Music Rights Investigation

Did someone in your family make music? Their music may still have value.

Songs, recordings, copyrights, publishing interests, and royalty accounts can survive long after an artist dies. BeatCounsel helps families identify what may exist, understand who controls it, and determine what needs to happen next.

See How It Works
No music-industry knowledge required.
A sample legacy check
47
Recordings located
23
Compositions identified
6
Potential royalty sources
3
Organizations requiring follow-up

This is what a first pass can look like. Every number here comes with a status — confirmed, likely, or still needs documentation — so you always know what's solid and what's still being investigated.

The Overlooked Asset
A music career can leave behind more than memories.
Music rights are assets. Like a home or a bank account, they can continue producing income long after the person who created them is gone — the challenge is knowing where to look.
Songs
Songwriting and publishing interests may continue generating royalties for decades after release.
Recordings
Artists and estates may retain interests in master recordings or performer royalties.
Royalty Accounts
Money may continue flowing through publishers, labels, PROs, and digital royalty organizations.
Unclaimed Money
Payments can remain unmatched, suspended, or tied to outdated ownership information.

The hardest part is often not collecting the money. It is first figuring out what existed, who owned it, and where it went.

For Families
You do not need to know the music business to start.
Most families begin with a fragment, not a full picture. That's the normal starting point.
"My father recorded music in the 1980s."
"We found royalty statements after my mother died."
"Our family still receives occasional checks, but nobody understands them."
"My grandfather wrote songs, but we do not know who published them."
"We believe royalties are being paid to someone else."
"The estate included music, but no one knew how to handle it."
"My relative performed on records, but I do not know what rights that creates."
"We found boxes of contracts and old recording paperwork."
Start with what you know. BeatCounsel helps organize the rest.
Process
From a name to a map of the music rights.
Four steps take you from a family memory to a documented, evidence-based picture of what may exist.
01 — Tell Us What You Know

Start the record

Provide the artist's name, aliases, bands, active years, songs, labels, publishers, and any documents your family has.

02 — Reconstruct the Catalog

Rebuild the history

BeatCounsel researches recordings, compositions, registrations, publishers, labels, and royalty organizations.

03 — Map the Rights

Organize the evidence

We organize findings into a clear view showing where rights may exist and which areas need further investigation.

04 — Take the Next Step

Receive your report

Get a Music Legacy Report identifying findings, potential royalty sources, and administrative next steps.

Findings are evidence-based and clearly marked as confirmed, likely, needs documentation, or unresolved.
The Deliverable
The Music Legacy Report
A clear picture of what we found — and what still needs to be answered.
Robert "Bobby" James
Singer / Songwriter · Active 1978–1992
Confirmed Likely Needs Docs Requires Counsel

Catalog Discovery

Recordings located17
Compositions identified11
Aliases matched3

Rights Map

Composition rightsConfirmed
Master interestsLikely
Mechanical royaltiesNeeds Docs
Publishing interestCounsel

Organizations Identified (illustrative)

BMI The MLC SoundExchange Publisher Record Label

Recommended Actions

  • Confirm estate authority
  • Request historical royalty statements
  • Investigate composition registrations
  • Review publishing agreement
Illustrative example. Organization names shown for reference only and do not imply affiliation or endorsement.
What We Find
Music income does not come from one place.
Click any category to see what it covers. A single career can generate rights and royalty relationships across several separate systems.
Category 01
Composition Rights
The songwriting side — melody, lyrics, and the publishing interests attached to them.
  • Songwriting interests
  • Publisher interests
  • PRO registrations
  • Mechanical rights
  • Copyright registrations
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Category 02
Recording Rights
The recorded version of the song — masters, labels, and how it's distributed today.
  • Master ownership
  • Record-label relationships
  • Distribution
  • Digital performance royalties
  • Neighboring rights
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Category 03
Royalty Administration
The organizations that actually collect and pay out money on the rights above.
  • PROs
  • Publishers
  • Labels
  • The MLC and SoundExchange
  • Foreign societies
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Category 04
Estate & Ownership Records
The paperwork that proves who has the authority to claim what.
  • Wills and probate orders
  • Assignments and contracts
  • Royalty statements
  • Copyright records
  • Successor documentation
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Not every category applies to every artist.
Documents & Evidence
Old paperwork can contain important clues.

Upload royalty statements, publishing agreements, record contracts, copyright certificates, letters, split sheets, tax documents, and other records.

BeatCounsel can help extract and organize information such as:

  • Names and aliases
  • Song titles
  • Publishers
  • Labels
  • Ownership percentages
  • Royalty sources
  • Account numbers
  • Agreement dates
  • Territories
  • Registration identifiers
BeatCounsel organizes evidence. It does not automatically treat extracted contract language as a final legal ownership determination.
ROYALTY STATEMENT — Q3
Writer: Robert James  
Publisher: Gold Coast Music  
Share: 33.3%  
Territory: US / CAN  
↓
writer_name publisher ownership_share territory statement_period
Trust & Methodology
Built for evidence, not guesswork.
Every finding is treated as a claim that needs a source — not a conclusion.

Source-Based Research

Findings are traceable to public records, royalty organizations, documentation, catalog databases, and contracts.

Confidence Levels

We clearly distinguish verified information from reasonable leads or unresolved questions.

Counsel When Necessary

Contract interpretation, probate matters, and ownership disputes can be routed to qualified counsel.

Claim→ Source→ Document→ Status→ Next Action

Handling an estate that includes music?

Music assets can create unfamiliar questions inside otherwise straightforward estates. BeatCounsel helps professionals reconstruct catalogs, organize rights information, and prepare a clearer factual record.

Partner With BeatCounsel
Probate Attorneys
Estate Planning Attorneys
Trustees & Executors
Accountants
Financial Advisors
Music Attorneys
Getting Started
Start with the investigation.

Legacy Check

Free

Tell us what you know about the artist and the estate.

  • Initial intake
  • Case screening
  • Preliminary assessment

Music Legacy Report

From $495

A structured investigation of the catalog, rights ecosystem, and potential royalty sources.

  • Catalog research
  • Rights map
  • Administrator identification
  • Evidence summary
  • Recommended next steps
Pay on Recovery

Royalty Recovery

20%
of recovered funds

If BeatCounsel identifies eligible unpaid royalties or music income and is engaged to pursue their recovery, BeatCounsel receives 20% of the funds successfully recovered. You keep 80%.

  • No upfront recovery fee
  • BeatCounsel handles the recovery process
  • Fee applies only to funds successfully recovered
  • No recovery, no recovery fee
We recover$10,000 → You receive$8,000 → BeatCounsel receives$2,000

Recovery services are subject to case review, eligibility, verification of authority, and applicable terms.

Complex estates or extensive catalogs may require a custom investigation.
Questions
Frequently asked.
Click any question to see the answer.
Can music royalties really continue after someone dies?
Yes. Rights connected to songs and recordings can outlive the person who created them, passing to an estate or heirs, and may keep generating royalties for years.
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What kinds of music rights can be inherited?
Composition (songwriting/publishing) rights and recording (master) rights are the two broad categories, each with their own royalty streams and administrators.
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What if I do not know whether my relative owned the songs?
That's the most common starting point. Our research process is designed to help establish what may exist before ownership is confirmed.
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What if the artist died many years ago?
Rights and royalty relationships can persist for decades. Older catalogs often require more research, but that does not mean nothing can be found.
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What documents should I look for?
Royalty statements, publishing or recording contracts, copyright certificates, correspondence with labels or publishers, and any probate or estate paperwork.
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Can BeatCounsel tell me exactly how much money is owed?
No. We identify potential rights and royalty sources and outline next steps — we do not guarantee or quantify specific amounts owed.
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What if another family member is receiving the royalties?
This is a common and sensitive situation. We can help organize the factual record; resolving competing claims typically requires licensed counsel.
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Do I need to have completed probate before contacting BeatCounsel?
No. Many families start the research process before or during probate. We can flag where probate status may affect next steps.
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Is BeatCounsel a law firm?
No. BeatCounsel provides research, administrative support, and educational information. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice.
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What happens if legal work is required?
Where ownership determinations, probate matters, or disputes require legal advice, we can point you toward licensed counsel to take those next steps.
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How does BeatCounsel's 20% recovery fee work?
If you engage BeatCounsel to pursue eligible unpaid royalties or music income, our recovery fee is 20% of the funds successfully recovered through that engagement. You keep the remaining 80%. If no funds are recovered, there is no recovery fee. The recovery fee applies to recovered funds and does not give BeatCounsel ownership of your music rights.
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Their music became part of your family's story.

Make sure the rights connected to it are not forgotten. Start with a name. Add whatever information you have — BeatCounsel will help you understand what to investigate next.

Free to start. No obligation.
BeatCounsel provides music-rights research, technology-assisted information organization, administrative support, and educational information. BeatCounsel is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice unless services are expressly provided through separately engaged licensed counsel. Research findings do not establish legal ownership or guarantee the existence or recovery of royalties.