How to Protect Your Music Before Sending It to a Producer, Label or Publisher

The riskiest moment in a song’s life is often the moment you hit send. A demo goes to a producer, a beat goes to an artist, stems go to a label or a sync library, and from then on you no longer control the file. If something similar turns up months later, the argument is about dates: exactly what you had, who you sent it to, and when. This guide is a practical checklist to protect your music before sending it, so that if you ever need to show what you sent, the record is already there.

Disclosure: I’m Inna Hall, an Australian lawyer and co-founder of TimeBinder, which is one of the tools mentioned below. This is general information, not legal advice.

Why the moment you hit send matters

Copyright in a song exists automatically once it is written down or recorded. In the US, the Copyright Office says “copyright exists from the moment the work is created”, and in Australia the Attorney-General’s Department says protection is “free and automatic”. Owning copyright is rarely the problem. Proving the facts is.

When songwriters fall out with collaborators or claim a released track copied their demo, the questions are practical ones. Did your version exist first? Is the file you are relying on the same one you had back then? Did the other side have access to it? This month’s lawsuit over Drake’s “Janice STFU” is a live example: the songwriter says he sent his demo to producers in Drake’s circle months before release, and Drake’s side denies the claims. We looked at that case in How to Prove You Wrote a Song First.

File dates, screenshots and “I emailed it to myself” are weak answers to those questions because they are easy to change or dispute. The fix is cheap and takes a few minutes: build the record before the file leaves your hands.

The checklist: 7 things to do before you send

1. Freeze the exact version you are sending

Bounce the final file you intend to send and give it a clear name with a version and date, for example NightDrive_demo_v3_2026-10-24.wav. Don’t keep editing that file afterwards. If you change the mix, bounce a new version with a new name. A record is only useful if it points to one exact file.

2. Agree the splits in writing before anyone ships anything

If the song was co-written, write down who wrote what and the agreed percentages while everyone still remembers the session. Disputes over splits usually surface only when a song starts earning. Our free Split Sheet Generator makes a simple PDF split sheet in your browser. Get it signed and keep it with the session files.

3. Create an independent, dated record of the exact files

This is the step most artists skip. A blockchain timestamp records a file’s SHA-256 fingerprint on a public blockchain, which shows the exact file existed no later than that time, and makes any later change detectable. With TimeBinder, the file is hashed in your browser and never uploaded, so unreleased audio stays on your device. You can include up to 10 files in one TimeBind, so a sensible bundle is:

• the bounced demo or beat you are sending
• the stems, if they are going too
• the DAW project folder, zipped
• the lyric sheet and the signed split sheet

You get a Proof of Time Certificate with the Bitcoin transaction details and a QR code that anyone you authorise can use to re-check the file. There is more detail for songwriters and producers on our music copyright proof page.

4. Register where registration exists

A timestamp is evidence of timing. It is not a copyright registration, and in the US registration matters. The US Copyright Office says you must register “if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work”, and its fee schedule currently lists $45 for a single-author online application, $65 for a standard application, and $85 to register a group of unpublished works. If you are a US songwriter sending something important, register it. The UK has no register of copyright works, and neither does Australia, so in those countries your own dated records do the heavy lifting.

Separately, register your works with your collecting society (APRA AMCOS in Australia and New Zealand, BMI or ASCAP in the US, PRS in the UK) before release. That is about getting paid, not about proving ownership.

5. Send it the smart way

The RIAA’s recording security best practices recommend streaming-only links where possible, links that are password protected, expire and are only available to the intended recipient, and disabling the link once it has been received. In practice:

• send to a named person, not a generic inbox
• use a streaming-only, password-protected link with an expiry date for pitches
• send full-quality files or stems only once there is a deal, an NDA or a working relationship that justifies it

6. Log what you sent, to whom and when

Keep a simple send log: date, recipient, their role and company, the exact file name, and how you sent it. Keep the replies, including the “no thanks” emails. If a dispute ever turns on access, that log, together with the timestamp, tells a clear story: this exact file existed by this date, and it went to this person on this date.

Tip: if you are not sure the file you sent is identical to the one you timestamped, check both with our free SHA-256 File Hash Checker. If the hashes match, it is the same file.

7. Keep the originals unchanged and backed up

A timestamp proves a file has not changed by checking it against its fingerprint. If you edit, re-export or lose the original, the check fails. Keep a read-only copy of every file you TimeBind, in at least two places.

What to record for each kind of send

• A producer or co-writer. Before you send: Split sheet agreed; TimeBind the demo, lyrics and project folder. Keep afterwards: signed split sheet, send log, replies.
• A label A&R or publisher. Before you send: TimeBind the exact demo; streaming-only link. Keep afterwards: send log, link expiry, replies.
• A sync library or music supervisor. Before you send: TimeBind the master and stems; check the submission terms. Keep afterwards: submission confirmation, agreement.
• An artist buying or leasing a beat. Before you send: TimeBind the beat and project; licence terms written down. Keep afterwards: licence, payment record, send log.
• A writing camp or session. Before you send: Agree splits on the day; TimeBind the session bounce. Keep afterwards: split sheet, attendee list.

What a timestamp proves, and what it doesn’t

A blockchain timestamp shows that a specific file existed in that exact form no later than a certain time, and that it hasn’t changed since. It is independently verifiable: anyone with the file and the record can check it, and with an ASAP TimeBind they can check it directly on the Bitcoin blockchain without relying on TimeBinder.

It does not prove that you wrote the song, that you own it, or that someone copied you. Those questions depend on all the evidence, such as drafts, session files, split sheets, messages and witnesses. What a timestamp adds is an early, independent date that is hard to argue with, which makes the rest of your evidence stronger. For a comparison with the old trick of posting a copy to yourself, see poor man’s copyright vs a blockchain timestamp.

What it costs

The Free plan includes one Pooled TimeBind a month, which suits an occasional demo. A single Pooled TimeBind is $5 and a single ASAP TimeBind is $15, and each covers up to 10 files. If you send music every week, the Essential ($20 a month) and Expert ($50 a month) plans give you TimeBinds at a discount. Verification is always free. See pricing for the details.

AI can rewrite files. It can’t rewrite time. Before your next demo, beat or stem pack leaves the studio, take two minutes to record exactly what you had and when.

TimeBind Files Now →

This article is general information, not legal advice. Sources were checked on 24 October 2026.