Progress calculates from linked Projects & Tasks. You won't have to guess whether you're on track or not — it'll show you.
09.03.2026 22:11
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Progress calculates from linked Projects & Tasks. You won't have to guess whether you're on track or not — it'll show you.
I started structuring goals this way after realizing my ambitions were vague and my results matched.
The MUSIC OS templates use the OKR methodology as Goals (objective → key results). each objective & key result has baseline, current, target, and KPI unit (%, count, $, ratio).
I used to set goals like "grow my fanbase." here's why that never worked — there's no baseline, no target, no way to know if you're making progress.
"increase email list from 50 to 200 by April." that's measurable. baseline (50), target (200), KPI unit (count), deadline (Q2).
The money you're not collecting isn't non-existent or disappearing into thin air, it's sitting somewhere you haven't registered to receive it yet.
It's why this MUSIC OS Series I've been building includes a Societies reference database — PROs, CMOs, MROs — with CISAC codes and territory coverage. so you can see which organizations you should be registered with, not just the one you already know.
the MLC handles mechanical royalties from streaming. SoundExchange handles digital performance royalties in the US. CMOs handle neighboring rights across different territories globally.
I was registered with one organization and assumed that covered everything. it doesn't.
Something I didn't fully grasp until I mapped it out — your PRO only handles one type of royalty. performance royalties. that's it.
Now, I've built consent flags into the Fans data source in the MUSIC OS. Respect is infrastructure too.
Email consent. SMS consent. Data processing. Third-party sharing.
These are four separate permissions — and most artists are treating them as one or ignoring them entirely (I know I've been guilty of it).
but because their information was scattered.
Infrastructure shouldn't be a privilege reserved for labels. Indies deserve operational sovereignty too.
That's the whole point.
I didn't build The MUSIC OS because I love databases and despise spreadsheets.
I built it because I've watched too many talented artists lose money, lose opportunities, and lose collaborators — not because they weren't good enough,
When you use The MUSIC OS, you're not just using what I built.
You're also using what Notion built, and what every industry that depends on them is collectively funding. They have all the reason & resources to keep your infrastructure working & up to date.
A messy catalog isn't evidence that you're failing, It's evidence that you've been creating.
Disorganization is often the byproduct of productivity.
You were too busy creating things to build the structured containers for them. Now it's time to help you get clarity through digital infrastructure.
Twenty entries, and you can start asking questions your data can actually answer.
Infrastructure gains value through use, not intention.
You don't need to organize your entire catalog today.
Start with one song. Maintain it daily as a part of your workflow.
One entry teaches you the system. Five entries reveal patterns.
Your catalog isn't just music. It's an archaeological dig.
Every layer tells you something about who you were, what you built, and what you forgot to finish.
The question is whether you have a system for navigating those layers — or just a pile.
Took two weeks off because I was sick. The first thing I checked when I got back wasn't my streams, it was my system.
Everything was still organized. Nothing fell through the cracks. That's the whole point.
Before I open my email & get distracted, I try to write down the one thing.
Not a list. Just the one outcome that would make the day complete.
Some days I forget. Some days the one thing changes by noon. That's fine. The practice isn't about perfection. It's about returning to it.
The other not only tells you what to do about it, but makes it operational.
Relational infrastructure can tell you which ones have incomplete registrations, which collaborators are waiting on splits, and which recordings might be earning royalties you haven't collected.
One tells you what exists.
Spreadsheets store data sure, yet relational systems creates meaning from the connections between that data.
A spreadsheet can tell you how many songs you have.
Something that aligns with music industry standards out the gate, so you don’t have to wonder about what details you need. You’ll know, because there will be a place for it.
For those that DO need larger systems though, don’t worry, I’ll have you covered too.
Not every music artist needs massive systems with 80+ data sources (Some of you all do lol).
Some of you though, just need a place to put your music metadata that actually makes sense.
disputed — because I needed a way to know which songs I'd actually filed for and which ones were still sitting in someone else's pool.
The money sits in a pool. After three years unclaimed, it gets distributed to major publishers based on market share.
Your money. Their pockets.
That's why The MUSIC OS Template Series tracks MLC status per recording — unregistered, pending, registered,
Found out that the Mechanical Licensing Collective handles a completely separate royalty stream from what your PRO collects — mechanical royalties from streaming.
Registration is free. Takes about 15 minutes per song.
Most indie artists don't know this exists. The money sits in a pool.
Can a @NotionHQ custom agent schedule a meeting for you directly in Slack—like a real human assistant?
Heck Yea... Watch it 🤯
Custom Agents are 🥱 for me, but Notion also sneakily shipped deployable coding endpoints as "Workers" today as well. Something I've been asking for since ~2021. They're calling it an "extreme prerelease" so you probably shouldn't use it yet, but this shit is exciting!
There are others.
That's why I built a tracking field into the MUSIC OS Template Series for neighboring rights status per recording — so I always have reference to that in context of my music operations.
Different organizations. Different money.
In the US, SoundExchange handles digital performance royalties. Internationally, there are dedicated neighboring rights organizations per territory.
Most indie artists register with their PRO and stop there. That's one stream.
