Source-backed case studies are now the editorial front door
The site now leads with reviewed articles that show public sources, analysis, and evidence limits instead of treating catalog records as finished reporting.
Browse case studiesSite Updates
Latest updates
Use this page as the site log. To explore music rights research, start with case studies or search the catalog rather than reading the changelog first.
This is a reader-facing record of meaningful public changes, not an automatic feed of every repository commit.
Update Log
32documented site changes
Since April2026 public launch
Current Direction
What has changed most
Catalog research and published reporting are kept separate
Artist and song profiles remain useful for browsing, but pages without sufficient documented context stay out of search indexing and advertising.
Read the editorial policyReader trust information is now easier to verify
Publisher details, a responsible editor, visible source standards, and a corrections route are available from the public site.
About How Much MusicChange Types
What this log covers
Only meaningful public changes are recorded. Routine catalog imports and small copy edits are grouped into the nearest relevant entry rather than presented as separate releases.
Release · 5Major public milestones or new site sections.
New · 10New public articles, pages, or reader features.
Updated · 14Meaningful improvements to content, navigation, or standards.
Fixed · 3Corrections to publication scope, discovery, or interface behavior.
Recent Log
Newest changes first
The most recent direction stays visible here; the launch history remains available below.
Release
How Much Music became an open-source archive
Moved the project into maintenance mode with no scheduled publishing cadence. Added public software and content licenses, contributor and security guidance, a visible archive status, and removed advertising and Google Analytics while retaining aggregate Cloudflare analytics.
Updated
Homepage now leads with public-record music research
Reframed the homepage around source-backed questions, rights context, and evidence rather than implied estimate discovery. Added direct routes into the case-study research areas and updated the About page to reflect the site's editorial focus.
New
Evidence Library and case-study topics added
Published a browsable index of the public source links used by case studies, including the scope and limits of each source role. Case studies can now be filtered by their editorial question, such as seasonal demand, rights, film, recognition, and public earnings questions.
New
Music Rights Map and seasonal-demand guide published
Added two source-led explainers: a visual guide to the recording and musical-work rights paths, and a guide to what recurring seasonal chart and certification context can, and cannot, show about a song's value.
New
Three source-backed music-rights case studies published
Added research records for Avicii, B.B. King, and Black Eyed Peas. Each article documents a narrow public record and states why chart, certification, or recognition evidence does not verify royalties, ownership, or personal income.
Fixed
Catalog publication surface tightened
Unreviewed artist and song profiles now present basic catalog facts rather than generic earnings language. Duplicate reviewed collection views were kept available to visitors but removed from search indexing, and directory limits now explain how to browse the full catalog.
Updated
Updates page rebuilt as a curated public log
Replaced the automated catalog activity feed with a reader-facing record of significant additions, improvements, and fixes.
New
Amy Winehouse research case study published
Published a source-backed article on the public record around Back to Black, separating documented recognition from claims about royalties, ownership, or personal income that public sources cannot verify.
Updated
Research queue now requires source-led publication
The daily queue check validates research candidates and reports their status without creating catalog pages. New public articles are published only after source review.
Updated
Case studies received clearer evidence boundaries
Published articles now make their source links, editorial reading, related profiles, and limits easier to identify before readers reach catalog research records.
Release
Source-backed music rights case-study library launched
Added a dedicated article collection for chart, certification, award, and rights context without converting popularity into unsupported royalty totals.
New
Publisher, editor, and analytics details added
The public site now identifies the publisher and responsible editor, adds an author profile and correction route, and includes Cloudflare Web Analytics.
Updated
Publication checks strengthened
The site now checks that published editorial pages have page-specific context, visible sources, stated limitations, and a clear correction route.
Fixed
Catalog research separated from published reporting
Artist and song profiles remain available for browsing, while pages without sufficient editorial context stay outside search indexing and advertising.
Updated
Catalog coverage and editorial paths expanded
Added researched artist and song records while improving reviewed-page discovery and reader paths into the catalog.
Updated
Catalog navigation and trust pages refined
Search, artist browsing, song browsing, reviewed pages, homepage actions, and trust-page links were reorganized to make the site easier to use.
Updated
Reviewed content experience expanded
Reviewed artist and song collections gained clearer source context, confidence explanations, and direct routes into the broader catalog.
Updated
Priority song articles received visible source context
Expanded evidence sections on leading song pages so readers can distinguish public context from the limits of an estimate.
New
Review-ready navigation and public contact details added
Added an info@howmuchmusic.com contact route, article references, and a clearer path toward reviewed content during the publisher-review work.
Updated
Top pages, album context, and artist images improved
Improved priority content, album quality, image coverage, and the presentation of modeled ranges.
Updated
Directory discovery and image coverage improved
Made artist browsing easier to scan, added content explainers, and expanded artist-photo coverage.
Fixed
Header search and catalog sorting refined
Corrected header autosuggest behavior, improved browse-page filters and sorting, and added the current logo and favicon assets.
New
Full catalog search page added
Added a dedicated search-results experience and strengthened trust framing across key pages.
Earlier launch log
New
Header autosuggest added
Added quick artist and song suggestions to the shared header search field.
Updated
Artist and song page layouts standardized
Improved song-page presentation, optimized artist images, and made artist-page structure more consistent.
Updated
Album pages and homepage artist-split context improved
Improved album metadata and strengthened the way artist-share context was presented on the homepage.
Updated
Song pages, album coverage, and asset checks expanded
Added richer song-page comparison context, broader album coverage, and an asset audit for missing or stale files.
New
First public Updates page and confidence labels added
Introduced the original updates route, provider artwork for songs and albums, confidence scoring, and richer discovery context.
Release
Rankings, explainers, and song previews expanded
Added song preview support, ranking pages, editorial explainers, album metadata, sitemap output, and improved browse filters.
Release
How Much Music moved to its public domain
Moved the site to howmuchmusic.com, added the shared footer, album pages, self-hosted artist images, and richer catalog context.
New
Artist and song directories added
Added dedicated browse pages and navigation for artist and song records.
Release
How Much Music first launched
Launched the Astro-based site with its initial artist and song catalog, Pages deployment, typography, artwork, credits, filters, and early editorial pages.