
The music business extracts value at every stage. These practices close the gaps that labels and publishers exploit.
Register free and claim your seat at the table the industry never set for you. Copyright protection, royalty tracking, distribution, and legal advocacy — in one platform.