An independent label with six acts is not a big artist. It is a catalog business with six brands attached, and the tools that serve one artist well fall apart at six. This is the stack a small label needs in 2026, category by category, with what to keep separate and what to run from one place.
Start with the catalog, not the marketing
Most indie label tool stacks are built in the order the problems showed up: a distributor on day one, a Mailchimp when the first release needed announcing, a Canva when the first press kit was due, a spreadsheet when the first royalty statement looked light. Two years later the label has eleven subscriptions, nobody knows which spreadsheet is current, and the same recording is carrying two ISRC codes because a re-upload happened during a distributor switch.
Build it the other way. The catalog is the asset. Everything else, press kits, socials, stores, email, is a way of putting the catalog in front of people. So the first tool decision is where every song’s data lives, and the answer has to be: one place, with the rights data attached to the song.
Category one: the catalog, with rights data on every song
Per song you need the audio, the artwork, and the data that gets you paid: ISRC for the recording, ISWC for the composition once it exists, the album UPC, every writer with their share, every publisher with theirs, PRO and IPI numbers for each, plus producer, engineer and performer credits. If any of that lives only in a distributor dashboard, it is not yours in any useful sense.
Three rules a label should hold itself to:
- One code per recording, forever. Own your ISRC registrant code rather than letting the distributor assign codes; the ISRC guide covers the one-time application. A duplicated code fragments streams and never heals.
- Splits signed before release. A split sheet is one page. Enter the exact percentages on the song the day it is signed, and register the same numbers at the PRO and The MLC.
- Writer and publisher affiliations recorded, not remembered. Which PRO each writer belongs to and which publisher entity collects for them decides where the money goes; the PRO comparison has the signing checklist.
In Artist Results the catalog does this per artist: every song carries its ISRC, ISWC, UPC, writers and publishers with splits, PRO and IPI numbers and credits, with the audio, video and artwork in secure cloud storage next to it. Label staff reach every act’s catalog through one login, described on the Artist Results for Labels page.
Category two: distribution, kept separate
Your distributor is a utility. It moves files to the DSPs and pays you. It should not be your catalog of record, your press kit or your rights database, because the day you switch distributors you will find out how much of your business lived inside their dashboard. The distributor comparison goes through the options; the label rule is simpler than the choice: pick one, keep your own codes, and keep your catalog data somewhere the distributor cannot take with it.
Category three: one press kit standard for every act
A booker or a supervisor who opens two of your artists’ kits should recognize the same label behind them. Same sections in the same order, a play button above the fold, live numbers rather than a screenshot from last quarter, one contact. The EPK guide covers what goes in each section. For a label the point is the standard: decide it once and hold every signing to it in their first week.
A live EPK, one link per artist, with streaming and social numbers pulled from the artist’s connected accounts, does this without anyone re-exporting a PDF. Custom colors, fonts and logo on every page, so each act still looks like itself.
Category four: a store per act, paying out to the label
Merch is often the largest revenue line after streaming for a touring act, and for a label it is the one revenue line that does not route through a distributor or a society. The tool question is whether each act’s store pays out cleanly and whether you can tell whose money arrived. A deposit that lands in the bank with no store name on it is a reconciliation problem every month.
Artist Results gives each artist a store; fans buy directly, the store keeps about 98.5% of every sale, and payouts go to the connected bank account with the store’s name on the deposit. The merch strategies guide covers what to sell and when.
Category five: social and fans, per act, from one place
Six acts on five networks is thirty logins if you do it natively. The label rule from the artist-side guides holds: one platform done well per act beats five done thinly, and the platform differs by act. What the label needs is scheduled posting and a campaign that keeps running between releases (Platinum and Diamond plans), fan capture forms and a contact list that belongs to the artist (Diamond), and one inbox for fan comments across platforms, all reachable by staff without shared passwords.
The fan list belongs to the act, not the label. When a deal ends, and some do, the list should stay with the artist. Structuring it that way from day one avoids the argument later.
Category six: staff access
This is the category labels usually skip and then pay for. Shared passwords across six artist accounts fail the first time someone leaves. What you want is a staff login that reaches every act’s workspace, with the access removable in one step and nothing moving when it is.
Every Artist Results plan includes manager accounts (one on Gold and Platinum, two on Diamond); your staff are added as managers on each act’s account, and one login lists every act in a hub: pick an act, press Continue, work in its workspace, exit, pick the next. There is no per-seat charge for label staff; the label pays per artist, per plan.
What the stack looks like on paper
| Category | Owned by | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Catalog with rights data | The artist's account, reached by staff | One code per recording; splits and affiliations on the song |
| Distribution | The label's distributor account | A utility, never the catalog of record |
| Press kits | The artist's account | One standard, live numbers, one link |
| Stores | The artist's store, paying out to the connected bank | Store name on every deposit |
| Social and fans | The artist's account | One platform done well; the list stays with the act |
| Staff access | Manager accounts on each plan | Removable in one step; nothing moves |
Six categories, and four of them live in the artist’s own account with the label’s staff working inside it. That is deliberate. A label that owns its acts’ catalogs and lists outright has a bigger legal file than a label that owns the masters and the contracts and lets the software hold the work.
Signing an act: the first-week list
- Account created on the plan that fits the act; label staff added as managers.
- Every released song in the catalog with ISRC, ISWC, UPC, writers, publishers, splits and credits. Missing codes on a list, not in the kit.
- PRO and publisher affiliations confirmed for every writer; The MLC and SoundExchange registrations checked.
- Bio in the label’s format, EPK reviewed against the standard, link in every pitch template.
- Socials connected so the kit’s numbers are live; posting scheduled for the first month.
- Store set up if there is anything to sell, payouts connected.
- Added to the label’s weekly pass, so the act gets attention in the 48 weeks it is not releasing.
What we are not claiming
Artist Results does not distribute, does not collect royalties and does not register songs with the societies today. Registration with ASCAP, BMI and SOCAN from inside the catalog is in build, and we will say so plainly when it ships. Until then the catalog holds the data you register with, and the guides above cover doing it yourself.
FAQ
Is Artist Results a distributor or a label services company?
Neither. It is software for labels and their artists. Keep your distributor; run the catalog, press kits, marketing and stores here.
Can the label own the artist accounts?
Each act’s account is its own; label staff work inside it as managers. Your contracts with the act govern the rest.
What does it cost for a roster?
Per artist, per plan: Gold $15.99 a month or $95.88 a year, Platinum $25 or $239.40, Diamond $49.95 or $479.52. Staff logins are included as manager accounts. For rosters of ten or more, talk to us.
Do merch payouts tell us which act they belong to?
Each store’s payouts carry the store’s name on the bank deposit.
Does it register our songs with the PROs?
Not yet. It holds every field a registration needs; the registration step is in build.
The bottom line
An independent label’s tool stack is six categories, not eleven subscriptions. Put the catalog and its rights data first, keep distribution as a utility, hold every act to one press kit standard, give each store a name on its deposits, keep fans with the artist, and give staff one login. Artist Results for Labels is built around that shape. Start your first act’s free 7-day trial and add your staff as managers.