{
  "_meta": {
    "title": "Who Answers the Money Questions: publisher-type audit of music-business search results",
    "version": "1",
    "publisher": "RapCanon",
    "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
    "attribution": "Data by RapCanon (rapcanon.com). Free to reuse, including commercially, with attribution and a link back.",
    "collected": "2026-08-12",
    "method": "Four high-volume music-business queries were run and the returned publishers classified by what the publisher SELLS, not by what the article says. Classification is the deliberate variable: a distributor answering a distribution question has a commercial position on the answer, whether or not the article is accurate.",
    "sample_frame": "Four queries: two money queries, one rights/economics query, one credits/culture query. The credits query is included specifically as a CONTROL — if vendor dominance appeared everywhere, the finding would be about search generally rather than about music-money specifically.",
    "limits": [
      "n=4 queries. This is an indicative audit, not a census. It is published at this size because the sample frame and the classification rule are stated, so anyone can extend or contradict it.",
      "Results are personalised and volatile. A different day, region or engine returns a different set. The claim is about the PATTERN of publisher types, not about any single ranking.",
      "Publisher classification is a judgement call. Each is recorded with the basis for the call so it can be disputed.",
      "No claim is made about the accuracy of any listed article. A vendor can publish a correct answer; the finding concerns which questions a vendor CANNOT answer against their own interest.",
      "Positions are as-returned and unweighted. No click or impression data was used because we have none."
    ],
    "variables_measured": ["query", "publisher", "publisher_type", "sells", "conflict"]
  },

  "publisher_types": {
    "distributor": "Sells music distribution. Has a commercial position on payout, royalty and release questions.",
    "merch": "Sells print-on-demand or merchandise. Has a commercial position on how artists should earn.",
    "promotion": "Sells playlist promotion, marketing or followers. Has a commercial position on growth questions.",
    "creative_services": "Sells artwork, courses, or production services.",
    "platform": "The service being asked about.",
    "journalism": "Editorial outlet with no product in the answer.",
    "tool": "Calculator or utility site.",
    "unclassified": "Could not determine a product from the surface."
  },

  "observations": [
    { "query": "how much does spotify pay per stream 2026", "class": "money", "results": [
      { "publisher": "Ditto Music", "type": "distributor", "sells": "music distribution", "conflict": "high" },
      { "publisher": "TuneCore", "type": "distributor", "sells": "music distribution + publishing admin", "conflict": "high" },
      { "publisher": "artist.tools", "type": "tool", "sells": "artist tooling", "conflict": "low" },
      { "publisher": "SoundCamps", "type": "unclassified", "sells": "unclear", "conflict": "unknown" },
      { "publisher": "Xposure Music", "type": "promotion", "sells": "music promotion", "conflict": "medium" },
      { "publisher": "streamingcalculator.com", "type": "tool", "sells": "calculator", "conflict": "low" },
      { "publisher": "Chartlex", "type": "unclassified", "sells": "unclear", "conflict": "unknown" },
      { "publisher": "coverartplace.com", "type": "creative_services", "sells": "cover artwork", "conflict": "medium" }
    ]},
    { "query": "how do artists make money on spotify", "class": "money", "results": [
      { "publisher": "Printful", "type": "merch", "sells": "print-on-demand merchandise", "conflict": "high" },
      { "publisher": "Printify", "type": "merch", "sells": "print-on-demand merchandise", "conflict": "high" },
      { "publisher": "The Pudding", "type": "journalism", "sells": "nothing", "conflict": "none" },
      { "publisher": "Spotify for Artists", "type": "platform", "sells": "the platform itself", "conflict": "high" },
      { "publisher": "KOSIGN", "type": "unclassified", "sells": "unclear", "conflict": "unknown" },
      { "publisher": "Venice Music", "type": "distributor", "sells": "distribution + services", "conflict": "high" }
    ]},
    { "query": "black box royalties unclaimed music money explained", "class": "rights", "results": [
      { "publisher": "Billboard", "type": "journalism", "sells": "nothing", "conflict": "none" },
      { "publisher": "ONErpm", "type": "distributor", "sells": "distribution + publishing", "conflict": "high" },
      { "publisher": "TuneCore", "type": "distributor", "sells": "publishing administration", "conflict": "high" },
      { "publisher": "musicteam.com", "type": "unclassified", "sells": "unclear", "conflict": "unknown" },
      { "publisher": "musicmoneymakeover.com", "type": "creative_services", "sells": "courses", "conflict": "high" },
      { "publisher": "Omari MC", "type": "promotion", "sells": "playlist promotion", "conflict": "high" },
      { "publisher": "Chartlex", "type": "unclassified", "sells": "unclear", "conflict": "unknown" }
    ]},
    { "query": "who writes for rappers hip hop credits ghostwriters", "class": "credits_control", "results": [
      { "publisher": "Forbes", "type": "journalism", "sells": "nothing", "conflict": "none" },
      { "publisher": "XXL", "type": "journalism", "sells": "nothing", "conflict": "none" },
      { "publisher": "HotNewHipHop", "type": "journalism", "sells": "nothing", "conflict": "none" },
      { "publisher": "Beats, Rhymes and Lists", "type": "journalism", "sells": "nothing", "conflict": "none" },
      { "publisher": "Vocal Media", "type": "journalism", "sells": "nothing", "conflict": "none" },
      { "publisher": "Bleu Magazine", "type": "journalism", "sells": "nothing", "conflict": "none" },
      { "publisher": "Rhyme or Reason Pros", "type": "creative_services", "sells": "ghostwriting services", "conflict": "high" }
    ]}
  ],

  "findings": [
    "On the three MONEY and RIGHTS queries, publishers with a commercial position in the answer occupy the majority of returned results.",
    "On 'how do artists make money on Spotify', the top two results are both PRINT-ON-DEMAND MERCHANDISE companies. Their answer to a question about streaming income is, structurally, that streaming income is not where the money is.",
    "On the CREDITS control query, six of seven results are editorial outlets with nothing to sell. Vendor dominance is therefore NOT a property of music search generally.",
    "Where independent journalism does compete on a money query it places well: The Pudding ranks in the top three on the Spotify-income query, and Billboard ranks first on the black-box query.",
    "The gap is therefore not that editorial cannot rank on money questions. It is that almost nobody is publishing editorial on money questions."
  ]
}