Confidential · Strategic Brief · 2026

The Production
House
Initiative

A blueprint for building the infrastructure our music has always deserved.

Sterling
Cager / dFRAE Media
J Maceo
01 · The Problem

We've Been Releasing Gold
Into the Void

We have a catalog of world-class, finished material. The issue has never been the music — it's been the infrastructure. We've been operating as independent artists waiting for a break that the current industry is structurally disinclined to hand us.

"Instead of hoping to be discovered, we become the ones doing the discovering — and we build the label that signs the artists we wish existed."

02 · The Core Concept

A Boutique
Production
House

We are pivoting into a boutique production house and independent label. The model is simple: we provide the infrastructure — the songs, the high-end production, the funding — to launch new artists. We find the right face for the music; we own the engine behind it.

There's a whole tier of artists out there — vocalists, queer rappers, alt-pop performers — who have the "it-factor" and the look, but are song-poor. We step in as the architects. We hand them a radio-ready hit with full label services. They carry the flag publicly; we pull the strings on the back end.

The Songs
We bring the catalog. Radio-ready, finished, world-class. No more letting it rot on a hard drive.
The Production
High-end mixing, mastering, and distribution. We provide what indie artists can't afford alone.
The Artist
They bring the face, the performance, the hustle. We match them to the exact right song from our catalog.
The Backend
We own the masters and publishing. Royalties flow back to us while the artist builds their profile.
03 · Your Role

Why You're
the Secret
Weapon

Samples can't replicate what you bring to a track. Your live basslines and guitar parts are what make our productions sound expensive. That quality is foundational to everything we're building — it's the sonic signature that sets us apart from every other production-house-in-a-laptop.

Principal Instrumentalist & Arranger

You would serve as our primary musical weapon and San Francisco-market liaison. The structure is designed to work around your life — not the other way around.

You never have to move to LA. You generate passive income through publishing and mechanicals on every track you contribute to, indefinitely.

We want you involved in whatever capacity makes the most sense for you — whether that's as a formal, equity-holding business partner in the LLC, or as our core session player on a project-by-project basis.

Live Bass & Guitar Arrangement & Texture SF Market Presence Publishing Royalties Equity Option
04 · The Team

Three Pillars,
One Engine

Cager / dFRAE
Executive Producer · Managing Member
Handles funding, business strategy, and core production. The architect of the overall operation.
J Maceo
Head of A&R · Vocal Performance
Already on board and hyped. Scouts talent in live and open mic scenes. Vocal director for all project artists.
05 · Business Structure

Built Clean,
Built Right

We're forming a brand-new LLC — a clean slate. This entity protects our past work while creating a professional front-facing label for signing artists.

The new LLC will not own our past solo catalogs or any individual songwriting assets. Any legacy works — including tracks we've already co-written — remain 100% ours, full stop.

IP Protection Breakdown

Your past solo catalog
100% Yours
Pre-existing co-writes
100% Ours
New master recordings (under LLC banner)
LLC Owned
Your songwriting royalties (ASCAP/BMI)
100% To You
06 · Revenue Model

Two Streams,
Clean Split

We separate the writing from the production so everyone is compensated precisely for their exact contribution. No ambiguity, no handshake deals.

Masters (Mechanical Royalties)

The LLC owns new master recordings produced under its banner. Artists sign to a standard 50/50 split of master royalties. After the LLC recoups direct project costs, remaining profits distribute to LLC members based on equity.

Songwriting (Publishing)

The LLC takes zero percent of the writer's share. 100% of songwriting royalties go directly to whoever wrote the song, via ASCAP or BMI. Your pen, your check.

"Every track you lay a bassline on becomes a royalty asset. Every song you write is yours. The LLC amplifies your income — it doesn't extract from it."

07 · Phase One

The Catalog
Audit Starts
Now

Jay and I are kicking off Phase One this week using a Hybrid Audit Model to remove all subjectivity and find our first track to launch the house with.

1
Submit Top 10 Folders
Jay and I each submit our strongest unreleased tracks. A focused pool to work from.
This Week
2
Objective Scoring Matrix
Rate each track 1–10 on Syncability, Market Readiness, and Vocal Ease.
Week 2
3
Blind Vibe-Check
Best snippets tested blindly with LA studio engineers and Gen-Z focus groups.
Week 3
4
Lock Top 3 + Match Artists
Final 3 tracks selected. A&R begins hunting for the specific artists to match them.
Week 4

Let's Stop Letting
This Gold Sit.

The music is done. The team is assembled. The structure is ready. All that's left is the conversation. When are you free this week?