Methodology

How earnings are modeled

Updated July 29, 2026

The estimates use conservative modeled ranges, not audited royalty statements. The goal is to make catalog economics legible without pretending to have access to private contracts.

What the estimates represent

• A published range must identify the public inputs used to create it and the source attached to each input.
• Gross activity and artist-side participation are kept separate only when the public evidence supports that distinction.
• Ownership context can explain where value may flow, but it cannot substitute for a private contract or royalty statement.
• When public evidence cannot support a range, the page remains a noindex catalog profile instead of a published estimate.

What makes a page ready for readers

A case study must answer a page-specific question with evidence a reader can inspect.

• It needs at least three substantive public sources across at least two evidence roles, such as primary records, independent reporting, and rights context.
• It needs a named editorial desk, review date, model inputs, assumptions, and at least two specific limitations.
• Platform and artist-homepage links may support identity, but do not qualify a financial claim.
• Pages with incomplete research remain available for navigation but are noindex and excluded from the sitemap.

How source labels should be read

• Primary record links point to public agencies, registries, or rightsholder disclosures.
• Independent reporting links document public commercial context without being treated as a royalty statement.
• Rights context links explain how a relevant music-rights system works.
• Identity context links confirm public artist or track identity and cannot qualify an estimate by themselves.
• No source label is read as proof of a private royalty statement unless the source itself discloses royalty data.

How rankings work

• Rankings are not published while the underlying case studies are in the research queue.
• A future ranking will include only pages that meet the same evidence and documentation standard.
• Any future comparison remains editorial context, not a substitute for accounting data.

What still introduces uncertainty

• Legacy contract terms are rarely public.
• Catalog-sale details can materially alter the performer or estate share.
• Streaming mix, geography, and licensing activity change over time.
• Platform-reported play counts do not map cleanly to take-home earnings, so an unsupported range is not published.