THE CAKE
SYSTEM

The Cake Constitution

Everything in the Cake system starts with one observation: the narrative of independence in the music industry has been distorted. Artists are told independence means doing everything alone. But isolation was never freedom.

The Constitution defines three core principles that govern every decision, split, contract, and tool in the system:

Infrastructure, not chaos. Systems that work, not vibes that fade. Every role, deliverable, and payment is defined before work starts.

Collaboration, not isolation. Building together beats grinding alone. Artists, producers, session musicians, songwriters, and engineers all operate as co-builders of the same ecosystem.

Structure, not randomness. Clear rules make fair outcomes possible. The structure isn't a cage. It's the thing that makes real collaboration work. Without it, "collaboration" is just chaos with good intentions.

How the System Operates

The Cake System Architecture is the operational blueprint that turns the Constitution into working rules. Governance, contracts, quality standards, audits, and artist intake are all codified.

Deliverable Standards

Every collaborator earning a split must deliver. No passive equity. Producers must record, deliver stems, and provide revisions. Photo deliverables (2% split): 2 sessions, 3 outfits, 50 edited photos, album cover, banner crops. Video deliverables (3% split): 1 main video, 12-15 short form clips, 3 locations, BTS content. Content strategy runs 2 weeks pre-release and 4 weeks post-release.

Split Structure

Every dollar is accounted for before work begins. The artist always keeps 50%. The other 50% is the Cake Pool, divided among everyone who contributed to making the project happen.

Session Contributors & Dev Credits

Session musicians earn 2-5% per song from the Cake Pool, negotiable per project. They can choose split-based or flat rate compensation. Splits stack: if a session player also co-wrote the song, they earn both splits. Experienced contributors who mentor newer artists earn a Development Credit of 1-2% on the mentee's first 3 releases, drawn from Cake Core's allocation, not the artist's 50%.

Community Fund (5%)

Reinvested into writing camps, live sessions, studio upgrades, events, artist support, and long-term physical infrastructure. Controlled by Cake Core. This is infrastructure investment, not a democracy.

Live Session Split

Artist 50% / Cake 25% / Community Fund 20% / Video 2.5% / Mix-Master 2.5%. Focused on content creation and community growth.

CakeHQ: The Label OS

A custom-built web application at hq.thecakerecords.com that manages all operational data for Cake Records: releases, compositions, recordings, contacts, artists, campaigns, contracts, and finances.

Core Modules

Catalog Management tracks every composition, recording, and release with full relational data: who wrote it, who produced it, who performed it, what release it's on, and what platforms it's distributed to.

Campaign Hub generates 87-slot marketing campaigns (29 days x 3 platforms) with AI-powered content prompts via Claude. Campaign slot statuses persist and update in real time. A built-in Hashtag Generator produces platform-optimized hashtag sets for every release — genre, mood, and era-aware, directly inside the campaign workflow.

Flow Mode visualizes the entire catalog as an interactive graph: releases (green), recordings (blue), compositions (purple), and artists (amber), all connected by their real relationships. Search, filter, zoom, and click into any node.

Contract Management integrates with DocuSign for signed contract sync and includes AI-powered contract document parsing.

Spotify Integration handles search, ISRC lookup, album search, batch enrichment, and connection testing through dedicated edge functions.

Built-In Tools

CakeHQ is not just a database — it is a toolbox. Every module ships with purpose-built utilities that eliminate the need for scattered third-party apps. The Campaign Hub includes a Hashtag Generator that produces platform-optimized sets for every release, and a Bio Generator / Updater that drafts and refreshes artist bios in short, medium, and long formats — ready for DSPs, press, and EPKs — all from existing catalog and profile data. The Catalog module handles ISRC assignment and metadata standardization. The Contract module generates split sheets directly from catalog data. The Contacts module surfaces collaboration matches based on skills, instruments, and availability. Every tool is designed for the same goal: remove friction between making the music and releasing it properly.

Catalog Migration

For artists coming in with an existing body of work, CakeHQ includes a structured onboarding flow to bring their catalog into the system properly — regardless of how organized (or disorganized) it currently is. Artists import their PRO catalog export (ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC) and their distributor catalog export (DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, Symphonic, etc.), and the system cross-references the two to build a unified base: compositions matched to recordings, ISRCs matched to metadata, rights holders mapped, and gaps flagged. If something exists in one system but not the other, it surfaces for review. The result is a clean foundation to build from — not a chaotic pile of legacy data. This is one of the most practical things Cake does for working artists who have been releasing music for years without a real tracking system.

Royalty Transparency

Split payments route through the distributor — Symphonic and most modern distributors have split pay baked in, so contributors get paid directly without CakeHQ needing to act as a payment processor. Money will typically hit before the formal statement arrives. Once statements come in, either Stuart or the artist uploads them directly into CakeHQ, where they tie to the corresponding recording assets. From there, CakeHQ shows the full royalty breakdown and flow: what the release earned, where it came from, and how it distributed across every contributor. The split structure you agreed to before work started is the same one you can verify after the check clears.

Database Architecture

26 Supabase tables with row-level security enabled for multi-tenancy. A column alias mapping layer handles the Base44-to-Supabase migration, translating between legacy frontend field names and normalized Postgres columns on every read and write. 17 edge functions handle everything from Spotify lookups to campaign generation to invite management.

Industry Partner Network

One of the most practical things Cake does is connect artists with the right infrastructure partners at the right time. Cake does not try to replace distributors, PROs, or publishing administrators — it connects artists with vetted ones and helps them navigate those relationships properly.

Most independent artists are either working with the wrong partners or not working with the right ones at all. They're on a distributor that doesn't support their goals. They haven't registered with a PRO. They don't have admin publishing coverage. They don't know what sync licensing requires or how to get there. Cake's job is to close those gaps — not by doing everything in-house, but by acting as a knowledgeable guide who knows which partners are worth working with and why.

This partner network is a core reason Cake is genuinely useful beyond the software and the split structure. An artist entering the system doesn't just get access to collaborators and a campaign tool — they get pointed in the right direction on every dimension of their career infrastructure, by people who have already done the work of finding the right partners.

The Contributor Model

Musicians are not clients of the system. They are the system. Everyone who enters is a contributor, not a customer. The language matters. The questionnaire determines what kind of contributor you are and what you need, not whether you qualify for services.

Session Contributor Pool

A formalized roster of instrumentalists, vocalists, and engineers available for Cake projects. Musicians register their instruments, skills, gear, availability, and rate preferences. When a project needs a session player, the system surfaces qualified contributors. Every contribution is logged, credited, and tracked. No invisible labor. Nashville is full of incredible musicians doing sessions for flat fees with zero backend. This system lets them build a portfolio of revenue-generating contributions across the catalog. Play on 20 songs over a year, earn on all 20 forever. That's a career, not a gig.

Songwriter Circles & The Song Room

Structured co-writing facilitated through the platform. Songwriters get matched for co-writes based on genre, style, and goal. Every song created in a circle gets logged with splits, registered for publishing, and entered into the Shared Catalog if all writers agree. Writers who consistently produce songs that land cuts or generate sync income rise in the matching algorithm.

Shared Publishing Catalog

A central catalog of songs tagged by genre, mood, tempo, vocal type, and sync suitability. Artists and managers browse and request holds. When a catalog song needs production or additional instrumentation before it's pitch-ready, session contributors from the pool get matched to finish it. The songwriter gets their song elevated. The session player earns a contributor split. The catalog gets stronger.

Referral Economy

The referral system exists to grow the network, not reward activity that was already happening. If you bring a new artist into the system — someone who wasn't already here — and they sign on and release through Cake, you earn approximately 1% of their Cake Pool for 2 years. Same logic applies to songs: if you pitch a song into the catalog that gets cut by a Cake artist, that connection is tracked and credited. This is specifically for bringing new people and new material into the ecosystem, not for existing members working with each other (that's just how the system works).

Phase 4: Shared Loop Library & Open Songs Library

Once the system is running and the contributor network has real density, two additional tools will come online. The Shared Loop Library is an upload system where artists and producers can contribute samples tagged with key and BPM. Contributors in the system can request a loop; once approved, they have a defined window to use it before it returns to the library. There will be a base pack — contributed by Stuart and available to anyone in the ecosystem to use and reuse freely — plus exclusive and non-exclusive tiers for more specialized material. The Open Songs Library functions as a two-way pitch lane: songwriters can post demos for other artists to request and cut, and artists can post that they're actively looking for songs in a specific vein. Both libraries are designed to turn the catalog into a living collaboration engine rather than a static archive. These are Phase 4 additions, built on top of the foundation once the network is established.

The Sun Building & Before the Noise

The platform isn't just software. It connects to real spaces and real events. The digital ecosystem becomes physical through two flagship initiatives.

The Sun Building

A historic Nashville property being developed into a multi-room music studio, writing room, and publishing hub. 4 small rooms, 2 medium, 2 large, 1 full studio. Anchored by the Singleton family's Sun Records legacy: Stuart's father Shelby Singleton purchased Sun Records from Sam Phillips and ran it for decades. The building is both a functional creative hub and a destination with a story. Contributors at Stage 3+ or with 3+ catalog songs get priority booking at writing rooms. Currently in the fundraising and partner phase with a completed pitch deck.

Before the Noise

An intimate, invitation-only outdoor songwriter session series. 30-50 guests, 3-4 songwriters playing 4 unreleased songs each, no PA, no stage. Locations rotate. Every performance gets cinematic video and high-quality audio capture. Guests receive physical keepsakes. The name says it: you hear the song before it becomes noise. Revenue model is sponsorship-funded, targeting zero net cost per event. The content is the business model: video series, audio recordings, co-owned with artists.

Catalog & Knowledge System

The same catalog data lives in two synchronized layers. Obsidian is the rich, connected source of truth with full relationship graphs. Supabase is the operational backend that CakeHQ reads from. They must stay in sync.

The Obsidian vault system operates as a dual-brain architecture. The Claude Brain handles all operational knowledge: projects, decisions, threads, catalog data, financial context, reference documents, and technical schemas. The Self Brain holds personal context: identity, journal entries, health data, relationships (1,926 contacts), patterns, creative work, and voice. Together they form a comprehensive knowledge graph with wikilink-based connections across every entity.

Catalog data flows from Airtable's 13-table "Unified Music Catalog" into Obsidian as structured notes, then into Supabase as operational rows. ISRC codes are the primary matching key between systems. The same catalog structure is replicated for managed artists: GLOSSER, Luke Lasso, Brock Taylor, Logan & McKenna.

Scoring & Quality

Songs are evaluated by a 3-judge weighted rubric: Concept & Hook (25%), Lyrics (30%), Melody & Harmony (30%), Structure (10%), X-Factor (5%). Internal scoring for Creative Depth, Consistency, Identity, and Quality is used for A&R prioritization, never shown to artists.

Marketing & Distribution

Cake's marketing approach is built around indirect hooks, content-first strategy, and metadata optimization across every platform.

Spotify Playlist Pitching uses a 500-character format with artist context, song style, and connection to platform themes. Pitches are prepared in advance for each release and positioned around growth trajectories and editorial angles.

TikTok & Instagram strategy centers on indirect hooks: conversational, curiosity-driven angles that feel like organic sharing. "My dad hasn't stopped asking me for this artist's name" over hard sells. Nostalgic framing, cultural comparison, cryptic intrigue. Designed for algorithmic sharing and discovery.

CakeVerse is the animated transmedia arm: Archer-style cartoon aesthetic, YouTube-first distribution, 8-10 minute lofi sessions with animated visuals. The vision is a full worldbuilding universe at LOTR/Star Wars scale with interconnected character backstories, political structures, distinct regions, and fan-creatable content. Long-arc storytelling that unfolds across multiple releases over years. Near-term: looping visualizers and animated music videos. Long-term: interactive click-through website with mini-games, character customization, and music-integrated gameplay.

Metadata & SEO spans MusicBrainz tags and annotations, Wikidata structured data for AI algorithm association, Squarespace hidden descriptions, and separate EPK pages for SEO isolation.

Distribution is migrating to Symphonic for catalog management and delivery to all platforms.

Where This Is Going

The pieces are designed to compound. Each component feeds the others, and the system gets stronger with every artist, song, session, and event that flows through it.

Timeline