Should I timestamp before listing a beat for lease?

Yes. Timestamp the pack you will list, then list it. If you change the tag or mix later, timestamp the new pack.

Does a BeatStars or similar receipt replace a timestamp?

No. A receipt dates the sale on that platform. A timestamp dates the exact files you offered, including before the sale.

What if I send the same beat to several artists?

Timestamp once before the first send if the files are identical. If each artist gets a different tag or version, timestamp each version.

Can stems go in the same TimeBind as the tagged WAV?

Yes, up to 10 files per TimeBind.

Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required. After that, from US$5; ASAP is US$15. See plans and pricing

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Timestamp beats before you lease them or send them to an artist

Inna Hall

November 10, 2026

Guides

Flat illustration of a lyric sheet, a monitor showing a song waveform and scales of justice, with a teal timestamp badge

Before you lease a beat or send it to an artist, timestamp the exact files in the pack. TimeBinder^® makes a fingerprint in your browser. The files stay on your device. You get a checkable Proof of Time Certificate that shows each exact file existed no later than a recorded time. It does not show who produced the beat, who owns it, or that a lease must be honoured. Free to start. For the general “before sharing” checklist, see show when a beat existed before sharing.

The routine: timestamp before you send the lease pack
Exclusive, non-exclusive and free leases
What to keep with each lease
What a TimeBind shows, and what it doesn’t
Frequently Asked Questions

The routine: timestamp before you send the lease pack

Freeze the lease pack: tagged WAV or MP3, dry stems if you include them, and the lease PDF or terms you will send.
Optional. Check fingerprints with the free SHA-256 hash checker.
Add up to 10 files in one TimeBind, or zip the pack and timestamp that exact zip.
Save the Proof of Time Certificate next to the pack.
Then send the lease to the artist or storefront.
Exclusive flips or new versions are new files. Timestamp them again before they leave.

How to timestamp a file has the click-by-click steps. Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required.

Exclusive, non-exclusive and free leases

Leases differ: free tags, non-exclusive paid leases and exclusive buyouts. What you send still matters. Keep a dated copy of the exact audio and the exact terms for that deal. If you later sell an exclusive, timestamp the exclusive pack separately from earlier non-exclusive sends. A storefront receipt shows when they bought; a timestamp dates the files you offered.

What to keep with each lease

The leased audio and any stems, untouched after timestamping.
The lease agreement or storefront terms PDF.
A short note of the artist or buyer, the lease type and the date you sent it.
For co-produced beats, a split sheet timestamped with the pack.

What a TimeBind shows, and what it doesn’t

A TimeBind shows that this exact file existed no later than the recorded time. It does not show authorship, ownership or copyright, and it does not stop someone using a beat outside the lease. Keep your contracts and payment records. This is general information, not legal advice.

Your file’s fingerprint, anchored to a global network secured by real electricity and cryptography.

Editing a file—including with AI—changes its fingerprint, not its existing network record.

How this works

Your file’s SHA-256 fingerprint, a short code worked out from its exact contents, is made in your browser, and the file itself stays on your device. A cryptographic commitment to that fingerprint, which may be combined with others, is then anchored in a block on the Bitcoin blockchain. Bitcoin is secured by proof of work: computers around the world spend real electricity to add each block, and changing an earlier block would mean redoing that work faster than the rest of the network. Until that block is confirmed, your proof is pending. Once the Bitcoin anchoring is confirmed, you can verify the proof against that recorded commitment. The confirmed record can then be checked; Pooled TimeBinds are checked through TimeBinder, while ASAP TimeBinds can also be checked independently. If you check the file later and its fingerprint still matches, that shows the file existed no later than the recorded time. The record doesn’t show who made the file, whether AI was used, or that its contents are true.

Your filestays on your device
FingerprintSHA-256
Network timestampon Bitcoin

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I timestamp before listing a beat for lease?

Yes. Timestamp the pack you will list, then list it. If you change the tag or mix later, timestamp the new pack.
Does a BeatStars or similar receipt replace a timestamp?

No. A receipt dates the sale on that platform. A timestamp dates the exact files you offered, including before the sale.
What if I send the same beat to several artists?

Timestamp once before the first send if the files are identical. If each artist gets a different tag or version, timestamp each version.
Can stems go in the same TimeBind as the tagged WAV?

Yes, up to 10 files per TimeBind.
What does it cost?

Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required. After that, from US$5; ASAP is US$15. See plans and pricing

Timestamp your next lease pack free

Show that this exact file existed no later than a recorded time. Files stay on your device. Get a checkable Proof of Time Certificate. Free to start. Open TimeBinder

Inna Hall

Inna Hall is an Australian lawyer admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland and the High Court of Australia in 2013. She has worked across government and private legal practice and is the director of TimeBinder, focusing on document authenticity, evidentiary risk, and blockchain-based proof of existence.