Dual Primary Artists

Music collaborations are the norm - most tracks involve multiple artists. DSPs require clear primary artist designation for catalog indexing, search, and royalty attribution. UnitedMasters previously supported only one primary artist per release.

The feature launched first on Android (largest artist base), then iOS and Web. Each platform had different form architectures, requiring cross-platform design parity while respecting native interaction patterns.

Artists couldn't properly credit collaborators as primary artists. This forced workarounds - crediting collaborators in the title string, which broke DSP metadata parsing and created catalog inconsistencies.

Adding multiple primary artists introduces role conflicts: an artist can't be both primary and featured on the same track. Split payment calculations must account for additional primaries. And guest artists needed to exist as full system entities, not just metadata strings.

Artists cannot be both primary and featured simultaneously - a hard business rule from DSP requirements. Self-reference prevention: you can't add yourself as a collaborator. Split payment recalculation must happen in real-time as artists are added.

Guest artist entities needed to be full system records (not metadata-only) to enable analytics, payments, and discoverability. This was a significant backend architecture decision that shaped the entire design approach.

Designed the collaborator as a full artist entity with a guest designation checkbox. This enables individual release analytics for guest artists while excluding them from aggregated roster analytics - preserving data integrity for both sides.

Built role validation inline: the system prevents invalid combinations (primary + featured) before submission rather than at review. Visual hierarchy clarifies primary vs. featured vs. writer roles at every touchpoint - release detail, track detail, upload flow, and artist mapping.

Conducted competitive analysis of existing distribution platforms to understand industry patterns. Mapped artist search, metadata fields, and performer role differentiation to inform our approach.

Cross-platform funnel conversion reached 51.8% - significantly above the 47% initial target. Role conflicts dropped, reducing ops escalations for metadata fixes. The guest artist entity model was adopted for future collaboration features.

The pattern established here - full entities over metadata strings - became an architectural principle applied to Labels, Split Pay, and Waterfall Releases.

Labels-specific implementation is next - labels need different permissions and workflow patterns for managing dual primary artists across their roster. Integration with Waterfall Releases for dual primary support in staggered release strategies.