Composers and arrangers share scores long before they are published: with ensembles, competitions, teachers and collaborators. If a melody or arrangement is later disputed, the question becomes when your version existed. Here is what MuseScore, Sibelius and Dorico files record, why it is weak, and how to freeze scores so their dates can be checked later.
Short answer: MuseScore, Sibelius and Dorico dates come from your own computer, so they are easy to change and easy to dispute. To show a score existed before a date, save the exact file and its PDF export, then timestamp both with TimeBinder before you share them. A TimeBind shows that the exact file existed no later than the recorded time and still matches its fingerprint. It doesn’t show who made it or what a court will make of it.
Disclosure: I’m Inna Hall, co-founder of TimeBinder, the file timestamping tool this guide uses. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Table of Contents
Where score files keep their dates
- MuseScore Project Properties. MuseScore 4 shows a creation date, the platform and the MuseScore version that last saved the file. The MuseScore handbook notes that the creation date can be edited manually.
- The .mscz container. An .mscz file is a compressed archive holding the score as MSCX (XML), plus style settings and thumbnails.
- Sibelius (.sib) and Dorico (.dorico). Proprietary formats. Whatever dates they hold aren’t easy for anyone else to read, so rely on exports.
- PDF and MusicXML exports. PDFs carry creation and modification dates you can view with our free file date and metadata inspector. MusicXML is plain XML and may include an encoding date written by the exporting app.
Why those dates are easy to challenge
A creation date you can type into a dialog box is a label, not evidence. The other dates come from your computer clock or the exporting app. Scores also travel: they are emailed to players, uploaded to sharing sites and printed, and each copy can end up with different file dates. In a dispute, you need to show that this exact score existed by a date, independent of your own computer.
What to freeze
| File | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The score file (.mscz, .sib or .dorico) | The editable notation, as you wrote it |
| A PDF of the full score and parts | What performers, publishers and competitions receive |
| MusicXML | An open format that other notation apps can read |
| An audio export or recording | Lets non-readers hear the music |
| Sketches and lyric drafts | Show how the piece developed |
A simple routine
- At a milestone (first complete draft, competition entry, the version sent to an ensemble), save and close the score.
- Export the PDF, the MusicXML and an audio file.
- Open TimeBinder and TimeBind the score file and exports together (up to 10 files per TimeBind).
- Send performers the same PDF you TimeBound, so its fingerprint matches what they hold.
- Keep the certificate with the frozen files and continue editing in a new copy.
Which plan fits
The Free plan is $0 and gives you 1 Token a month. A Pooled TimeBind costs 1 Token, covers up to 10 files and is usually recorded within 24 to 48 hours, and often sooner, depending on Bitcoin network activity. An ASAP TimeBind costs 3 Tokens and gets its own Bitcoin transaction straight away. Checking a file is always free, and no credit card is needed for the Free plan.
If you TimeBind more often, Essential is US$20 a month for 5 Tokens ($4 per Token, against $5 pay-as-you-go) and Expert is US$50 a month for 15 Tokens (about $3.33 per Token). Paid plans replace the Free plan’s monthly Token, so Essential adds 4 Tokens for US$20 and Expert adds 14 for US$50. See pricing.
What a timestamp does and doesn’t do
TimeBinder anchors each file’s SHA-256 fingerprint to the Bitcoin blockchain and gives you a Proof of Time Certificate. That is verifiable evidence of when a file existed: it shows the file existed no later than the anchor time, and any later change to the file is detectable. Your file is hashed in your browser and never uploaded. ASAP TimeBinds can be checked independently from the certificate and the Bitcoin blockchain; Pooled TimeBinds are verified through TimeBinder.
It doesn’t show who created the file, whether its contents are true, or whether AI was used to make it, and it can’t tell you how a court or anyone else will treat it. It also doesn’t cover versions you didn’t TimeBind. Pooled TimeBinds are verified through TimeBinder; ASAP TimeBinds can also be verified independently from the certificate and the Bitcoin blockchain. Co-written music needs clear agreements: our free split sheet generator helps. See also how to prove you wrote a song first and timestamping for songwriters and musicians.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a MuseScore file show when a score was written?
MuseScore’s Project Properties include a creation date, but you can edit it by hand, and it records which version of MuseScore last saved the file. That makes it useful context, not independent evidence.
What is inside an .mscz file?
An .mscz file is a compressed archive containing the score as MSCX (an XML format) plus settings and thumbnails. Treat it as one file: TimeBind it as it is and don’t re-save the frozen copy.
What about Sibelius and Dorico?
Sibelius and Dorico project files use their own formats, and their internal dates aren’t easy for others to read. Export a PDF and MusicXML at each milestone and TimeBind them with the project file.
Should I timestamp the PDF or the score file?
Both. The PDF is what a performer, publisher or competition receives. The score file and MusicXML show the notation in an editable form.
Is my score uploaded?
No. TimeBinder hashes files in your browser and only the fingerprint is anchored to Bitcoin, so unpublished music stays private.
Plan details were checked against timebinder.io/pricing on 29 October 2026.
